Artificial Intelligence Helps Strengthen Mobile Communication between Loved Ones

PALO ALTO, Calif., July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Alohar Mobile, developer of apps that combine context-awareness with location-based technology to bring trusted loved ones closer together, today announced the launch of its new app PlaceUs for the iPhone now available on the App Store. PlaceUs is designed to make it easier for 'inner circles' of loved ones such as couples, families and close friends, to share important real-time information about where they are, what they're doing, who they're with, where they're going, and so much more.

"Mobile phones already help people stay in touch, but the frequent calls, texts and other manual check-ins that occur between the closest of contacts are inconvenient and may strain relationships," said Sam Liang, CEO and founder of Alohar Mobile. "By assisting partners and close friends with their daily communications, and helping them experience each other's days as if they are together, we believe PlaceUs strengthens relationships. The more easily people are able to communicate and support each other, the stronger their relationships will be."

In its new Digital Milestones: Location Sharing Survey, Alohar found 75% of smartphone users expressed their openness to mobile applications that are designed to share their whereabouts with loved ones as long as trust is in place, and they can control who sees what and when. While other location-based apps are limited to location data, PlaceUs uses context awareness, which taps into all of the mobile phone's sensors, combining it with other user and external data to paint a more complete picture of a user's lifestyle and assist with the larger group's overall social experience.

PlaceUs is pioneering Group Artificial Intelligence with ambient sensing technology that learns from the mobile activities and the interactions that take place within one's innermost social circle. It uses this information to then anticipate and automate the communication around many common tasks, such as texting a friend one's estimated arrival time to a restaurant or asking a spouse if they need anything at the store. More than just a safety app, PlaceUs allows connections to stay in close touch with each other without laborious texts and phone calls. The more users share and communicate with those in their inner circles, the better PlaceUs helps them understand and support each other throughout their daily activities.

PlaceUs Key Product Features

• Automatically detects all the places a user visits, including start time, end time and place name with no manual check-ins required;
• Automatic notification of interesting events between the connections.
• On the Go feature provides automatic up-to-the minute location updates with moving trails when connections are in transit;
• Provides a way for connections to 'Love' when a user arrives or departs a place;
• Convenient privacy control. Users can easily choose and control at a granular level how, when, and with whom they share their personal data;
• With its patented adaptive technologies, PlaceUs is always on while using low battery power;
• Trusted loved ones can easily connect on PlaceUs by visiting the Connections feature when they are together or sending invites from their contacts list.

Alohar's novel technology combines location, motion, Wi-Fi, cellular network, timing data, user preferences and histories, and more to understand everything about the user's current and historical context and provide automatic ambient intelligence. In the future, PlaceUs will:

• Connect with wearables to add new sensory elements, such as blood pressure and heart rate;
• Sense changes in behavior that can be used to send a medical alert and schedule a doctor's appointment;
• Detect when a user won't be able to make a school pick-up in time and notify an inner circle connection who's closer to the destination;
• Predict based on user's routine a trip to the store and ask an inner circle connection if they need anything
• Detect and report car accidents in real time;

About Alohar Mobile
Alohar Mobile develops context-aware and location-based applications for smartphones that help users be more in touch with people, the world, and themselves. PlaceUs, the company's flagship app, learns from a user's mobile routines to anticipate and assist with many of the daily interactions that occur between trusted loved ones while consuming very little battery power. Funded in part by Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson and "Professor Billionaire" David Cheriton of Stanford University, Alohar is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

SOURCE Alohar Mobile