LEADERS' OUTLOOK
GPS and 3D Location are the Backbone of Our Infrastructure
BY GANESH PATTABIRAMAN
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CEO & Co-Founder, NextNav
he rapid digitalization of the world over the past few years has emphasized the need for 3D geolocation technologies, especially in urban areas. This trend only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic with the use of technologies like contact tracing. Everything from the Metaverse to building Smart Cities requires reliable and more resilient location technology. Over the next few years, we will see even greater crossover of the digital and the physical worlds, and 3D location technology will play a fundamental role in this crossover.
ANNUAL EDITION / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022
This technology plays a major role in building more immersive augmented and virtual reality capabilities. The digital layer that will live on top of the physical world is not two dimensional. Z-axis capabilities will need to be involved, especially in urban areas where skylines are populated with multistory buildings. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) games like Pokemon Go (which has achieved mass popularity) will continue to develop further as 3D geolocation becomes more widely adopted and, with it, even more realistic digital worlds will be made.
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We are already seeing significant traction with AR and VR developers. In July 2021, NextNav Pinnacle software development kit (SDK) became a Unity Verified Solution, enabling developers to seamlessly integrate 3D vertical location into all game applications on the platform. This enables developers to bring a new level of immersion, precision and accuracy to game development and create a true sense reality in these applications. Additionally, we received an Epic MegaGrant to bring vertical location to the Unreal Engine, which we completed in August 2021 with the release of our Unreal Engine plug-in that allows developers to utilize 3D location on the Unreal platform.
The third dimension
GPS and 3D location are the backbone of our infrastructure, in more ways than people realize. GPS is absolutely essential in numerous cases, including telecommunication, autonomous navigation, electrical infrastructure, air traffic control, and many more. Smart Cities rely on this critical technology, so it is extremely important that it not be disrupted.
Weak signals create even more problems in urban areas, as they can’t penetrate tall buildings very well. A key problem in Smart Cities is that GPS doesn’t deliver service in the vertical dimension. In cities defined by skyscrapers and multi-level structures, vertical location is a necessity for safety and efficiency. The factories, warehouses, and cities of the future need a location-services solution that works along the Z-axis and is compatible with existing GPS infrastructure. Until we fully implement an alternative such as our Pinnacle service, GPS limits us to a two-dimensional world. We are seeing rapid adoption of the Z-axis. It's a transformation that is long overdue: the industry as a whole needs to think about the end user experience, because customers don’t just exist in X and Y. Public safety departments are quickly adopting the Z-axis for better situational awareness in emergency situations. But that’s not all — we are also seeing its adoption
