Today, any mobile app that you use on your mobile device leverages device location to offer more contextual services. From getting directions to finding a local business or nearby services, location based services using device GPS capabilities work well outdoors. With a few exceptions, it has not been possible to replicate this experience indoors. The challenge has been the need for more robust data sets and a platform that can process this data, overlay with contextual information and apply deep learning. This is now possible with tight integration of Cambium Networks’ infrastructure in collaboration with Kloudspot’s situational awareness platform.
Here are some of the key vertical use cases that the joint solution delivers:
- Asset Tracking: Track high-value assets in a healthcare environment to improve patient care and minimize spend to account for lost or otherwise missing devices.
- Tracking People Movement: Understand how people utilize the venue and provide location-specific services, such as wayfinding and contextual engagement to deliver an improved shopping experience and new monetization opportunities for the venue.
- Staff and Campus Safety: Keep students, faculty, staff and employees safe in the event of an emergency, whether it’s education, hospitality, healthcare or industrial environments.
- COVID-19 Realities: Social distancing, contact tracing and wearing masks are realities that organizations have to deal with as they re-open. Wi-Fi-based location services can help organizations implement appropriate policies to protect their employees. Analytics that reveal office space utilization can help plan for changes in real estate needs.
Challenges in Deploying Wi-Fi-Based Location Services
- We are all used to the blue dot on a map application that indicates our current location. However, in an outdoor use case, that blue dot likely maps to a location that is within a 100-foot radius or more. However, when you look at indoor locations, that dot needs to be located with significantly higher precision.
- The business problems solved by indoor location services are vast, and people immediately see the benefits of the use case. For example, people will ask about the accuracy of the blue dot and whether it can be precise to within a few feet. A better way to approach this issue is to look at the use case and see what level of accuracy is acceptable.
Considerations for Implementing Location Services
- Define the use case(s) and the requirements to be met for the use case.
- Ensure the Wi-Fi network is designed to deliver the location use case requirements.
- Start small and then expand both in terms deployment scale and new use cases.
Cambium Networks and Kloudspot
Cambium Networks’ cloud-managed Wi-Fi and switching provides a platform to deliver a rich set of mobility services. Kloudspot’s solution is tightly integrated with the cnMaestro™ and XMS-Cloud platforms. Kloudspot offers an AI-driven Situational Awareness platform that takes input from a variety of sources to deliver situational context to address key vertical use cases.
Examples of K-12 Outcomes Delivered by Cambium and Kloudspot
Regardless of the industry vertical and the size of the organization, the Wi-Fi network has become a mission-critical asset and a platform for delivering organizational digital outcomes. Together, Cambium Networks and Kloudspot deliver a transformational set of capabilities to meet your organizational use case around location based services.