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Rx Networks Announces Zed, a Precise Indoor Vertical Location Service for Mobile Devices

September 18, 2013  - By
Image: GPS World

Rx Networks, Inc., a mobile location technology and services company, today announced a new z-axis determination capability called Zed. This new solution, comprised of a client software library and associated cloud-based data services, is targeted at chipset vendors, device OEMs and application developers seeking to integrate reliable floor-level detection. The announcement came at ION GNSS 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Whether for emergency or consumer applications, the determination of a mobile device’s vertical position while indoors presents unique challenges. Given the environment, even when a GNSS receiver attains a fix, a mobile device cannot reliably use the reported altitude. Beacon-based techniques, such as those derived from Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, remain challenging as they often rely on GNSS-based crowd sourcing or costly venue characterization. The built-in barometric pressure sensors in recent  smartphones bring a new ability to estimate altitude, but they have  unique and variable characteristics that prevent floor-level accuracy without further assistance.

Rx Networks’ new Zed solution combines accurate geo-reference barometric pressure data (from Custom Weather, a global provider of real-time weather information), automatic device characterization, and pressure crowdsourcing along with existing location services to determine a device’s altitude within 1 to 3 meters.

The Zed solution will be commercially available at the start of 2014 and will be available either on its own, or as an optional feature alongside Rx Networks’ GPStream Assisted-GNSS and XYBRID hybrid location solutions.

For more information a demonstration of Zed, visit Rx Networks booth at ION GNSS+ 2013.