Navizon

Last updated
Navizon, Inc
Company typeInc
Industry Telecommunications
Founded2005
Founder Cyril Houri
Headquarters
Miami, FL
,
United States
Key people
 Cyril Houri , CEO
ProductsNavizon Virtual GPS, Navizon Indoor Triangulation System, Navizon Indoors
ServicesLocation-Based Services & Positioning Technologies
Website www.navizon.com

Navizon, Inc. is a provider of location-based services and products. Navizon was an early developer of technology that makes it possible to determine the geographic position of a mobile device using as reference the location of cell phone towers and Wi-Fi-based wireless access points instead of GPS. Navizon also developed technology for locating mobile devices indoors with room and floor-level accuracy.

Contents

Navizon, initially known as Mexens Technology, was founded by a team from the Internet Protocol geolocation market. Its founder and CEO, Cyril Houri, was founder and CEO of Infosplit, a provider of IP address geolocation services started in 1999 that was acquired in 2004. [1]

Global Positioning

In 2005, Mexens Technology, as Navizon, Inc. was formerly named, introduced Navizon, a hybrid positioning system combining Global Positioning System, Wi-Fi and cellular positioning. [2] [3] [4] [5] Mobile device users obtain their position through the Navizon app, which calculates the locations of cell sites and Wi-Fi access points by analyzing the signal strength at different locations. Navizon's database of cellular tower and Wi-Fi access point locations was built by a global community of users through crowdsourcing. [6] [7] [8]

The Navizon app also provides access to features such as Buddy Finder, which allows users to find the location of other registered users, and incentives through the Navizon Rewards System, which allows users to earn rewards for contributing data through Navizon's crowdsourcing initiative. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [ excessive citations ]

Navizon's Geopositioning products and services include the Navizon app, for individuals, and wireless positioning systems for corporations. In March 2009, the Navizon Wi-Fi positioning system was licensed by Yahoo Mobile and in March 2010 Microsoft selected Navizon for Wi-Fi and Cellular positioning. [17] [18]

Locating devices indoors - Indoor positioning system

In 2011, Navizon unveiled Indoor Triangulation System (I.T.S.), a Wi-Fi positioning system for businesses that tracks Wi-Fi enabled smart phones, tablets and notebooks, and gives a view of people traffic inside a building or throughout a campus with room-and floor-level accuracy. [19] [20] [21]

In 2015, all the indoor positioning technologies were moved to Accuware, Inc, [22] [23] which later developed additional technologies using Bluetooth and Computer vision for people and assets tracking. [24] [25]

Patents

In 2006, Mexens Technology, Inc. received United States Patent No. 7,397,424 for its “System and Method for Enabling Continuous Geographic Location Estimation for Wireless Computing Devices”. [26]

In 2008, Mexens Technology, Inc. received a second patent, United States Patent No. 7,696,923 for its “System and method for determining geographic location of wireless computing devices”. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wireless network</span> Computer network not fully connected by cables

A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes. Wireless networking allows homes, telecommunications networks and business installations to avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment locations. Admin telecommunications networks are generally implemented and administered using radio communication. This implementation takes place at the physical level (layer) of the OSI model network structure.

Location-based service (LBS) is a general term denoting software services which use geographic data and information to provide services or information to users. LBS can be used in a variety of contexts, such as health, indoor object search, entertainment, work, personal life, etc. Commonly used examples of location-based services include navigation software, social networking services, location-based advertising, and tracking systems. LBS can also include mobile commerce when taking the form of coupons or advertising directed at customers based on their current location. LBS also includes personalized weather services and even location-based games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wi-Fi</span> Wireless local area network

Wi-Fi is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves. These are the most widely used computer networks, used globally in home and small office networks to link devices and to provide Internet access with wireless routers and wireless access points in public places such as coffee shops, hotels, libraries, and airports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wardriving</span> Search for wireless networks with mobile computing equipment

Wardriving is the act of searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks as well as cell towers, usually from a moving vehicle, using a laptop or smartphone. Software for wardriving is freely available on the internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile computing</span> Human–computer interaction in which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage

Mobile computing is human–computer interaction in which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage and allow for transmission of data, which can include voice and video transmissions. Mobile computing involves mobile communication, mobile hardware, and mobile software. Communication issues include ad hoc networks and infrastructure networks as well as communication properties, protocols, data formats, and concrete technologies. Hardware includes mobile devices or device components. Mobile software deals with the characteristics and requirements of mobile applications.

In computing, Internet geolocation is software capable of deducing the geographic position of a device connected to the Internet. For example, the device's IP address can be used to determine the country, city, or ZIP code, determining its geographical location. Other methods include examination of Wi-Fi hotspots, a MAC address, image metadata, or credit card information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile phone tracking</span> Identifying the location of a mobile phone

Mobile phone tracking is a process for identifying the location of a mobile phone, whether stationary or moving. Localization may be affected by a number of technologies, such as the multilateration of radio signals between (several) cell towers of the network and the phone or by simply using GNSS. To locate a mobile phone using multilateration of mobile radio signals, the phone must emit at least the idle signal to contact nearby antenna towers and does not require an active call. The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is based on the phone's signal strength to nearby antenna masts.

Proximity marketing is the localized wireless distribution of advertising content associated with a particular place. Transmissions can be received by individuals in that location who wish to receive them and have the necessary equipment to do so.

Cyril Lionel Houri is a New York-based entrepreneur who has founded two geolocation technology companies: InfoSplit, Inc. and Mexens Technology Inc.. Houri is recognized as one of the inventors of IP address geolocation, and has contributed in the advance of WiFi and cellular positioning technologies. For his expertise, he testified as an expert witness on location-based technology in LICRA vs. Yahoo!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indoor positioning system</span> Network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects inside a building

An indoor positioning system (IPS) is a network of devices used to locate people or objects where GPS and other satellite technologies lack precision or fail entirely, such as inside multistory buildings, airports, alleys, parking garages, and underground locations.

Wi-Fi positioning system is a geolocation system that uses the characteristics of nearby Wi‑Fi access points to discover where a device is located.

Real-time geotagging refers to the automatic technique of acquiring media, associating a specific location with the media, transferring the media to an online map and publishing the media in real time. It is thus an extension of an automatic geotagging process, requiring an in-built or attached location acquisition device, but also requires communication with a wireless data transfer device. Most modern smartphones and several digital cameras already integrate camera, aGPS, and wireless data transfer into one device, thus directly producing a geotagged photograph. Real-time geotagging is sometimes referred to as "mobile geotagging" or "autogeotagging", but this does not imply the real-time publishing step.

Real-time locating systems (RTLS), also known as real-time tracking systems, are used to automatically identify and track the location of objects or people in real time, usually within a building or other contained area. Wireless RTLS tags are attached to objects or worn by people, and in most RTLS, fixed reference points receive wireless signals from tags to determine their location. Examples of real-time locating systems include tracking automobiles through an assembly line, locating pallets of merchandise in a warehouse, or finding medical equipment in a hospital.

The W3C Geolocation API is an effort by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to standardize an interface to retrieve the geographical location information for a client-side device. It defines a set of objects, ECMAScript standard compliant, that executing in the client application give the client's device location through the consulting of Location Information Servers, which are transparent for the application programming interface (API). The most common sources of location information are IP address, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth MAC address, radio-frequency identification (RFID), Wi-Fi connection location, or device Global Positioning System (GPS) and GSM/CDMA cell IDs. The location is returned with a given accuracy depending on the best location information source available.

A GSM Cell ID (CID) is a generally unique number used to identify each base transceiver station (BTS) or sector of a BTS within a location area code (LAC) if not within a GSM network.

Device tracking software is software installed in an electronic device that is capable of reporting the device's location remotely. Depending upon the software and the device on which it is installed, the software may obtain the location of the device by means of GPS, WiFi-location, IP address, or accelerometer logs, and it may report the address by means of e-mail, SMS, or other means.

A list of BlackBerry-related topics

Mozilla Location Service (MLS) was an open geolocation service that allowed devices to find their position by processing received signals of publicly observable radio transmitters: cellular network antennae, Wi-Fi access points, and Bluetooth beacons. The service was provided by Mozilla from 2013 to 2024. The service used Mozilla's open source software project called Ichnaea.

sensewhere Ltd. is a privately held software company based in Edinburgh, Scotland, that develops patented indoor positioning technology for retailers, advertisers and app publishers. The company delivers location information indoors or in tight urban areas where there is no or inaccurate GPS signal using automatic crowdsourcing on mobile phones[2]. It was founded as a spun-out company of the University of Edinburgh in 2010.

Bluetooth beacons are hardware transmitters — a class of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) devices that broadcast their identifier to nearby portable electronic devices. The technology enables smartphones, tablets and other devices to perform actions when in close proximity to a beacon.

References

  1. ↑ Peters, Kurt (2004-04-01). "Quova Acquires Competitor Infosplit". Digital Commerce 360. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  2. ↑ Ryan Block (August 10, 2005). "Navizon's P2P positioning system". Engadget. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  3. ↑ Peter Cohen (July 10, 2007). "Navizon offers GPS without satellites". TechWorld. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  4. ↑ July 12, 2007. "Navizon for Windows Mobile". CNET. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  5. ↑ Ben Wilson (February 8, 2008). "Navizon for iPhone gets live location tracking" Archived 2013-01-11 at the Wayback Machine . CNET. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  6. ↑ Mike Hudson (August 8, 2009). "Make money using your car and your phone!" Archived 2016-03-10 at the Wayback Machine . MikeSel.info. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  7. ↑ "Wi-Fi Geolocation - the Navizon Crowd-Sourcing Approach is a Proven Success". Indoor LBS. (May 14, 2010). Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  8. ↑ Zaib Kaleem (September 18, 2010). "Incentivised Warcrowding and Navizon WiFi Data Collection" Archived 2011-10-25 at the Wayback Machine . Wlan book. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  9. ↑ Chris (January 3, 2009)."Find your phone with Navizon's Mobfindr" Archived 2012-06-02 at the Wayback Machine . WPcentral. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  10. ↑ Ben Wilson (February 8, 2008). "Navizon for iPhone gets live location tracking" Archived 2013-01-11 at the Wayback Machine . CNET. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  11. ↑ December 22, 2008. "got an iPhone 3G? now you can paid to be a war driver (find access points + cell towers) w/Navizon". Priuschat.com. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  12. ↑ Chris Davies (June 17, 2011)."Navizon crowd-sourced Android mapping app pays you to use it (Video)". Android Community Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  13. ↑ Paul (January 3, 2008). " Cell + WiFi positioning from Navizon, plus make money on the move!" Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine . Windows at MoDaCo. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  14. ↑ Anamika Singh (January 29, 2010). "IPhone -Navizon Inc. Announces 50 Percent Increase in Rewards Program Payout". TMCnet.com. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  15. ↑ "Earn money with your phone through wifi and phone cell towers UK included". XDAdevelopers. (May 14, 2010). Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  16. ↑ Kevin C. Tofel (December 9, 2008). "Navizon pays users to help build location database". GigaOm. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  17. ↑ Justin (March 11, 2009). "Yahoo Mobile grabs Navizon for Wi-Fi positioning" Archived 2015-02-15 at the Wayback Machine . GPSobsessed. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  18. ↑ Leena Rao (March 2, 2010). "Microsoft Taps Navizon To Power Mobile Geolocation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  19. ↑ Davey Alba (October 27, 2011)."Navizon’s New Location Technology Lets You Find Your Friends Indoors". LAPTOP. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  20. ↑ Katherine Vong (October 30, 2011). "Friend-Finding Apps". TrendHunter. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  21. ↑ Nathesh (November 2, 2011)."Navizon Debuts New Indoor Triangulation System" Archived 2012-08-22 at the Wayback Machine . TMCnet. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  22. ↑ "Navizon Spins off Indoor Location Business as Accuware". Business Wire. August 17, 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  23. ↑ Idre, Andreas; Lindesten, Elin (2018). En förenklad beslutsmodell av Real Time Locating System inom verkstadsindustrin [A simplified decision model of Real-Time Locating System in the manufacturing industry.](PDF) (in Swedish). p. 73.
  24. ↑ Bluetooth Beacon Tracker - Asset and Person tracking using small Bluetooth beacons. 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2024-09-11– via YouTube.
  25. ↑ Accuware Sentinel - People Video Search Feature. 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2024-09-11– via YouTube.
  26. ↑ (July 8, 2008). "System and method for enabling continuous geographic location estimation for wireless computing devices" Archived 2021-02-28 at the Wayback Machine . United States Patent number 7,397,424. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  27. ↑ (April 13, 2010). "System and method for determining geographic location of wireless computing devices" Archived 2021-02-24 at the Wayback Machine . United States Patent number 7,696,923. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
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