May 31

Contents

Editor's Introduction

This week I report on the continuing expansion of Skyhook Wireless, which leverages WiFi broadcasts for positioning. Plus, a dozen press releases.

— Matteo Luccio

WiFi Positioning Continues To Expand

Skyhook Wireless, whose software-only WiFi positioning system (WPS) derives location from wireless Internet access points, is continuing its expansion—in geographic coverage, supported platforms, and agreements with hardware manufacturers and wireless carriers—and has revamped Loki, its free, location-based Internet toolbar.

According to Jed Rice, its VP for Market Development, the company has now driven 1.1 million miles of U.S. streets, mapping WiFi access points in 2,500 U.S. cities and towns, home to 70 percent of the country's population, and has reached the point of diminishing returns. To correct and refresh its data, Skyhook compares the field data in each query with that in its database—constantly deleting routers that are no longer in operation and adding new ones that have begun broadcasting. It also is experimenting with the use of data from commercial fleets.

Skyhook is expanding beyond the United States. According to Rice, its penetration has reached 65 percent of the population in Canada and Australia and it now wants to achieve the same level of penetration in Europe.

In February, Skyhook announced that SiRF had licensed its WPS and that the two companies had jointly developed XPS—a hybrid GPS-WiFi positioning system. The deal was premised on how the complementary the two companies' offerings are: GPS works best in open spaces, where it does not suffer from the "urban canyon" problem and there is little or no multi-path effect, whereas WPS works only in dense urban areas, where there are many wireless routers. Fusing the two increased location availability and accuracy, reduced location acquisition time, and expanded LBS application support, according to Skyhook.

In March, the company announced that its system was powering a new, free location-based plug-in for users of AOL's AIM service, the largest instant messaging community in the United States. Also in March, Skyhook announced an agreement with NAVTEQ, a leading provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, allowing NAVTEQ to resell Skyhook's WPS in conjunction with its map products. The two companies also recently collaborated on the development of ReignCom's iriver W10, a media player that combines WPS technology with NAVTEQ Discover Cities pedestrian guide. The device, unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, provides mobile consumers in urban environments with detailed information about their location and the sights and amenities around them, such as Fodor's travel data on hotels, restaurants and shopping.

Skyhook is expanding its reach into various areas. In collaboration with G2Microsystems, which developed the hardware, it is prototyping a device for tracking package deliveries. It includes sensors to measure temperature, light exposure, and sudden movements and has a battery that lasts a month. The device updates its position in a Skyhook tracking server every time it associates with a known point. With Eye-Fi it created a WiFi card for digital cameras, which geotags photos by embedding location in their XF headers. In the next several weeks, according to Rice, Skyhook will announce a deal with a U.S. cell phone carrier to embed WiFi positioning on the carrier's CDMA network.

At this year's Where 2.0 Conference, underway this week in San Jose, California, Skyhook is launching its new version of Loki. It is based, Rice says, on three "pillars":

• user control: users can configure it to be as unobtrusive or pervasive as they want
• multiple platforms: including Loki Mobile, which runs on Windows mobile devices, and Loki for Mac
• Loki Javascript API: it makes it easy for Websites to add location awareness that provides alternative content for Loki users, on an opt-in basis. Alternatively, users can choose to quickly download and install a "light" version of Loki.

According to Ryan Sarver, Senior Product Manager at Skyhook, any Java or HTML developer can now easily deploy Loki. The Loki Javascript API is only seven lines of code. "We want to keep the barrier to entry low," he says.

According to Rice, Loki users need not worry about their location privacy because Skyhook acts "as a broker" in each transaction, matching content to users' locations without revealing them to the Websites they are visiting.

Which of the current technology trends are helping Skyhook, and are any threatening its strategy? The speed and extent of hardware manufacturers' adoption of WiFi, which they are now routinely embedding in PDAs, cell phones, and laptops, exceeded his company's expectations, says Rice, and led Skyhook to expand the list of platforms it supports. One reason network operators embraced WiFi is that it relieves their networks. On the other hand, Wi-Max, he claims, does not yet pose a challenge. (If widely adopted as a replacement to short-range WiFi routers, however, it will eventually wipe out Skyhook.) The major trend that Rice sees that is helping Skyhook is in consumer behavior: location-based services (LBS) is taking off on mobile phones because of rich mapping content on the Web.

» Back to our GIS Monitor MAY 2007 Issue