location-based technologies explained

6 MOBILE UI/UX MISTAKES TO AVOID- By Shanal Aggarwal (Head - Global Sales, TechAhead)

INTRODUCTION

Technology which uses the physical location of the end-user to improve the relevance, context, and value of an application is defined as location based technology. Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and NFC are all location-based technologies. A service or application which utilizes location-based technology is called Location-based service(LBS). Some services allow consumers to "check in" at restaurants, coffee shops, stores, concerts, and other places or events. Often, businesses offer a reward — prizes, coupons or discounts — to people who check in. Google Maps, Foursquare, GetGlue, Yelp and Facebook are among the more popular location-based services.

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ADVANTAGES OF USING LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?

For mobile network operators, location-based services are an additional stream of revenue that can be generated from their investments in fixed infrastructure. For the end user, these services can help reduce confusion, improve the consumption experience, and deliver high-quality service options.

Some common uses of location-based technologies are listed below:

•Store locators. Using location-based intelligence, retail customers can quickly find the nearest store location.

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•Proximity-based marketing. Local companies can push ads only to individuals within the same geographic location. Location-based mobile marketing delivers ads to potential customers within that city who might actually act on the information.

•Travel information. An LBS can deliver real-time information, such as traffic updates or weather reports, to the smartphone so the user can plan accordingly.

•Roadside assistance. In the event of a blown tire or accident, many roadside assistance companies provide an app that allows them to track your exact location without the need for giving directions.

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•Mobile workforce management. For logistics-dependent companies that employ individuals out in the field or at multiple locations, an LBS allows employees to check in at a location using their mobile device.

•Fraud prevention. An LBS creates another level of security by matching a customer’s location through the smartphone to a credit card transaction. Tying the smartphone’s location to a credit card allows you to flag transactions made across several geographic locations over a short time.

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LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES EXPLAINED

Positioning is a crucial component with Location Based Services as it allows get information about the location of the mobile device. The development of satellite systems (GPS, Galileo, Glonass) revolutionized the accuracy of location information, however for many LBS applications the GSM-positioning accuracy level is more than enough.

“The service FriendZone is considered the first LBS service to be offered by a mobile phone operator in May 2001 after a preliminary trial that started in January 2001”

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WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?

Location-based technologies can be classified into network-based, handset-based, infrastructure-based or hybrid.

Cell-ID and Cell tower triangulation are network-based technologies; GPS is handset-based technology; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are infrastructure-based and A-GPS is a hybrid technology. Let us learn about the features, merits and demerits of each technology in detail.

•Cell-ID

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•Cell-ID

The Cell ID (or Cell-of- origin) is the simplest localization method available in cellular networks. Mobile operator is identifying position of a mobile terminal through the id of the base transceiver station (BTS) that user connected at particular moment. Unless the capacity of BTS is not used, the user should be connected to the network via the nearest base station. “The accuracy of the Cell ID method therefore depends on the known range of the particular BTS serving the user at the time of the query. It can range from a few hundred meters in urban areas to several kilometers in rural areas”. A very prominent user of Cell ID positioning technology on mobile devices is Google. Google’s Maps for Mobile service uses the transmission from a single cell tower to provide the cell phone location.

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•Enhanced Cell-ID

Enhanced Cell ID refers to technologies that are using position of multiple BTS stations or additional parameters of BTS signal to enhance the accuracy of the mobile terminal. There are several methods that utilize time (distance) or/and angles of radio signals. The most known are: AOA(Angle of Arrival), TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival), TOA (Time of Arrival). Methods that are being employed depend solely on the cellular networks operators, the accuracy of the system might be required by legislators.

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•Global Positioning System(GPS)

GPS is a satellite positioning system controlled by the US Department of Defense. It consists of a constellation of 31 satellites. Although there are other similar projects, including European GALILEO, Russian GLONASS, Chinese Beidou the only worldwide broadly used system is GPS. The system determines the position of a receiver by calculating differences in the times that take signals from different at least three satellites to reach the mobile device with GPS antenna. Afterwards the system uses the mathematical technique of trilateration to determine user position, speed, and elevation.

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Despite good accuracy, GPS has some disadvantages: accuracy depends on the number of visible satellites; set-up time can be quite long, many minutes in the worst case; power consumption can be high; GPS does not work indoor or when satellites are in shadow.

“Doppler Effect is the key principle used in GPS system. GPS was first used by US for military purposes. Their need of a global navigation system during the cold war triggered the introduction of GPS.”

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•Assisted GPS (A-GPS)

A-GPS is linking satellite positioning with GSM operators positioning systems. A-GPS requires BTS stations to be equipped with GPS receivers. In this way BTSs can provide information about visible satellites, allowing the GPS installed on the mobile device to speed up its tracking phase. It addresses the key drawback of GPS technology – reduces power consumption and Time To First Fix (TTFF) that depending on a device, environment and sky visibility can take even a few minutes. Additionally A-GPS can provide better location accuracy than regular GPS because of use of differential GPS.

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•Assisted GPS (A-GPS)

This technique exploits the knowledge of both the actual BTS position and its GPS approximation to estimate GPS error and as a result, this error can be corrected applying a suitable correction factor. In practice, there is a multitude of ways in which this technology can be deployed depending on the configuration of chipset manufacturers, local legislation, and operator policy resulting variation in its effectiveness compared to GPS.

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•Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Ubiquity of Wi-Fi access points inside buildings and in urban areas made it possible to utilize this data for positioning purposes. The technology uses similar methods as cell-id and triangulation but it applies them to wireless internet hotspots. When a mobile device detects the Wi-Fi signal, preinstalled positioning software scans it and compare to reference database, than based on the strength of one or several signals, it calculates user’s location. Bluetooth technology works in a similar way however, it requires to install a grid of antennas, as the technology is as popular as Wi-Fi. Private companies including Skyhook and Google are gathering data with special vehicles that have extra-sensitive GPS and Wi-Fi receivers.

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•Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

The technology has been widely used starting from Apple iPhone 2G and then adapted by other smartphone producers. Wi-Fi has been shown to achieve 3-10 meter indoor and 20-30m outdoor positioning accuracy. The achievable accuracy depends on two factors: access point density and the location-positioning algorithms employed.

“When we open the Bluetooth on our computer devices, we encounter the familiar blue and white logo. Interestingly, the logo actually comprises two symbols, which are two letters representing the initials of none other than King Herald.”

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•Geofencing

Geofencing is one of key technologies used in Location Based Marketing. It refers to a virtual boundary created around a specified physical location or point on a map. It is used to test whether presence inside the area is true or false in order to trigger some sort of predefined action, which in case of marketing refers to sending targeted message Geofence can be defined by a series of lat/long coordinates or radius of a particular distance around a specific point.

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•Geofencing

Three primary types of geofences:

1.Static: user’s position relative to a fixed point or fixed area

2.Dynamic: user’s position relative to a changing data stream

3.Peer-to-Peer: user’s position relative to other users

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Static geofencing can be used to send an special offer via text message to opt-in users as they enter a shopping district, dynamic geofencing to send a message about “open parking space” nearby mobile app users driving through particular area, and peer-to-peer geofencing in a location based social network to notify user about friends nearby.In the corporate world, geofences are used to alert management when employees leave or enter pre-determined area. On a personal level, a geofence can alert parents when your child arrives at school, via an application such as Neer. In Location Based Marketing geofences are used mostly to send messages to opt-in users when they enter particular area.

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•iBeacon

Apple explains iBeacon technology to consumers as the enabling technology for Apple devices to alert apps or websites (which the user has opted into) when someone approaches or leaves a location. In other words, retail or other venues that have beacons in place can detect where a customer is at any given moment. Then — and this is the key part, of course — the retailer or other business can push timely messages to that customer promoting products or providing other useful information. Say someone is walking past a retail store; if they’ve downloaded the retailer’s mobile app, the company can use beacon messages to capture their attention as they go by, enticing them to enter. Once inside, beacons can be used to make personalized offers, speed checkout processes and pretty much anything else the retailer can dream up.

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COMPARISON OF VARIOUS LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES

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Parameter Beacons GPS Wi-Fi Near-field CommunicaDon(NFC)

Recommended for In/near store and micro loca0on

Out of store use and macro loca0on

In-store use Close proximity, secure interac0on

Some uses In-store naviga0on,hands-free payment

Pre-arrival customer check-in. near-store no0fica0ons and offers

In-store naviga0on,hands-free payment

Payments, product tagging

Ease of set-up and maintenance

Medium Medium-high Medium Medium

Range Medium Long Medium-low Low

Accuracy Medium Medium-low Medium High

Consumer-friendly Medium Medium Medium-high Medium-high

Energy-efficiency Medium-high Medium-low Medium-high High

BEACONS VS. GEOFENCING- WHICH IS BETTER FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Now that you have read through the basic differences between these two technologies, the next question that pops up is, ‘Which one do I use? Geofencing or beacons or both?’ The decision should be based on what your company or brand wants to accomplish using them.

For example, geofencing being a lot less precise when it comes to proximity detection, users may have a varied experience of the time at which a message gets triggered once they enter the geofence perimeter. This makes geofencing more effective for broader marketing campaigns that target customers on a larger scale, such as when they are driving around the parking lot or are walking by the entrance of a mall.

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On the other hand, beacons with their ability to detect customers with greater accuracy, work better if you are considering offering location based services indoors. For example, beacons can be used to deliver more precise turn-by-turn directions within a building.

An important thing to note here is that, in spite of their differences, these two technologies complement rather than conflict with each other. Here is a perfect example – any marketer looking to leverage beacons has definitely been bogged down by one main challenge at some point of time- ‘What can I do to ensure that users with my app have bluetooth turned on?’ This is one of the questions that frequently surface in most of our client conversations as well.

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Beacons and geofencing complement rather than conflict each other. The Beaconstac platform recently launched a new feature called ‘Places’ that allows retailers to define a geofence with ease. All they have to do is choose ‘Places’ from the navigation, click on ‘Add a new place’ and type in the attributes such as name, address (latitude and longitude values). Once that is done, they can easily define the range of a geofence (in metres). This is how we can use both these technologies for our benefit.

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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

According to a new study of brand marketers, 75% believe location based marketing is an important element to their business strategy in 2016. With mobile Internet becoming widely accessible and the giants of social networking sites investing in a more synchronized form of location-integration into their products, there’s a lot to expect in the coming years. Research studies on mobile marketing show that 42 consumers feel that the marketing communications they receive from businesses on their mobile devices are neither relevant nor useful. Location-based marketing answers the concern through relevant and personalized localization

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Privacy is one of the main hesitations concerns that’s holding this technology from sky-rocketing. Customers and their need to be constantly updated, are open to sharing their personal information with brands when they download their apps and further share their location, shopping inclination, demographics, amongst various other personal information. By being straightforward with consumers and utilizing specific tactics companies can push past the privacy barrier. With smartphone penetration and the number of active social media users, the use of location services and its value is bound to soar up.

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Merchants or vendors who use this to their advantage will stand out amongst various others helping them become leaders within their domain. The future of location-based services is indeed bright!

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