Venue Maps to Improve Indoor Positioning for Location-based Apps

HERE, a Nokia business, is making its indoor Venue Maps available to Qualcomm Atheros. Leveraging indoor map data from HERE that is tightly coupled to the core indoor positioning engine will help Qualcomm IZat location technologies deliver more precise positioning (within 3 to 5 metres) to mobile devices inside buildings. Improving the overall indoor location experience for consumers, this combination is expected to accelerate the development and use of compelling location-based experiences as well as promotions in shopping malls, transportation hubs and entertainment venues around the globe.

In its quest to deliver location awareness everywhere, Qualcomm Atheros is propagating indoor location capabilities to ensure the best possible experiences in a wide variety of places, said Cormac Conroy, vice president of the mobile, computing and location business unit at Qualcomm Atheros. The collaboration with HERE complements the capabilities of the IZat location platform to deliver the exceptional accuracy that is required for businesses and app developers looking for ways to reach mobile consumers and create additional revenue opportunities from location-based services.

To map buildings, HERE mapmakers visit venues from airports to zoos to sports complexes, museums and other facilities around the world to ensure map data is precise and no detail is forgotten. They collect building floor plans and then validate against the real world which includes double-checking the names of points of interest and ensuring that rich features such as ATM machines, restrooms and escalators are included.

Indoor spaces

Indoor spaces are among the new frontiers in mapping and HERE is well-positioned to bring its global leadership in outdoor mapping to inside venues, Cliff Fox, senior vice president of Location Content at HERE, commented. Not only has it been the first to map some of the most recognised buildings in the world, but the company also offer the world's broadest coverage of indoor spaces with currently more than 9,000 venues consisting of 50,000 unique buildings mapped in 69 countries. With its continuously expanding reach in coverage and focus on efforts to improve accuracy, HERE can support Qualcomm Atheros in its quest to provide access to accurate location information and services to consumers as they move about venues, Fox added.

Venue Maps complement Qualcomm Atheros' end-to-end IZat indoor positioning capabilities to deliver always-on location awareness to mobile devices in more places. IZat is comprised of Qualcomm Atheros' broad technology portfolio, including cellular, global navigation satellite system (GNSS), wifi, sensor and cloud-based assistance solutions, as well as its widely deployed location core, already found in more than one billion devices on mobile networks worldwide.

For more information about location-based services indoors, please visit the Nokia blog.

Photo courtesy: Shopping Center Consulting Berlin GmbH