{"id":643200,"date":"2013-02-20T13:32:56","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T18:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=612262"},"modified":"2013-02-20T13:32:56","modified_gmt":"2013-02-20T18:32:56","slug":"austrian-location-tech-firm-indoo-rs-picks-up-six-figure-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/643200","title":{"rendered":"Austrian location tech firm indoo.rs picks up six-figure funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

The indoor location market is heating up nicely, as various players in the mobile industry start to contemplate the marketing potential<\/a> of mapping the places where GPS doesn\u2019t help. But it\u2019s still a young market, with room for new entrants with bright ideas.<\/p>\n

The Austrian startup indoo.rs, which has just picked up an undisclosed high six-figure seed round, may be one such company. Very much a technology rather than marketing firm, indoo.rs is developing a platform that it hopes will be picked up by silicon vendors and handset manufacturers. Apart from locating the user based on nearby Wi-Fi and cellular signals \u2013 as Google does, for instance<\/a> \u2014 the indoo.rs platform also draws on other data sources such as the handset\u2019s accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer and compass to improve accuracy.<\/p>\n

If that reminds you of what Qualcomm is trying to do with its IZat platform<\/a>, you\u2019re right to pick up on the similarity, only Qualcomm is hardwiring its technology into its mobile processors. Indoo.rs is taking the software angle.<\/p>\n

Indoo.rs business development chief Marcel van der Heijden \u2014 who joined the team from investors SpeedInvest (the other backers are tecnet equity and Techinvest) \u2014 freely admitted to me that the IZat hardware approach has its advantages, particularly in terms of speed and power efficiency. However, he suggested that the software angle provided hardware independence and greater release flexibility.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, he pointed out, IZat is supported by around 12 percent of today\u2019s Android devices, while indoo.rs\u2019s software development kit (SDK) can target 95 percent.<\/p>\n

So what are we looking at here, anyway? Indoo.rs\u2019s platform has three elements. The first is a client SDK for Android devices, allowing developers to build indoor navigation capabilities into their apps \u2013 a conference organizer might use this in their show-floor app, for example.<\/p>\n

The second is a measurement tool, for Windows and Linux, that makes it possible to import maps of a venue, annotate the map with physical features such as walls and staircases, define zones and then measure Wi-Fi \u201cfingerprints\u201d throughout the location. The final piece is the cloud-based back-end, which matches the user\u2019s surroundings with a predefined map.<\/p>\n

The hard work here is in balancing all the variables that go into accurate positioning: not only the quality of the Wi-Fi and cellular networks that are involved, but also the quality of the sensors in the handset. If indoo.rs is to succeed, it will need to produce superior algorithms.<\/p>\n

Whether that happens remains to be seen. Qualcomm may have a lot of heft behind it, but indoo.rs isn\u2019t going up against Qualcomm as such \u2013 indeed, it would probably quite like to gain it as a customer for its IP. In the meantime, the Austrian startup is busy joining the ARM Connected Community<\/a> and, soon, the In-Location Alliance<\/a>, so it\u2019s connecting with the right people.<\/p>\n

This story was updated at 1:30pm to correct the spelling of indoo.rs\u2019s name.<\/em> <\/p>\n

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