On the Edge: Find Yourself in Vegas

October 1, 2013  - By
The Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo credit: Photographersnature.

The Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo credit: Photographersnature.

Qualcomm and Cisco Collaborate to Improve Indoor Navigation

Las Vegas — home of gambling, shows, and massive hotel/entertainment/resort complexes. It’s not always easy to find what you’re looking for amid miles and miles of indoor floorspace.

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Previous Bellagio visitors had to rely on a static map to find their way around the massive Bellagio resort.

In May, Qualcomm Atheros and Cisco showcased its collaboration to enhance indoor location services at a customer deployment at the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The event took place in cooperation with MGM Resorts International during the Interop information technology conference. Participants had the opportunity to try out Qualcomm and Cisco’s approach to indoor location services, which uses the Qualcomm IZat indoor location platform with Cisco’s Connected Mobile Experience. According to the companies, the combination improves location accuracy and allows users to discover services with context awareness in sprawling retail, travel, and hospitality venues, such as Las Vegas resorts.

The companies began their collaboration in November 2012. The Bellagio mobile app, available for iOS and Android, is now offered as a free download for guests using their smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

At the Interop event, participants were given Samsung devices with Qualcomm IZat software, which tracked their position within the Bellagio on a map as they moved through the hotel — a definite advantage over less-advanced apps which only provide a static map.

Based on the person’s location, the mobile app provides recommendations of nearby services such as restaurants, shows, spa services, and bars and lounges on the property. Guests can become a loyalty member and be alerted to discounts at local restaurants, shops, and wine bars. “This creates a truly unique mobile experience for guests and visitors, putting all the amenities of indoor-location-enabled spaces at their fingertips,” according to Cisco.

Event participants pick up Samsung phones equipped with the Bellagio app.

Event participants pick up Samsung phones equipped with the Bellagio app.

Qualcomm Atheros, which is Qualcomm Technologies’ networking and connectivity subsidiary, recently enhanced its IZat location platform to enable more precise positioning (within 3–5 meters) inside buildings to make indoor positioning more useful to consumers.

The Cisco Connected Mobile Experience offers a Wi-Fi Passpoint (HotSpot 2.0) solution to integrate indoor location and real-time analytic technologies to deliver personalized mobile services and content. The solution is built upon the Cisco Mobility Services Engine, which uses the Bellagio’s existing wireless access-point infrastructure to determine indoor location for mobile devices. Cisco worked with MGM Resorts’ service provider Mobilitie and its partner Meridian to link the mobile app, context-aware services, and wireless connectivity experience together.

The solution is designed to help app developers deploy mobile applications and services that engage the customer more effectively, the companies said.

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