Qualcomm and Baidu working on location-based technology for chipsets

Qualcomm Technologies is working closely with Baidu in the implementation of the Qualcomm IZat Integrated Hardware Location Platform, which will be available in the latest generation of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets across all tiers.

The IZat Location Platform uses a combination of signals from various location sources, including global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and sensors. This integration at a hardware level is designed to result in accurate location information, fast time-to-first-fix, improved robustness and seamless transition for both outdoor and indoor environments, and lower power for users of location-based applications and services across smartphones.

The IZat Integrated Hardware Location Platform also integrates conventional GNSS positioning and sensor based positioning with terrestrial positioning techniques using cellular network and Wi-Fi positioning available from Baidu. This fused position information, when combined with user motion and contextual information obtained from sensors (such as accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer), is designed to improve positioning accuracy and coverage, reduce power consumption of mobile phones, and bring optimal user experiences to smartphone users.

The IZat Integrated Hardware Location Platform will also support optimised capabilities such as low-power location tracking, low-power geofencing, and sensor based pedestrian navigation particularly in challenging outdoor or indoor environments.

"Providing accurate, reliable and rapid position location information in a battery-efficient way is a basic need for all location based applications," said Dr Cormac Conroy, VP, product management, Qualcomm Technologies. "Qualcomm Technologies' IZat location solution on Snapdragon platforms enables users to enjoy location-based applications, such as Baidu maps, with long battery-life and an excellent user experience."

"Being the preferred provider of mapping capabilities for Chinese developers, we are very excited about the opportunity to work with QTI on the implementation of the IZat Integrated Hardware Location Platform technology," said Li Zhitang, GM of open platform at Baidu Map. "Our location service supports almost 10,000 applications with location information every day-and serves hundreds of millions of end users. We believe that by working with QTI, users will be able to enjoy higher location service quality and a better experience."

QTI and Baidu are currently working with multiple handset OEMs in China to commercialise this advanced location capability on upcoming smartphones using Snapdragon chipsets starting in Q316.