January 21, 2016 – Aplicaziones presents the first results of our R&D project “Veloz” tests, conducted in the first weeks of 2016. This project is a positioning and navigation solution based on the use of multiple strategies and algorithms for determining people location in complex scenarios with bad on inexistent GPS coverage.
During these years and after multiple meetings with customers from different markets, we have concluded that one of the keys to success and widespread adoption of accurate location systems is to rely on low-cost hardware. This leads to the need to avoid installing infrastructure supporting the location solution (beacons type). In the same way, the "tag" brought by the user should be affordable. These are the reasons behind the architecture of our solution.
One one side we have designed a 3D front-end for scenario visualization for remote access (in the cloud) using a simple web browser and on the other hand we have developed the SW needed to convert a simple mid-range phone (smartphone) in an accurate positioning device.
So we can report that we have performed already in January 2016 the first successful tests of our system were performed based on positioning strategies using only magnetic fields and inertial systems.
The results have been quite promising and in this article we share the videos with different tracks inside a building without GPS coverage and support beacons.
For these first trials we have only used motion control algorithms based on sensors (gyro, accelerometer, magnetometer and a barometer) and a system of geo-reference (fingerprint) based on magnetic fields.
In this way we managed to track people inside a building with a simple mobile terminal (in this case a Nexus 5) and without deploying any supporting infrastructure (investment cost of 0 €).
We think that such kind of solution can be very useful for companies that need to control a large number of people (ie. security guards) in different scenarios. A system with the need of supporting infrastructure would be prohibitive, since investments are not justified when the scenario is so variable: one day is a bullring, other day a sporting event and one day, for example, a musical event.
We are thinking in another kind of applications and we will comment on them along the progress of the project during 2016.
In our R&D page you can learn more in detail the developments we are making on precision tracking systems.