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TCS acquires Loctronix

Indoor location technology start-up Loctronix has just announced that it is being acquired by TeleCommunication Systems (TCS).

 

Seattle-based Loctronix has developed a wide range of highly technical methods for location positioning. Their algorithms improve both motion sensing and radio-based location measurement. The company had previously been working to have its technology implemented in chips or device hardware, because of the level at which their algorithms operate, but this appears to be pivoting in light of their acquisition by TCS.

A partial list of their innovative technologies include:

  • DAIN: Doppler Aided Inertial Navigation, including sensor fusion motion sensing and step estimator
  • SCP: Spectral Compression Positioning
  • RSS: Radio Signal Strength Profiler
  • MEP: Mobile Explorer Platform

TCS is quietly a true leader in mobile location systems, with systems deployed on both feature phones and smartphones worldwide, primarily in conjunction with carriers, but most often white labeled under other brand names. For this reason, people outside of the industry often have not heard of TCS's name, even if they have used TCS systems.

Most of TCS's location technologies to date have relied on well-known algorithms running on cellular networks. Acquiring Loctronix will give them a boost in hard-core technologies for both their traditional areas of radio-based positioning and also motion sensing.

TCS is a big player in the growing area of E911, determining the location of mobile callers to emergency numbers. While this is less "sexy" an area than routing store customers to the products they want to buy, it's a critical piece of the evolving mobile infrastructure, and one that has significant resources behind it. E911 is also mandated by governments worldwide, so it's a market that's sure to grow.

Grizzly Analytics wishes good luck to Loctronix in their new corporate home, and also to Loctronix in absorbing and deploying the advanced technologies they're acquiring.

TCS's acquisition of Loctronix is the latest of several acquisitions of indoor location companies in 2015. ByteLight was acquired by Acuity, HP acquired Aruba reportedly with an eye on their indoor location technology, and ShopKick was acquired by SK Telecom at the end of 2014. The area is heating up and coming to the fore of mobile innovation!

 See here for more on Grizzly Analytics coverage of over 150 indoor location companies.






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