Tag: Geolocation

National geolocation program to launch through Australian government

| August 20, 2015

This new strategy is a part of a broader effort to greatly reduce the cost associated with data collection.

The federal government of Australia has now announced its intentions to roll out a new national geolocation technology based data framework, beginning in February 2016, which will be a large component of a new strategy to reduce the price tag associated with data collection in the country.

They have determined that duplicate data collection has become an expensive process.

The geolocation program is being called the Foundation Spatial Data Framework (FSDF), and this database will provide a free record of each Australian property in a format that has been standardized. This data will be available to end users for free, regardless of whether they are government or industry. This announcement follows one that had previously been made with regards to the massive amount of spending that the government was doing in order to collect data.

The Department of Communications’ announcement laid the foundation for the launch of this geolocation project.

Australia geolocation location based spacial data collectionAccording to the department’s announcement through Helen Owens, its assistant secretary of data policy, who spoke to a parliamentary committee, the amount currently spent every year on the collection of geospatial data is estimated to be about $200 million.

The reason that the figure is as high as it is, is that there are many duplications across the existing efforts that are in place for data collection. These duplications run across the efforts that are made by the territory, state, and federal governments, meaning that in essence, taxpayers are paying for the same data to be collected in multiple ways, said Owens.

Owens also pointed out that the $200 million spent on data collection does not include defense agencies, and if that total had been factored in, it would be notably higher. She explained that “If we started with a green sheet, and you had $200 million per year to spend on geospatial data, would you do it this way? And the answer is no.”

Now, the hope is that the geolocation based program will streamline the multiple efforts so that they are conducted only once in any given area, as opposed to duplicating themselves in a very expensive way.

Geolocation technology based shopping from Curbside lands at Target

| August 19, 2015

10 locations of the massive retail chain will now offer this location based product pickup service.

Curbside, a company that uses geolocation technology to redesign the traditional local shopping experience, has now announced that it is rolling out its service in 10 Target locations in New York and New Jersey.

The service makes it possible for an order to be placed so that it can be ready for pickup when the customer arrives.

According to a recent press release from Target, “We know today’s consumers are looking for faster and more convenient ways to shop. That’s why Target is constantly exploring new ways to improve the shopping experience and save our guests time and money.” By using this service, customers can use their mobile devices to shop for one or several products that they want from Target. They can then drive to the store to pick it up. Geolocation technology alerts the store of the arrival of the customer so that the completed order can be brought to them.

The process involves geolocation technology in the customer’s mobile device and in beacons at the store.

Geolocation Technology - ShoppingThis allows a customer to pull up in front of the store and pick up what they ordered on the mobile app, without ever having to go inside and find what they want. It allows them to skip the checkout line, and they don’t even need to try to find a parking spot.

Using the Curbside app and service is free, and Target does not increase the prices of its products when they are purchased through this location based technology.

According to the co-founder of Curbside, Jaron Waldman, who is also its CEO, “Curbside’s mission is to make the shopping experience at local stores faster and easier than ever before.” Waldman added that “We anticipate that local shoppers in New York and New Jersey will find Curbside to be an invaluable service that fundamentally changes the way they shop.”

As about 90 percent of Target shopping is done in-store (according to a recent study by Census), both Curbside and the retailer are hoping that they will be able to use this geolocation based pickup service to continually enhance the shopping experience.