Mobileoperators and enterprises seeking to deploy high accuracy location based services can now move more rapidly to market – and to revenue – with a new breakthrough feature of CPS’ Matrix high accuracy location technology.
Matrix Solo can be integrated into a single standalone device – such as a vehicle tracker, child locator or handset – which will then deliver high accuracy in any environment and at sub-$1 per subscriber cost levels.
The new Solo feature means that operators can launch services now with just a single device and build revenues almost immediately before migrating seamlessly to full Matrix deployments.
It will also allow enterprises to launch their own branded safety and security services – offering considerably better and more widespread coverage and accuracy than currently available GSM location technologies. Solo can operate successfully in areas where there are low levels of mobile traffic – such as rural areas or at night.
Matrix Solo works by “self-location” as the device moves – sending batches of previous location measurements to a network server that then calculates the handset’s position as required.
CPS CEO Chris Wade said: “Matrix Solo kick starts high accuracy for operators and enterprises. It means “go to market” and “get to revenue” timescales are radically reduced and opens up new opportunities for companies who experience poor performance from Cell-ID systems.”
Matrix Solo fills the enormous void in the mobile location-based services market for a low cost high accuracy technology that can be deployed easily and rapidly. At present, companies launching services – such as personal safety, child-finding or low cost logistics – are using Cell-ID technology. Based on a handset’s position within a mobile network cell-site – location accuracy is based on the size of the cell within which it is located, which can be anything from, at best, 400m in urban areas to over 10km in suburban or rural environments.
As a result, service providers and users have been disappointed with the wide variability of the accuracy of the location – resulting in poor service take-up. Satellite-based positioning remains the preserve of high cost solutions for the logistics industry and, by its very nature, struggles to perform to user expectations in built-up urban environments and indoors.
The new Solo feature is now being trialled as part of Matrix trials in several locations around the world. It is expected to become commercially available in Q3 2004.