"Geofencing creates the opportunities for new
business models, allowing the use of mobile tools and services to not
only interact with loyal customers but also reach potentially new
customers when they come into a geographic proximity," explained Susan
Vander May, a spokesperson for Broadcom's Mobile and Wireless Group. "So
it does open the doors to some interesting new applications."
Turn-by-turn directions have
become a common technological enhancement to the automotive world thanks
to a set of satellites dedicated to the task.
To date, these radio positioning signals have been supplied to
consumers primarily by the U.S. military through a satellite
constellation called "GPS," or Global Positioning System. Essentially,
receivers on the ground -- or in cars -- interpret the signals and tell
you roughly where you are.
Europe's Galileo global satellite navigation system is expected to open up a variety of business opportunities.
Big changes are in the air, however, as a result of new, more
accurate systems on the way. One example: geofencing, a highly targeted
form of tight, perimeter-based locating.
Meet Galileo
A form of geofencing using the U.S. GPS is already used to monitor
stolen vehicles, trucks and delivery drivers, among other things.
GPS isn't particularly accurate, though. With more accuracy,
geofencing could be used to create a zone around a store or school, for
example -- or even a particular vending machine, in the world of
commercial applications.
One of the new systems offering fresh potential in this area is
Europe's upcoming Global Satellite Navigation System, or GNSS, known as
Galileo.
arly Success
Galileo is similar to the United States' GPS -- the makers of which,
incidentally, are also promising to bring a more accurate system to
market down the road -- and the Russian GLONASS constellations as well.
Galileo is scheduled to reach full 30-satellite capacity by the end
of this decade, assuming the development money doesn't run out before
then.
The good news is that tests completed in March with the four
currently orbiting Galileo satellites succeeded in determining a ground
location. So, the system does appear to work -- good thing, too, since
some estimates place Galileo's costs at 5.4 billion euros (roughly
US$7.23 billion) by the time it's finished.
'Global Applications'
Where Galileo gets particularly interesting for us in the e-commerce
world is that, buried deep in the European Space Agency's promotional
descriptions are some telling statements. For example, Galileo will
offer a commercial service that will "allow global high-end and
innovative applications" with accuracy down to a few centimeters.
For comparison, GPS maker Garmin says its latest GPS receivers are accurate to within 3 to 5 meters.
Second, despite being a government project, Galileo will be under
civilian control -- not government control the way GPS is. It will be
fully open to commercial applications.
Then, too, there's the authentication feature Galileo will include -- an accurately timed, trusted location factor.
The Galileo Commercial Service demonstrator will begin its proof of
concept in 2014, with early service reckoned to start in 2016.
Sensitive Transactions Become Possible
Why do we care about all this? Simple: because of Geofencing.
Geofencing is currently used in mobile e-commerce to deliver ads and
promotions based on a geographical region of interest. The GPS is used
to define proximity so that an advertiser can know when you're in the
area.
Now add Galileo's authentication to this mix, plus the microlocations
obtainable with Galileo, and you're in a different ballpark -- almost
literally. Sensitive transactions become possible, along with tracking
to the millimeter -- when you enter a building, go to the zoo or choose a
concert seat. Turnstiles and the cost involved become redundant, for
example.
Current location-based access control and payments solutions that use
a GPS signal are authenticated through proprietary algorithms, GNSS
expert Monica Pesce, who is associate partner at
Valdani Vicari & Associati, told the E-Commerce Times.
Improved Security
By virtue of its ability to enable transaction security and access
control improvements, in fact, Galileo's authentication feature will
ultimately be perceived by industries such as banking to be a source of
added value, Pesce predicts.
"For example, GNSS-based positioning and accurate timing could be
integrated in the encryption algorithms to improve the security of the
payment process," she explained.
Location-based billing using existing GPS is already in use in
limited areas including toll-road billing, and it's being considered for
parking as well. However, one of the big problems has been the
availability of equipment that's small enough and power-friendly enough
to be practical.
The technology on the ground -- the device in your pocket, in other
words -- is a limiting factor. If you've ever tried to use your
smartphone's GPS chip for more than a few hours, you'll know it kills
the battery, even with the latest phones. Current vehicle geofencing
trackers, meanwhile, are large, permanently mounted boxes.
New chips will provide portability.
'This Previously Wasn't Possible'
Broadcom, for example, recently introduced a battery-saving GNSS smartphone location chip with Geofence capabilities.
The company's BCM47521 chip lets an application receive an alert when
a user enters or exits a virtual perimeter, and uses the current GPS,
GLONASS, QZSS and SBAS constellations -- all at the same time.
"What is unique about Broadcom's technology is that it's able to
monitor the user's location as a background task, consuming less power,"
Susan Vander May, a spokesperson for
Broadcom's Mobile and Wireless Group
told the E-Commerce Times.
"This previously wasn't possible, as the process of continually
monitoring for a geofence would rapidly drain a mobile device's
battery," she added.
Near Field Communications radio standards can be used for the secure
payment element, Vander May explained, and the more widespread adoption
of NFC for mobile payments will also generally help drive adoption of
location-based payments.
"Geofencing creates the opportunities for new business models,
allowing the use of mobile tools and services to not only interact with
loyal customers but also reach potentially new customers when they come
into a geographic proximity," she explained. "So it does open the doors
to some interesting new applications."
'Security and Privacy Will Be Crucial'
Qualcomm's networking and connectivity subsidiary Qualcomm Atheros is
also working on positioning. Its IZat location platform is geared
towards precise indoor positioning for public places and provides 3- to
5-meter positioning inside.
GNSS will help enable location-based payments, but it's not
everything, Leslie Presutti, senior director of product management at
Qualcomm Atheros, told the E-Commerce Times.
"There will certainly be other augmentation technologies that will
help to increase the propagation of this in the market," Presutti
explained. "Security and privacy will also be crucial to acceptance."
Indeed, "today, the tested 'indoor' services need to rely on antennas
installed outside the target buildings to reproduce the GNSS signal,"
Pesce noted. "This requirement causes additional costs, challenging the
economic viability of GNSS-based positioning as a means to reinforce the
security of access and transactions."
Add in the vast amounts of data gained by tracking user movements
down to the centimeter, and you've got a whole other can of worms.
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