Geo IoT World (Geo-location – Internet of Things) announces four award winners for innovation in geolocation technologies. GeoIoT is leading the way in showcasing the latest cutting-edge developments in this growth sector. The European GNSS Agency (GSA) sponsored one of the awards for ‘IoT Solutions Empowered by GNSS’.
The Internet of Things enables manufacturers and 
service providers to exchange data and improve customer services, business performance and much, much more. In some ways we have only scratched the surface of what can be offered.
Constant improvements in the available technology, sharp reductions in cost reaping high returns on investment and better performance mean that you can manage a road haulage company from a smartphone, improve the lives of people who suffer from disabilities or drive-down costs in a company by reducing waste. The possibilities are almost limitless and as the technology reaches a wider audience new innovations and ideas are emerging.
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To raise awareness of the integral role that GNSS plays in IoT and to celebrate the launch of Galileo Initial Services available since December 2016, GSA sponsored the award for ‘IoT Solutions empowered by GNSS’.
And the winner is…
The prize went to the CROWDLOC Platform. CROWDLOC is a business-to-business software-as-a-service provider, offering affordable, low-power location tracking services for consumers and enterprises. CROWDLOC could bring an end to loss and theft. Their mission is to solve this global problem. The disruptive service is based on a low-power mobile software development kit embedded in the apps of an alliance of Bluetooth devices manufacturers. This mutualised network (the crowd) can geo-locate the asset 24/7.
The start-up was founded in 2016 by a duo of French and German entrepreneurs. The company is supported by European business angels, seasoned executives with past and present experience in the location technology, navigation and Telecom industries.
The runner-up in this category was Polymorph. Polymorph has developed a technology to enable those working in logistics to track and trace goods. CEO Richard Barry described his technology as ‘Uber for trucks’.
Other categories
Three other categories looked at different aspects of geolocation.
The Geo IoT award for Location & Proximity Services was presented to TRACKO by Onyx Beacon. TRACKO allows companies to track and trace assets on the go using beacons and mobile technology. The solution links beacons attached to each asset to other beacons placed around a premises to create a high-precision indoor and outdoor tracking grid.
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The Geo IoT Award for Location Intelligence was presented to Stockholm-based Wittra. Wittra overcomes the limitations of existing technologies in addressing the Internet of Moving Things. The technology has already been adopted by shipping companies and is also used in the management of homes for the elderly.
The Geo IoT Award for IoT Networks was awarded to Sewio Networks. Sewio developed a market-proved Ultra-Wideband Real-Time Location Platform. Using highly precise indoor tracking and rich data analytics, the platform brings a new level of understanding of work-flow processes across a broad array of disciplines, allowing companies to optimise the flow of intra-logistics, reduce staff injuries and observe the behaviour of customers.
The three-day conference demonstrated that the Internet of Things geolocation is becoming an ever evolving area. More and more public and private organisations are turning to these technologies to improve services and reduce costs.
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