Location, Location, Location (Technologies)

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Location technology remains the hot topic in the world of #EventTech. Our posts on ibeacons and geo-fencing are still two of our most read. It’s time to give our readers something new: A location based company that harnesses the power of the Earth’s magnetic field. Meet IndoorAtlas. Woah.

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via http://img.xataka.com/2012/07/2012_07_10_IndoorAtlas.jpg

IndoorAtlas’ location technology was inspired, in part, by evidence that animals are able to use the Earth’s magnetic field for orientation detection and true navigation (Boles et al. 2003, Wlitschko et al. 1972, Maugh et al. 1982, Mouritsen et al. 2004, Mora et al. 2004). Some animals, like the spiny lobster, can sense the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field and sense their location relative to their desired destination. Animals with these abilities learn their positional information by detecting anomalies of the Earth’s magnetic field that are local to them.

Crazy, right?!

If you have a floor plan image, IndoorAtlas can take that and superimpose it over the satellite image of a building. Next, someone must trace the aisles of the floor plan on foot while the software records the “magnetic anomalies” and uploads them to the cloud. This allows IndoorAtlas to create a unique and intelligent floor plan that can track its users.

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via http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/07/indooratlas-geomagnetic-location.jpg

For a more detailed explanation of their technology, check out their White Paper. The app is currently free for guests and app developers. CloudAtlas asks the venue to pay a monthly fee of $199 per 100,000 square feet of mapped space. This technology becomes particularly interesting when combined with ibeacons. To put it simply, magnetic anomalies allow hosts to accurately trace the steps each of their attendees and ibeacons let them deliver specific content based on their location. The future is now.

Hey #EventProfs, how would you use this technology to improve an event you’re planning? Get creative and comment on this post or tweet @squadup.

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