New Patent to Enhance Local Search

Innovative location-based technology allows access to images or video by pointing a mobile phone or other device at an object or place. Nw technology, available for license, also significantly extends battery life of mobile devices.

San Francisco - GeoVector Corporation, the leading provider of “advanced search” capabilities for location-based applications, today announced an additional patent within its augmented reality technology family.

US Patent 7301536 better enables mobile phones or other devices to display stored digital images which are linked to real-world objects or places.

“Imagine pointing a mobile device down a city street and seeing a digital image of how that street looked a century ago, or might look a century from now. Imagine pointing at a new car billboard and seeing the car in any color you want, then downloading a video clip,” explained John Ellenby, GeoVector’s CEO. “GeoVector’s technology enables countless possibilities for entertainment, advertising or e-commerce applications.”

GeoVector currently enables mobile devices to access data on points of interest using a unique combination of GPS and a built-in compass. The new patent builds upon that capability, allowing users to interact with stored images based on their surroundings.

The company currently provides products and services which significantly simplify local searches, allowing users to point their mobile device toward objects of interest to access information about them. Users can “point and click” with their mobile phone the way a computer user navigates using a mouse.

“With the real world as your desktop, the possibilities are endless,” Ellenby said.

GeoVector’s intellectual property in this area dates back to the early 1990s. Its pointing search method is a dynamic step forward in ease of use, greatly improving access to a wide variety of location aware applications.

"Pointing is a natural gesture that signals a request for information about a particular object or place," Ellenby added. "With GeoVector, the network knows where the user is and in which direction they are pointing, thus cutting down on unwanted information being delivered."

The system is highly desirable for retailers and other marketers, offering real-time communication with potential customers who can receive offers at exactly the moment they are ready to buy.

The company also licenses unique methods for extending a mobile device’s battery life and improving device responsiveness. GeoVector’s technology can reduce latency and minimize the device’s power consumption by learning and anticipating user behavior.

“We estimate GeoVector can increase battery life by 30 to 50 percent, depending on the device type,” said Ellenby. “That significantly enhances performance, as well as making devices more eco-friendly by reducing the energy they consume.”

GeoVector-enabled phones are now widely used throughout Japan via the KDDI network, providing pointing-based local search service with Mapion (Japan’s leading location content provider) and NEC who provides system application and hosting support.

GeoVector is working with major carriers in the US and Europe and expects its pointing-based applications to be available in those regions by late 2008.

About GeoVector
Headquartered in San Francisco, GeoVector develops solutions for efficient delivery of location-based services. Supported by significant intellectual property, GeoVector’s geospatial search engine technology provides the foundation for new community, gaming, advertising and other location sensitive applications. GeoVector allows mobile web services to be attached to any object or location and launched just by pointing with a mobile device. Please visit http://www.geovector.com.