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Indoor Mapping FAQ: 5 important questions answered (and not one map/navigation pun)

Jun 5, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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Whois winning?

In terms of sheer volume, Micello is the clear winner at the moment with over 8500 maps. The rest of the chasing pack is made up by Point inside, Navteq and smaller app-based mapping solutions from fastmall and Aisle 411. Google has publicly announced less than 100 maps but it is clear that this number will balloon over the next 12 months. Both Apple (acquisition of C3 technologies)and Microsoft appear to have taken a longer term view, focusing on panoramic photography as the best way to support indoor mapping. Given TomTom's recent woes, it is surprising not to see TeleAtlas/TomTom involved in this space, but this may change.

Will we see major acquisitions?

Considering this marketis undergoing a bit of a landgrab at the moment, we may see some acquisition, especiallylarger players that have not developed their own internal solution yet.However, what is probably more likely is partnerships and licensing as major players look to bulk up their offering with a view to fleshing out their own maps over time.

What buildings arecompanies mapping?

Museums, airports, stadiums, shopping malls and college campuses have been the initial focus, but the real battle is going to be for retail stores. This is where the revenue in indoor location lies and everybody is chasing it. With low cost indoor location technologies being deployed/trialled at a host of major retailers in the US, mapping will also become important.

Wont free user generated mapping from Google and others win out?

Not necessarily. While smaller retailers will look to work with Google, Facebook, etc, there is far more value inindoormapping and location of large retailers. These same retailers nderstand this and will be slow tolose control of their own shopping environment. As a result, this is one of the first industries to emerge whereFree is not always the best policy.

Is mapping really Essential?

This is an important question. for the last few years, many have identified the lack of an low-cost and easy way to amp indoors accurately as one of the major barriers to indoor location. This holds true if the plan is to provide indoor navigation. However, in the case of analytics and even advertising to some degree, the location of the user is enough. A map is not necessarily required at the application level. Having said this, maps will enable many more features and sevices and ultimatley are a significant part of the overall ecosystem. As retialers look to support branded apps and in-storediscovery, mapping will be essential, combining it withinventory, offers and POS data.

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ABB Continues Acquisition Spree, Snaps Up Tropos Networks

Jun 1, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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​No sooner does ABI publish my recent Insight on the seemingly continuous flow of acquisitions taking place across the smart grid ecosystem than another quickly follows. After Eaton’s capture of Cooper Industries last month, I remarked that it is unlikely that its “chief competitors will be resting on their laurels – ABB, for example, is said to have earmarked $9 billion to $18 billion for acquisitions over the next five years.” Right on cue, the company has just announced that it is to acquire Tropos Networks, a Silicon Valley-based company that develops and markets wireless technologies and products for distribution area communication networks. Although the exact terms of the deal are currently unknown, ABB will certainly not have used up too much of its vast “purchase pot” – Tropos employs just 55 people compared to the 26,000 at Cooper Industries (which sold for $12.6 billion).

According to Jens Birgersson, head of ABB's Network Management business, Tropos’ technologies are a great fit with the company’s existing communications offering and will “provide ABB with additional access to US markets, where we still have considerable room to grow." Tropos’ product line includes directional radios, mesh routers as well as software and network management programs that ensure interoperability between deployed assets, old and new. Some applications for the company’s solutions are: collector backhaul, reclosers, switches, sensors on distribution lines and capacitor bank monitoring.
Tropos joins the likes of Ventyx, Mincom, Insert Key Solutions, Obvient Solutions and Thomas & Betts, all of whom have been gobbled up by the Swiss giant in recent years.

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(A Lack of) Awareness of the Smart Grid – A Problem that Needs Addressing

May 31, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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Although smart metering deployments continue apace, there is still a fundamental lack of awareness surrounding the smart grid among the general populace. Earlier this month, the Institute for Electric Efficiency reported that around 1 in 3 US households now have a smart meter, yet a survey commissioned by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found that the majority of respondents were unfamiliar with the concept of the smart grid. Admittedly, the CEA’s research was conducted a year ago when smart meters were less commonplace than they are now, but there is consensus among industry participants that a lack of awareness is a problem that needs addressing.

Concerns that the smart grid will threaten civil liberties and endanger health are two issues that stem from a lack of education. However, another, more recent survey has revealed that utilities feel that they have either too little or no budget to effectively roll out an AMI customer education campaign. Because of this, there is likely to be a continued backlash against the deployment of smart meters in places such as California where residents erected “Stop Smart Meters” signs and stopped trucks from delivering meters being installed by PG&E. Others, who see the RF signals that are used by smart meters as a health threat, will continue to opt out of having a smart meter fitted. In Australia, where the Victorian government has mandated that smart meters be rolled out across the state, almost 90,000 of the 900,000 or so households that have, so far, been approached by installers have refused to have a smart meter fitted.

Although none of this will dramatically affect rollout plans or efforts to upgrade T&D infrastructure, it does mean that utilities will need to think aboutoffering alternatives to those not wishing to receive a smart meter and this is undoubtedly a hindrance they could do without. Customers of Central Maine Power (CMP), for example, can choose between non-RF-emitting smart meters or elect to retain their existing electromechanical meter. However, this choice does not come without financial consequences as CMP has introduced additional pricing tiers to mitigate the cost of opt-outs (which arise from having to hire someone to physically read and maintain the meter). As such, customers who opt for the non-emitting smart meter are charged a one-off fee of $20, plus a recurring monthly fee of $10.50, while those who choose to retain their electromechanical meter must pay a one-time charge of $40, in addition to a monthly fee of $12.50.

But why would a customer be happy to pay these additional charges just because they refused to have a smart meter installed? It’s a valid question that is unlikely to go away unless efforts to educate the consumer about the smart grid are stepped up. Surely most people’s concerns regarding the safety of smart meters could be assuaged if they were made aware that they possess a signal intensity some 5,000 times less than a mobile phone – a device that is almost ubiquitous. Likewise, would many of the people that have opted out of having a smart meter fitted have done so if they had been informed how their energy usage data would be used? Yet another survey, this time carried out by AT&T, revealed that 39% of consumers believe that the smart grid will diminish their privacy. However, the same survey also revealed that 85% of respondents do not have information regarding the benefits of smart meters and, crucially, have more trust in utilities and telecoms than they do in the federal government and ISPs to safeguard their data.

On factor that could help raise awareness of the smart grid and its benefits is the entrance into the home energy management systems space by a variety of telcos, cable operators and security companies. The likes of Verizon, Comcast and ADT with their vast marketing budgets now offer subscription home automation services that give customers greater insight into their energy consumption. As interest in these packages increases, so too should the level of awareness of related markets, such as the smart grid. The “managed” segment of the home automation market (of which the aforementioned companies are a part) is expected to exhibit strong growth in the next few years as this technology increasingly makes its way into the homes of the masses. Another step toward generating increased awareness would be for utilities to establish a presence in retail environments.When Best Buy launched home energy zones in three of its stores where customers were able to view a plethora of home energy gadgets last year, utilities were on hand to dispense information on rate plans and rebates available to customers. Similar initiatives could and should be encouraged in regions where smart meters are being deployed. Instead of providing information regarding rate plans, however, utilities could be on hand to answer consumers’ questions regarding the smart grid, alleviate fears, and correct any misconceptions.

ABI’s recently published report on the smart grid provides a thorough overview of the challenges and opportunities facing industry participants.

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Successful Platooning in Spain

May 28, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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​Volvo just announced the successful conclusion of the first "road train" test on a public motorway near Barcelona. Part of the SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) project, the train consisted of 3 Volvo cars and a truck following a lead truck. The train drove over 200 km (~125 miles) at about 85 km/hr (~53 mph) and maintained a gap of 6 m (~20 ft). The project manager was pleased to report no problems with the technology as it operated the vehicles among other road users.

The project uses wireless communications so that the vehicles in the platoon mimic the acceleration, braking, and turning of the lead vehicle using autonomous control technology developed by Ricardo. On-board ADAS adds another level of safety.

The concept of platooning allows more efficient traveling on existing roads by allowing vehicles under automated control to travel closer together so that they use less space. Further experiments are underway to measure the aerodynamic benefit to fuel consumption of the road train concept. I suspect the vehicles will have to be closer together than 6 m apart to see significant fuel economy improvement.

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​M2M into White Space Spectrum

May 24, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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Developed in the U.K. and targeted soon as an available spectrum cleared by UK terrestrial TV, Weightless is an evolving air interface specification designed to provide M2M device connectivity within white space spectrum.

The key premise of weightless is that it can provide M2M coverage at a lower cost than rival network topologies - either short range wireless can provide to nearby gateway devices or embedded cellular connectivity leveraging already deployed cellular networks. Aimed at cellular operators, the technology can use the same base stations to provide coverage. Although this is a technology that can be leveraged across a range of M2M applications, the Weightless SIG's initial focus is the U.K.'s ongoing smart metering rollout.

Although white space spectrum has yet to be cleared in the United Kingdom, the U.K. regulator Ofcom has already championed its potential and has decided that the spectrum will remain unlicensed and that the first commercial applications in the U.K. could be as soon as 2013.

Although Weightless has been trialed in a project in Cambridge, U.K., the first silicon is expected to become available later this year. The technology will need to draw not just governments to free the spectrum but also MNO’s, chip manufacturers, device vendors and service support players and others. It is an enormous task and one that will require more than a competent technology alternative. The Weightless SIG has developed a number of use-case scenarios and there is plenty of information about the technology at the group's website.

On top of that, Weightless has to change how MNO’s look at the potential of M2M. Currently, the appeal of the bourgeoning M2M communications market is that a new generation of cellular connected devices brings new applications, customers, and revenues to their existing networks. The Weightless SIG's proposition asks MNOs to move away from that incremental notion of M2M and instead plan for many millions of connected M2M devices supported by a new and separate wireless network.

Weightless's proposition calls for significant rethinking and reinvesting and the Weightless SIG will have to prove that there is value in changing course for these players. At present, it is looking to do this well ahead of the expected exponential rise of M2M device deployment. The advantage of Weightless may be in far greater capacity without impacting existing cellular networks, but planning for that level of M2M capacity right now may be beyond the most far sighted of MNOs.​

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Phablets will surpass 208 million device shipments annually in 2015

May 19, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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ABI Research forecasts 208 million phablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Note, will be shipped globally in 2015. Despite the slow start for phablet smartphones in 2011, ABI Research believes the market is at the dawn of the phablet era. HTC, LG and Sony will each introduce phablet smartphones in 2012, joining the ranks of Samsung’s Galaxy Note and Nexus. Additionally, the release of the Samsung Galaxy S3 by the end of May, we will see another phablet smartphone.

In a recent report on phablet smartphones and super smartphones, ABI Research examines the potential opportunities for these new smartphones, and defines phablets with a touch screen size between 4.6 to 5.5 inches. Global shipments for phablets will increase by a factor of 10 in 2012 from 2011, and will exceed 208 million phablets in 2015.
With the predicted boom of phablet devices over the next 2-3 years, media tablet manufacturers may be worried. In 2011, 65 million media tablets were shipped globally. The media tablet market has grown at an astounding rate since the iPad was first introduced to the market. Over 100 million media tablets are projected to be shipped globally in 2012. ABI Research believes hybrid smartphone/tablet will compete only with the smaller media tablet (below 7 inches). These smaller media tablets are forecasted to remain the smallest segment of the total media tablet market.

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ABI Research Teardowns Shows New Wolfson Microelectronics Parts in New Smartphone Models

May 17, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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A recent review of the ABI Research teardown products showed that Wolfson Microelectronics is expanding its presence in smartphones with a number of new product lines. It's interesting to see three new parts appear in recent teardowns:

  • The WM7130, a MEMS microphone
  • The WM8915, a multi-channel ultra-low power audio hub for high quality voice and Hi-Fi quality multimedia playback and recording
  • The WM1830, a low power audio DSP for high performance voice and multimedia enhancement

The first part was found in the Motorola Droid 4 and the second two in the Blackberry Bold 9790.

This demonstrates that Wolfson in now starting to see a return on the investment it made purchasing MEMS microphone specialist Oligon in 2007. Winning a slot in a prestigious handset such as the Droid 4 is no mean feat, especially as it is up against the main incumbent Knowles and a whole host of more recent arrivals in the market such as STMicroelectronics. This is a fast growing market, expected to reach over 500 million units per annum by 2014 in the smartphone market alone (See Mobile Device Semiconductor Markets: Platform ICs, MEMS, Wireless Connectivity ICs, and Audio ICs).

Wolfson have long been a major supplier of audio ICs to the mobile handset market, the inclusion of its WM8915 and WM1830 shows it is continuing to develop compelling solutions for this market. When this is combined with MEMS microphone capability it makes Wolfson an interesting partner for smartphone OEMs.

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Is Apple Really Dropping Google Maps for iOS6? Really?

May 13, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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Over the weekend, unofficial news that Apple will use its own in-house mapping for iOS 6 has broken. Inevitably, a lot of pro-Apple websites were hailing the 3D element as revolutionary. When we get over the immediacy of this breaking news, it is hard to see how Apple has developed a solution that can compete with Google and Nokia/Microsoft, covering the many facets that make up a complete, worldwide mapping service. Information is still very limited. Is this a full-blown mapping solution or 3D city imagery? Is it US focused or worldwide? Can it support search and navigation? Is this even true?
Certainly, the acquisition of C3 technologies was a very good one, and will bring the wow factor that Apple is so good at producing. Siri is a great example of this. Google has a much stronger position on both search and voice recognition technologies, yet Apple stole the headlines with what has turned out to be an often frustrating experience for users. But ultimately, it is unlilkely coverage extends far beyond major cities, given the time and costs involved.
And won’t someone please think of the developers. It would seem Apple is unlikely to drop Google maps in such a short space of time (assuming iOS 6 launches in September), given the number of applications that use it. The most likely scenario is a separate 3D imagery service, available to developers as a separate API alongside Google Maps. This will no doubt enable unique features and it will be interesting to see what they have done on indoor imagery.
Although it seems unlikely, how could Apple fully replace Google Maps in time for iOS 6? This of course is pure speculation based on a severe lack of facts, but the most likely answer is TomTom/TeleAtlas (or possibly OSM). Although it has been quiet on the consumer front of late, especially on indoor mapping, TomTom sits on one of the best worldwide mapping databases. In 2012, Samsung has partnered with TomTom/TeleAtlas on mapping for Bada devices, illustrating its capabilities as a Google alternative. It is very unlikely that Apple is going to go out and spend the time and money creating the necessary base maps and geolocation databases. Instead, innovating on top of (or even acquiring)TomTom’s solution is a far better proposition, especially given Apple’s ability to negotiate very favorable licensing terms. From TomTom’s point of view, this would be a major step on the road to recovery.

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Dish Auto Hop aims to get customer attention, regardless of service lifespan

May 10, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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Dish Network today announced a new Auto Hop feature , which will enable customers to play a video without commercials starting the next day (1 PM EST) after recording of content. This feature works on its PrimeTime Anytime service – the capability to simultaneously record the four major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox). Technically, it appears to have technicians / editors manually entering (or verifying automated detection) of commercial breaks from an operators center.

Skipping ads in DVRs is nothing new - TiVo’s original implementation of commercial skipping (via a 30-second jump) was changed into a fast-forward to provide customers with some exposure to advertising. Just over a year ago (in May 2011), Dish and Echostar settled their patent dispute with TiVo, giving them rights to use this technology.
Dish Executives, in a conference call about the feature, appear to be looking for a compelling message to resonate with consumers. Dish was successful at adding a significant number of subscribers in the first quarter (104K subscribers), although it experienced a significant drop in profits. Further – its current subscriber count is still lower than that of a year ago (14.056 versus 14.191M), despite an overall growing satellite market in the US and worldwide.
It is clear that this feature will raise the ire of broadcasters (and their advertising customers) – and they will pursue legal challenges to the feature. Dish appears ready to fight this – although another legal fight will further drag down profit unless it is highly successful at attracting new customers. Cable and Satellite companies rely on the good graces of broadcasters, notably during retransmission consent negotiation. Dish will find itself unwelcome at the table by taking the customers’ side in this battle.

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Convinced by TU Me, Unconvinced by Joyn

May 10, 2012 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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​I’ve been testing Telefonica’s TU Me communication app since it hit the App Store yesterday, and I must say it has surprised me, and positively so. It is obviously still in a beta stage and has some severe minuses (doesn’t support group messaging, can’t run in the background, or doesn’t allow to delete old items), but none of that is anything that couldn’t be fixed fairly painlessly by an update or two. The upside, then, is that it offers a great VoIP quality, a smooth navigation UI, and a decent integration with the iPhone’s camera and GPS. And it stores all items in the Cloud (free at least for a year), which is a strong plus in my books. I’m genuinely looking forward to see how Telefonica will enhance/complete TU Me, and how it will pitch it to its subscriber base.

It could be argued that the launch of TU Me is badly timed, given that the telcos are finally seeing light at the end of their RCS tunnel – now that the initiative finally has a consumer-facing identity in Joyn. It’s however a right move, since betting on Joyn as its sole OTT response would have been riskier for Telefonica than going with a two-headed strategy that may cause resentment among its RCS partners.

The main problem with Joyn isn’t necessarily that it would be arriving terribly late. The first commercial launches are likely to take place within the next few months, and as far as I have observed the situation the head-start of the incumbent OTT players isn’t as major as many seem to think. By this I mean that they are by no means complete packages. WhatsApp focuses on messaging, Viber doesn’t do video, and Skype’s P2P technology is generally a bad fit for push notifications and multitasking. FaceTime and iMessage can’t communicate beyond Apple’s walled garden. Facebook doesn’t have enough real estate on smartphones for its own communication functions.

So I’d say there’s still enough time to introduce a service that unifies consumers’ all communication needs under one slick, user-friendly interface. The problem that I see is that when Joyn/RCS finally becomes available – even on a wide range of handsets, thanks to operators’ bullying efforts – its upgrade cycles will be far too long. It has taken a long time to develop, and I don’t have any reason why the forces behind it would be more agile when it comes to taking it further. Cloud storage, an iOS app, tablet support? Anytime soon? Keep on dreaming.

That’s the likeliest reason why Telefonica has decided to hedge its bets with TU Me, which has been released only about six months after the company set up its relatively separate innovation arm in London. It will be able to move faster, release and experiment on products in beta, and kill off unviable projects early on. That’s something what most telecoms operators, let alone a consortium of them, simply won’t be able to do.​

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