MWC 2015: GPS indoor First Ever App to Allow Shoppers to Find Location Inside Buildings

GPSindoor™, First Ever App to Allow Shoppers to Find Location Inside Buildings Just Like GPS Does Outdoors; Crowdsourcing Feature Helps Find Promotions, Products And Enhances Shopper Experience

Company on Ambitious Path to Use Crowdsourcing to Map Every Building in the World; App All Set to Disrupt Retail and Advertising; Overtaking Suboptimal Wi-Fi and Hyped Beacons

IndoorAtlas, the global leader in indoor magnetic positioning and Sanginfo today announced the launch of GPSindoor™, the first ever consumer app of its kind that uses only the smartphone to pinpoint the exact location of a shopper inside a mall, also commonly referred to as "indoor position" and enable real-time indoor wayfinding. Like GPS, which works only outdoors and stops working once inside a building, the app shows a moving blue dot map-based solution to guide the shopper to the desired product or store or other point of interests (POIs) like food courts creating a shopping experience like never before.

Also for the first time, shoppers can experience Product Proximity Advertising on their smartphones. In other words, shoppers can see where they are relative to the product and be flashed the right promotion for it while they are in the aisle. All this while protecting consumer privacy with a clear opt-in model.

The app is immediately available.
https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/gpsindoor/id958161572?mt=8

Many Industry Firsts

The application enjoys several firsts in the crowded space including crowdsourcing functionality to leverage user-generated data to build indoor maps, wayfinding and providing desired promotions to shoppers. Example, while shopping for a Gucci bag inside a Saks Fifth Avenue like store, the shopper could not only get a promotion code but be guided all the way to the shelf where the bag is on display. Unlike static maps offered by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Beacons, since GPSindoor™ relies on a community of shoppers to both populate the maps and provide wayfinding it allows for higher accuracy than static maps.

GPSindoor™ is the first company leading a global effort to map every building in the world, taking on the biggest map making companies in the world. Shoppers can collect maps and manually update the map itself via the web at www.indooratlas.com. Over 10,000 enthusiasts have so far uploaded indoor maps around the world today. GPSindoor™ began alpha testing in San Francisco in 2014 and is in the process of growing its number of indoor maps and community of shoppers.

GPSindoor™ is uniquely powered by the parent company, IndoorAtlas's patented technology and needs only a smartphone to work. It utilizes the built-in compass in smartphones to detect anomalies in the earth's magnetic field to help users reliably navigate through indoor spaces without any additional infrastructure making it a more effective solution in comparison to more expensive solutions like Bluetooth Beacons and Wi-Fi.

The company is partnering with Sanginfo, www.sanginfo.com/lbs to launch the app worldwide.

"As more and more shoppers use the app, the maps and promotional information will become more robust and accurate over time," said Wibe Wagemans, President, IndoorAtlas. "We are leveraging the power of people to make for a better shopping experience to find stuff. I see every mall, airport, train station, casino, hotel, conference center connected, mapped through this."

"I foresee a small revolution in couponing and physical retail, and am excited with the prospect of empowering millions of consumers in their everyday retail indoor experiences," says Ketan Sanghvi, CEO, Sanginfo whose platform powers the interactive maps, wayfinding and proximity engine of GPSindoor™ . "Brands and advertisers now have the unprecedented capability of engaging directly with shoppers." 

GPSindoor™ at-a-Glance (Box)

·         While indoors, shoppers see where they are with a moving blue dot, just like with GPS outdoors

·         Shoppers can locate products, stores, promotions, and POIs (points of interest)

·         Way finding feature helps shoppers find their way to products, stores, promotions, and POIs or public utilities

·         Shoppers can use a digital shopping list and routing for a faster, improved shopping experience

·         Opt-in Product Proximity Advertising allows better dialogue and engagement between brands, advertisers and shoppers

·         Crowdsourcing of promotions -- the best promotions get to shoppers

·         Scalability, no infrastructure required, only the ubiquitous smartphone

·         Highest accuracy of 1-2 meters of product allowing better ROI than all other solutions

·         Works on Android and iOS unlike Wi-Fi positioning and works in places where there is no Wi-Fi

·         Environmentally conscious options as no batteries or beacons or routers; uses the earth's natural magnetic field

·         Brings power of crowdsourcing to retail, for the first time shoppers can add buildings, promotions, and POIs

GPSindoor™ will soon announce availability of the application on additional mobile platforms. A pilot demo is already operational in Westfield San Francisco Centre.

About GPSindoor™

GPSindoor™ is a free shopping and wayfinding app, home to a community of shoppers who come together to find promotions, products and wayfind in malls and other indoor spaces. The motto is walk less and shop more. The application is the first ever free provider of crowd sourced shopper-generated maps and real-time indoor wayfinding information in the world. It is downloadable on iTunes App Store. Unlike static maps with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, GPSindoor™ relies on dynamic information provided by shoppers. As more and more iPhone users download and crowd-populate the app, the maps and promotional information will become more robust and accurate over time. The parent company, IndoorAtlas continues to lead in the indoor positioning space.

About Sanginfo

Sanginfo has developed a unique cloud based customer engagement and delivery platform for interactive and searchable indoor maps, geopositioning, wayfinding and proximity based marketing on Mobile. With operations in Singapore and India, Sanginfo has a solid track record in building and delivering rich consumer application. For more information, visitwww.sanginfo.com/lbs

About IndoorAtlas
IndoorAtlas was founded in 2012 by Professor Janne Haverinen and four PhDs in computer science, as a spin-off from research conducted at the University of Oulu. The patented technology utilizes built-in magnetometers in smartphones to detect anomalies in the geomagnetic field to help users reliably navigate through indoor spaces without any additional infrastructure. IndoorAtlas is headquartered in Mountain View, CA and Oulu, Finland. For more information, visit www.indooratlas.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Monika Raj
Strategic Advisor, Global Marketing and Communications
IndoorAtlas