Indoor Location Software is a technology that facilitates the navigation and tracking of objects and people in a building with the help of sensory information captured by mobile devices. The indoor location market comprises hardware and software that are integrated and deployed to perform the functions at various indoor locations. Technologies such as Radio Frequency (RF)-based (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)), sensors and tags, satellite/remote sensing, and microwave help in providing visual, real-time information of the objects and people present on-premises in the form of data and figures for the indoor location applications.

Increasing adoption of connected devices and growing demand for the indoor location technology to enhance the lean automation and robotics processes are boosting the growth of the market across the globe.

The indoor location market is segmented on the basis of components (technology, software tools, and services), deployment modes, applications, verticals, and regions. Among the technologies, the sensor and tag-based technology is a high-growth segment in the market. To monitor natural phenomena, such as heat, pressure, humidity, and air pollution, in a certain indoor space, multiple sensors are integrated with connected devices. Tags are also used to monitor products and assets in the retail and manufacturing verticals respectively. Adoption of the sensor and tag-based technology is increasing, due to the easy adoption of technology.

Among the software tools, the location analytics segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Location analytics is a business intelligence process, used to generate insights from location-based and geographic business data. The generated insights are useful for marketers to plan business strategies and marketing campaigns.

Among the services, the managed services segment of the indoor location market is expected to have the larger market size than the professional services segment. Managed services include consulting, integration, and maintenance. These services are basically provided to other service providers, such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), who do not have the resources to constantly upgrade or maintain faster computer networks. Consulting services determine and assist in designing the architecture for supporting the currently installed systems and software.

Among the deployment modes, the cloud segment is expected to have the larger market size than the on-premises segment. Cloud-based indoor location solution providers are developing robust cloud-based solutions for their users. Additionally, organizations are migrating to either a private or a public cloud. Moreover, the cloud deployment mode provides flexibility for business operations and can also be integrated with predictive analytics for real-time business insights.

Among the applications, the sales and marketing optimization application is expected to have the largest market share during the forecast period. The indoor location technology, when integrated with social media, helps find patterns in customer engagement. Interactive maps, visual analytics, and powerful intuitive dashboards help simplify the complexities of network data and support integrations across various departments and organizations on a global scale. Organizations can enhance their insights into tabular data by adding geographic locations to business data and mapping them.

Among the verticals, the transportation vertical is projected to have the highest CAGR in the indoor location market during the forecast period. The transportation vertical includes spaces such as airports, railway stations, bus stations, and subways, which can often be confusing for travelers in terms of navigation. Sometimes, train stations and airports are spread over large areas with many entry and exit points. It is difficult for the indoor location technology to map all the global transport locations, due to the presence of varied architecture.

Among the regions, North America is expected to have the largest market share in the indoor location market during the forecast period, owing to the early adoption of technology and the presence of a large number of indoor location providers and users. The region represents one of the well-defined and controlled economies in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), technology infrastructure, and technological advancements. Enterprises in the United States (US) and Canada have willingly adopted the indoor location technology to engage with their customers. The growing number of social media users is expected to drive the growth of the market in the APAC region.

Innovative technological developments are benefiting all stakeholders in the indoor location market. However, the limited accuracy of the indoor location technology, and the lack of awareness and reluctance to use indoor location may act as challenges to the growth of the indoor location market.

The major vendors in the indoor location market are Apple (US), Broadcom (US), Cisco Systems (US), Ericsson (Sweden), GeoMoby (Australia), Google (US), Micello (US), Microsoft (US), Qualcomm (US), Senion (Sweden), STMicroelectronics (Switzerland), and Zebra Technologies (US).

VISIONARY LEADERS

Vendors who fall into this category receive high scores for most of the evaluation criteria. They have a strong and established product portfolio and a very strong market presence. They provide mature and reputable indoor location solutions. They also have strong business strategies. Apple, Google, Zebra, Qualcomm are the vendors who fall into the visionary leaders’ category.

DYNAMIC DIFFERENTIATORS

They are established vendors with very strong business strategies. However, they are low in their product portfolios. They focus on specific type of technology related to the product. Ericsson, Cisco, and Microsoft are the vendors who fall into the dynamic differentiators’ category.

INNOVATORS

Innovators in the MicroQuadrant are vendors that have demonstrated substantial product innovations as compared to their competitors. They have a much-focused product portfolio. However, they do not have a very strong growth strategy for their overall business. Micello, STMicroelectronics, and Insiteo are the vendors who fall into the innovator's category.

EMERGING COMPANIES

They are vendors with niche product offerings and are starting to gain their position in the market. They do not have much strong business strategies, as compared to other established vendors. They might be new entrants in the market and require some more time to get significant traction in the market. GeoMoby, ComTech, Sensewhere, WRLD, and Indoo.rs are the vendors who fall into the emerging companies’ category.

indoor location market (Global)competitive leadership mapping, 2017

Source: Press Releases, Expert Interviews, and MarketsandMarkets Analysis

The technologies used in the indoor location market are divided into RF-based (Wi-Fi/BLE), sensor and tag-based, and others, which includes satellite/remote sensing and microwave. All indoor location technologies facilitate owners to access visual real-time information of the people present on-premises in the form of data and figures. In the coming years, the use of sensor and tag-based indoor location technologies is expected to increase as sensor and tag-based indoor location technology is used for asset management in the manufacturing industry. In addition, it is used to locate and track parcels in warehouses.

RF-BASED

RF-based technology includes Wi-Fi/WLAN, beacons, Bluetooth/BLE, AGPS, and UWB. This wireless electromagnetic signal is used for communication. It provides accurate localization without requiring the estimation of accurate channel parameters or any pre-configured network. These electromagnetic signals track devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops that receive signals to enable location-aware business solutions and boost location accuracy for consumer applications.

As it is more convenient to create a Wi-Fi environment inside a building, hence, it is a more preferred technology for creating indoor navigation. Wi-Fi has the advantage of being able to provide a data channel as well as a location methodology.

It uses two methods for location identification—triangulation and fingerprinting. Triangulation measures the signal strength from three or more Wi-Fi hotspots to triangulate the position of an object in indoor premises. In the fingerprinting method, a few seconds of turning on the Wi-Fi on a smartphone is enough to get a fingerprint of its location and associate it with a check-in location. The Wi-Fi fingerprint is then compared to a known database of fingerprints/location pairs to identify the user’s present location. The various benefits of using Wi-Fi technology for indoor location tracking include the fact that it works without GPS, covers an area of up to 150 meters, and also helps to detect the floor level.

Other radio-based technologies such as Bluetooth, UWB, and AGPS are part of radio waves that have different abilities to transmit and receive signals. A UWB radio signal enables the broadcast of information stretched over a large bandwidth (>500 MHz), which can be mutually used among numerous users. Although it can transmit extremely large amounts of data, the system emits a minimal amount of energy.

SENSOR AND TAG-BASED

The sensor technology uses Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), whereas the tag-based technology includes Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, Quick Response (QR) code, and Near Field Communication (NFC) tags. The MEMS sensor technology is embedded in mobile handsets and it is capable of capturing and integrating data for providing indoor location solutions. Sensors are used to estimate the direction and distance traveled to provide pedestrian navigation. To monitor some phenomena such as heat, pressure, humidity, and air pollution over a certain indoor space, multiple sensor nodes are organized as a Wireless Sensor Network. Some sensors used in the indoor location technology are altimeters, gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, or barometers. These sensors are used in a dead reckoning mode to provide pedestrian navigation.

There are three tag-based solutions—QR code, NFC tags, and RFID tags. RFID tag is the use of small wireless devices or tags to identify objects and people. Originally used to track cattle, RFID tags are now used for tracking objects such as manufactured consumer products, vehicles, airline passengers, Alzheimer's patients, and pets. RFID is also called Dedicated Short-Range Communication.

SOFTWARE TOOLS - VISUALIZATION

Visualization tools enable organizations to exploit all dimensions of data, harness the power of the geospatial dimension, and better understand interactions and results in dashboards and reports. It leads to better understanding of key business metrics and turns location data and analytics into valuable knowledge for organizations. Organizations can slice and dice data in a variety of ways in dashboards and reports, including maps, to discover geographic correlations.

LOCATION ANALYTICS

Location analytics is a Business Intelligence (BI) process to generate insights from location-based or geographic business data. Location analytics, with the help of traditional metrics, unlocks the power of data by converting raw data as per the specific location into valuable insights through a more visual approach.

According to marketers, most structured as well as unstructured business data is spatially significant. Location analytics is expected to be key to each hidden or unidentified pattern in businesses. Vendors are trying to make things simple so that organizations can access, share, and analyze the location-based data coming from various data sources even from any remote location. Location analytics solutions can analyze data collected from indoor locations such as retail stores, stadiums, airports, and other locations.

CONTEXT ACCELERATOR

Context accelerator is a platform that combines rich location data with a layer of context to allow verticals to deliver personalized, relevant content and dynamic experience to mobile users. This solution allows organizations to recognize their customers’ location-based needs while respecting their privacy. It transforms location from a simple latitude and longitude to an essential actionable data of context.

Indoor Location Software

Comparing 26 vendors in Indoor Location Software across 88 criteria.
All vendors(26)
Google's Indoor Location Software Google Maps can be used through Google Maps APIs in mobile applications or through the website. Currently, the resources focus on high-density locations such as airports, transit stations, malls, and stadiums. It provides users with floor plan labels that help them in easily locating various stores within shopping malls, departments within retail stores, gates within airports, as well as ATMs and restrooms.
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4.2
Apple’s indoor mapping service is available in most of the major cities around the world, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Spain and Australia. For indoor mapping, the company has partnered with Mappedin which is an provides mapping solutions to the property owners and operators. The accuracy of these indoor maps is 3-5 meters. The solution's "look inside" feature helps in arriving at the desired indoor locations. Apple's "place card" features helps the users to add information about a particular indoor facility. Apple’s indoor positioning technology works well on  the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure and does not require any additional hardware deployment. It provides GPS-level accuracy in indoor spaces by leveraging the radio frequency (RF) patterns of the user's Wi-Fi access points. 
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Zebra's RFID and RTLS technologies provide real time location, and speed of the events occurring throughout a businesses' operations. Zebra also provides a digital view of the businesses' physical operations. Businesses can have greater efficiency with Zebra's Visible Value Chain solution for yard management. It allows businesses to synchronize their yard operations with actionable and optional real-time intelligence. Zebra, also helps companies to forecast with accuracy to ensure a consistent material flow to the distribution centres keeping the costs down. The company also provides real-time data necessary to track and manage materials throughout the operation.
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Qualcomm indoor Location Software are IZat and Lumicast to the indoor location market. IZat is a GNSS location engine, which assists the navigation inside a building. IZat offers cloud-based location assistance as well. It comes with features, such as finding friends, finding location, and finding a destination. Qualcomm's Lumicast enables customers with efficient, personal, and illuminated indoor positioning. Lumicast detects customers smartphones using Visible Light Communication (VLC) signals. It locates objects with centimeter-level accuracy.
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Shopkick complies with Apple’s iBeacon protocol, identifies shoppers faster and more reliably than the competition. The platform is iOS and Android compatible which helps businesses in reacing the largest number of shoppers. Shopkick Beacons have the the longest-lasting, 5-year battery in the industry. It also allows users to adjust the proximity ranges for their beacons remotely. ShopBeacons only need a minimal investment and they can be installed by sticking the device on a wall or other flat surface. 
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Broadcom is one of the fortune 500 companies and one of the global leaders in wired and wireless communication. Offering several services and multimedia connectivity in various environments, they have introduced an indoor location software. It operates on the 5G platform with an SoC to deliver an accurate indoor location. A sub-meter accuracy for enterprises to provide a magnified and immersive experience to the customers while conserving resources and improving speed.
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3.1
Insiteo Indoor Location Software helps organizations with:
Mobile SDK:
- Provides access to their APIs
- Helps users with Mapping, Indoor location, POI management, Geofencing
- Offers a Dedicated API key Back Office: - It helps in creation of the business site with the business' own floorplan
- Helps visitors in wayfinding
- Beacons:
- Provides 8 BLE beacons
- Has a 5 year battery life
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Path Guide does not require any additional hardware. In fact, it uses the phones’ preexisting hardware. It is a research-based app, which works on input provided by the user and records more information and interactive experiences.
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STMicroelectronics offers MEMS and sensors for various applications, such as navigation and positioning, in the indoor location market. MEMS and sensors are used in low-power consumption and battery-operated devices, such as smartphones. The sensors improve the accuracy of multiaxis sensor systems, thus enabling the execution of indoor navigation and location-based services. MEMS consist of microelectromechanical sensors, gyroscopes, accelerometers (such as LIS344ALH, LIS2DH, LIS2DE, and LIS2DH12), microphones, digital compasses, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, and inertial modules. STMicroelectronics offers MEMS and sensors for various applications, such as navigation and positioning, in the indoor location market. 
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Atrius delivers precise location, pathing and alert tracking of items, equipment and personnel, directly from a web browser or through integration with business applications. It helps businesses in achieving a better understanding of assets’ live location and movement trends, to enhance workflows, on-demand and dispatch services, redesign space layouts etc. Atrius Insights platform helps professionals in transforming their indoor positioning and location-based data, for making better informed decisions. It also helps users in gaining an understanding of how visitors communicate with their your space to optimize the customer journey.
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HERE Indoor Positioning is easy to deploy, it can run on existing infrastructure or also use cost-effective hardware to keep cost of ownership low. HERE Indoor Positioning solution provides accuracy by using existing Wi-Fi infrastructure or the cost-effective Bluetooth beacons. The company keeps all the location information private as it does not leave the local device.
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Cisco DNA provides indoor location solutions that are accessible can be accessed from a single intuitive dashboard. It also allows businesses to assess metrics and indices relevant to that measure the behavior of people within a physical space. Cisco's CMX is a suite of applications, which helps analyze visitor behavior onsite, provides information to visitors, and tracks equipment and people easily. CMX is deployed in industry verticals such retail, education, manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, and government. 
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2.6
Aisle411 adds Augmented Reality to the venues, which enables businesses reach their customers, at the right place with a relavant message at the right time. The company helps businesses in improving their revenues by createing better guests experience, guiding them to products or areas of interest and sales. Aisle411 also helps in measuring and monitoring customer behavior and optimizing product placement based on store traffic with its data analytics. Also, Aisle411 is a globall leader for Indoor location, Analytics and Advertising behind only Google and Apple which of both happen to be Aisle411's partners.
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The Ericsson Radio System Hardware offers small cells, fronthaul, and baseband to create an indoor wireless environment. The Ericsson Radio System Software offers a large range of information, better management with flexibility, and the analytics solution supporting a wide range of architectures such as small cells, complex mega city deployments, and LTE.
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Walkbase solutions are fully customizable to the business needs. The patented technology gathers raw data from various sources and transforms it into actionable analytics instantly. It can be seamlessly integrated with and backed by the STRATACACHE family of digital signage solutions. Walkbase has developed a hashing method that ensures all the data is secure and follows the latest privacy laws and guidelines. Walkbase solutions are ready to be implemented at scale. Walkbase Analytics provides a detailed overview of the business' locations and their performance, including departments and smaller areas.
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Ruckus SPoT provides data that can help businesses in gaining an in-depth understanding of their venue and enhance their overall efficiency. Ruckus SPoT also offers flexible deployment options. The solution doesn’t need any additional hardware and offers unlimited scalability in the cloud. It also provides secure RESTful APIs that the professionals can leverage to build industry-specific location-based services (LBS). It identifies client live locations through drop pin analytics, within a range of 3-10 m at 80% confidence. It also recognozes the overall number of devices positioned to the nearest Ruckus AP by leveraging proximity analysis.
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Point Inside Point Inside collects data for user location and helps businesses to learn more about the context of each user based on their location. The company records users location data and assigns each record a real-world location through latitude and longitude coordinates. Point Inside develops location based points of interest that can be of help in  providing context to additional data. Point Inside’s unique wayfinding solution has been tuned to automatically navigate floor changes by stairs, escalators, ramps and elevators.
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Comtech Telecommunications Corp. indoor location software is made up of highly advanced design to tackle some of the latest communication systems of the market. The software has been designed for commercial solutions as well as for government solutions. The company provides enhanced 3D maps that deliver a great experience and are equipped with pan, zoom and tilt controls. Comtech's solutions also allow businesses to deliver a customized experience integrated with their technology partners. 
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Sensewhere indoor location software has been built with a patented technology that uses a hybrid approach to deliver the exact location. The use of databases significantly improves the accuracy of the location services and coverage in indoor and urban areas. Sensewhere's indoor positioning systems provide universal location and navigation data even at the locations where the GPS signals are blocked. The company's automatic crowdsourcing creates a global database of transmitter locations for the most complete positioning coverage.
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1.5
GeoMoby Indoor Location Software includes microfencing solutions, which can be easily integrated with mobiles apps. GeoMoby is a geo-location platform that enables businesses to take advantage of geo-location advertising. GeoMoby's technology addresses privacy concerns by not recording any personal information and uses encryptions to ensure that the collected data is truly safe. The company offers solutions to enterprises, which help enterprises take business decisions based on the insights obtained from the microfencing technology. This helps in driving more business and increasing profits for the company. The company's solution is also used for indoor mobile advertising. GeoMoby is self-funded and spends toward the improvement of products according to the feedback it receives from its customers.
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IndoorAtlas' SDK integrates easily with the user's applications and the smart device's sensors. The company's sensor fusion technology monitors user movements withe the help of built-in inertial sensors in the smartphone. The IndoorAtlas platform is developer-friendly and it offers a comprehensive toolset for indoor positioning, allowing users to create their own indoor location-based services such as search, wayfinding, proximity marketing etc. IndoorAtlas is a highly scalable, enterprise level cloud platform that simplifies infrastructure and help businesses in scaling cost-effectively, instantly and securely.
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Indoo.RS's location solutions provide an easy way for companies to help their customers to use Indoor Positioning within their own mobile apps. The company's Indoor Positioning solution can be implemented quickly. Their indoor mapping platform comes equipped with SDKs, APIs as well as a sophisticated CMS. It enables users to manage all their venues and associated data from their desired location. It also helps businesses to design map-enabled applications, customized to their corporate branding and design preferences.
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1.2
Senion offers StepInside, a platform for location-based services, which enables accurate and robust navigation, and positioning in the indoor location market. StepInside is designed for simple and efficient use. It is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Additionally, the company offers service plugins, such as Analytics, Wayfinder, Geomessenger, and Beacon Management for extended functionality.
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Aruba Beacons use Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) technology to power indoor location and wayfinding at the venues. Aruba's ability to modify the placement of beacons ensures a highly enhanced customer experience. Aruba APs with built-in Aruba Beacons enable businesses to remotely manage their 4-year battery-powered standalone Beacon. Aruba Beacons do not need any smartphone devices to connect or pair with them and they also do not gather any mobile device identity. The company's BLE technology provides precise positioning that enables users to deliver a rich, relevant and an enhanced mobile engagement experience. Moreover, Aruba's mobile app also allows users to install beacons, place them on a digital map and configure accuracy on the fly.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise brings one of the most remarkable indoor location software available in the market. The HP Location Aware solution, needs less than ten minutes to set up and it recalibrates itself every second without compromising on the accuracy in locating people. It’s also much more accurate than other solutions that pinpoint locations within approximately 2 meters.

 

 

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