Technology Platform Opens SDK To Allow Third Parties To Build Location Aware Services For Consumer And Enterprise Customers

LOS ALTOS, Calif., June 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pixie Technology, the technology leader in the emerging Location of Things (LoT) sector, has today opened its SDK to allow app developers and enterprises to build applications and solutions on top of its first-of-a-kind architecture. Pixie has further announced the first consumer service to take advantage of this open platform is Baggage Claim, developed by Lamplighter Labs and co-launched by the companies today.

This new service provides additional capabilities to Pixie users, allowing them to be alerted to the proximity of luggage and bags in real-time to avoid loss and airport confusion. While requiring Pixie hardware, the service is accessed through its own dedicated app that has been optimized to provide visual and audio cues to the proximity of approaching and static luggage. It is available today in the iOS App Store. 

While IoT technology allows objects to connect and be controlled via the internet, the Pixie LoT Platform allows connected objects to be situationally aware and their locations accurately mapped. Pixie is making it possible to build location-aware systems from the ground up, creating a world where everything has a digital identity and can be instantly tracked. 

"Pixie has already created a paradigm shift in the consumer tracking market by being the only Smart Finder that allows you to actually see the location of your lost items using a unique and patented augmented reality interface and innovative signaling technology," said Amir Bassan-Eskenazi, CEO and co-founder of Pixie Technology. "However, our vision goes far beyond helping people find lost keys and wallets. By opening our Location of Things platform to developers, a whole range of hitherto unthought-of services can be made possible across a range of industries and sectors by adding location-aware capabilities." 

"We are thrilled to be the first to take advantage of this open platform and excited to be co-promoting this new capability with Pixie," said Andy Minkstein, Founder and Lead Developer of Lamplighter Labs.  "The Pixie SDK was extremely easy to use.  It efficiently managed all hardware, network and communication protocols, and power management, enabling us to focus our efforts on creating an experience that is optimized for an airport environment and solves a common problem for travelers."

Taking more than three years to develop and resulting in 10 patents filed to date, The Pixie LoT Platform is one of the most complete location technologies ever created. It is based on a proprietary process called "Location Engineering" and is comprised of three main elements:

Pixie Points: The world's most advanced tags comprised of sophisticated firmware that connects to personalized mesh networks and signal to each other to provide information about relative distance.   Each Pixie Point includes a 2.4GHz ISM controller, an 802.15.4a radio, power management unit, a power source (LiMnO2 primary battery) and a wideband antenna, all of which are controlled by embedded firmware that manages the Pixie Point operations.  Using ultra-low power and combing Bluetooth and UWB technologies, Pixie Points last for up to 12 months.

Pixie Location Engine: A proprietary engine that runs on smart devices to process powerful location algorithms that create maps of the Pixie Points' locations. Each Pixie Point is a remote location sensor that accurately measures the distance between itself and other Points through a technique called Time of Flight (ToF). Multiple Pixie Points communicating together create individual Pixie Networks that generate data that is processed into maps by the Pixie Location Engine.

Cloud Services: The secured Pixie Cloud Service backs up the items' database, updates Points with new firmware, enables users to easily migrate their items to a new phone, finds their phone with another authorized device and performs other functions.

The Pixie architecture is an affordable, light infrastructure solution that can be set up in minutes to allow for both static and dynamic tracking of objects, assets and people in nearly any environment. By opening up the SDK, Pixie provides an attractive alternative to TRLS installations in terms of costs and time to market.

In addition to the Baggage Claim app announced today, a few additional examples of use cases include: 

• Building & warehouse automation – find objects, assets and even people within a building
• Hospitals – Asset management, locating expensive medical equipment and wheelchairs
• Sports – Track players' movement patterns during games and training
• Retail – improve store operational efficiency
• Game – Hide & Seek games

Traditional RTSL solutions generally rely on RFID technology which can cost upwards of $50,000 (easily expanding into hundreds of thousands of dollars) to install and manage, and also require complex setup and training that can take days. Location platforms based on Bluetooth are more affordable than RFID solutions yet compromise on accuracy.  The Pixie LoT Platform overcomes these barriers by offering architecture that is: 

• Affordable
• Rapidly testable
• Easy to set up - within minutes
• Accurate to within a foot
• Highly power efficient – using a low power form factor that offers the longest lifetime with the smallest tags

"From gaming and sports training to building automation and emergency response solutions, nearly every sector can benefit from situationally aware services and applications," continued Bassan-Eskenazi. "Our robust infrastructure and hardware makes it easy for third parties to design, test and deploy new services, and we are excited to see what the developer and enterprise community will create." 

Developers interested in learning more should visit https://pixie-technology.com/

Starting at $39.99, packs of Pixie Points can be purchased for iOS devices in a range of different packages and quantities at www.getpixie.com and at Amazon.

About Pixie Technology Inc.

Pixie Technology™ is the creator of the Location of Things (LoT) technology platform that makes location an exact science by allowing anyone to create a digital map of their things on the fly. Pixie uses beautifully designed tags called Pixie Points™ to establish a personal digital map of all tagged items so that it can help users locate lost items within inches. Pixie Technology is a privately held global company with offices in Los Altos, Boston and Israel, funded by top tier VCs Spark Capital, Cedar Fund, OurCrowd and private investors.  Learn more at www.getpixie.com

Pixie Technology Contacts: Pixie Technology Contacts:
Ian Twinn / Tandem Marketing Communications
[email protected] | (917) 306-7270

SOURCE Pixie Technology