While GPS and Wi-FI are broadly used to deliver location on mobile handsets, the reliability of location estimates decreases significantly when applications require location indoors or in dense urban environments. Wi-Fi mapping (otherwise known as "RF Fingerprinting") will increase accuracy in well known and controlled environments (e.g., commercial centers and malls), however, mapping is labor-intensive and location accuracy is reduced due to interference from crowds, in transition areas (movement to parking garages and around the centers), and due to network reconfiguration and movement of networked nodes.
The NEON sensor fusion and mapping technologies are part of the growing indoor location market segment – using motion sensing, dynamic mapping, and RF technologies to augment GPS, Wi-Fi, and other fixed references to produce maps that enhance location calculations. The rapid proliferation of MEMS and other sensors in cellular phones and commercial devices is allowing increasingly robust location calculations on these devices. NEON sensor fusion and mapping technologies are being implemented on cellular devices to deliver dynamic mapping and improved indoor location for a wide range of government and commercial applications.
