Many of us are familiar with navigation using Global Positioning System (GPS), however GPS does not work indoors. On the other hand, bluetooth technology provides an alternative means for indoor positioning and indoor navigation.
Recognising the importance and potential of bluetooth for the growth of Internet of Things applications, local start-up Viatick was founded in 2014 to develop bluetooth low energy technologies that track movement of people and assets in various settings such as logistics, retail and healthcare among others. The solutions in turn provide insights and behaviour patterns for purposes such as indoor personnel monitoring, proximity marketing, or increasing workflow efficiencies.
Samsung SDS Asia (Samsung) was seeking a partner with indoor positioning technology that they could work with to integrate the technology into their Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch for a project which required tracking of personnel inside buildings or underground.
IPI identified Viatick as a suitable technology partner for this collaboration and connected them with Samsung. Subsequently the two companies collaborated to develop a personnel tracking solution that would provide seamless updates to a centralised system on the whereabouts of the personnel via a solution running on the Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch, in both indoor and outdoor environments.
Successful trials were also held with a potential technology adopter at the end of 2017, validating the proof of concept solution. Besides providing real-time location information of the ground staff to the control station, notifications could also be sent to alert ground staff to stay clear of potential hazardous situations, earmarked by Viatick’s zoning algorithm.
“The collaboration facilitated by IPI has enabled Viatick to partner Samsung in the development of a new indoor tracking solution on their S3 wearable device. In addition, this validates the consistency and accuracy of our plug & play algorithm for indoor positioning that is scalable regardless of how harsh the deployment environment is or whether it is a smartphone, wearable, or via issued tags. This validation has helped broaden our network and exposure through the partnership,” said Louis Lee, Head of Accounts and Engagement, Viatick.
