Founded in 2017, the Tel Aviv based Deeyook is an early-stage company that has developed a patented, wireless-based firmware solution capable of tracking indoor and outdoor positions of both assets and employees. The solution is ultra-precise(10cm/4in accuracy), self-learning, ubiquitous, passive and uses low power.
Its firmware can be installed in any WIFI/4G/5G radio access technology, but what makes it really different is that it works by measuring angles of wireless transmissions, a first of its kind in the world of wireless tracking technology.
Deeyook’s firmware measures the angles between signal emissions from a sensor’s antenna to another antenna device, e.g. a home router or cellular antennas (LTE & 5G), using the OFDM standard technology which is found in all wireless networks.
Deeyook is a tracking solution that can work with limited connectivity and data. It allows users to cache parts of the database to their devices, which can be applied to the assets and routes that are being tracked most frequently. The result is that much less bandwidth and data need to be transferred for the firmware positioning to be accurate, hence it doesn’t use nearly as much battery life as incumbent technologies.
“Most tracking solutions measure wireless signals via power or time of flight, which can be affected by environmental changes. Deeyook’s solution is different because its patented angle measurement is more precise and is not affected by environmental changes, enabling accurate sensor detection both indoors and outdoors”, says Gideon Rottem, CEO, Deeyook, in an exclusive interview with Geospatial World.
How does Deeyook plan to redefine location tech?
Our technology will allow companies to precisely track employees, items and assets without tapping into a company’s IT network and invasive personal tracking or data capturing. The technology has a wide range of uses, including retail supply chain, mobile transportation industries and first responders, such as firefighters and EMT personnel. All of these examples require precise tracking, which is why our angle measuring technology is so revolutionary, as its precision allows it to track both indoors and outdoors within 10cm/4 inches, providing full door-to-door tracking like never before possible.
A familiar retail supply chain scenario might be that an employee in a large warehouse needs to find a box that was returned six months ago. Deeyook’s technology can guide the employee to that box, enabling the retailer to keep track of inventory assets and once it is shipped, Deeyook’s tracking technology gives the retailer confirmation that it has reached the customer. Our patented tracking technology can help lower the percentage of loss prevention, which is currently around 15 percent for packages shipped in the U.S. (especially in dense, urban areas). We hope to bring that percentage to virtually zero.
What are the technologies that will prove to be game-changer in location domain in the coming years?
I think that there are two technologies that will really make a difference in the near future – ubiquitous location technologies and 5G.
When 5G deployment is completed around the world, it will allow for much more precise tracking capabilities because it will bring wireless coverage to areas that are not currently covered by Wi-Fi. This, in turn, will enable location technology to become more ubiquitous, as their capabilities will be fully reached tapping into the new 5G network to be used by a variety of uses, ranging from mobility to smart cities and IoT.
What are some of the main challenges faced by the location industry?
The main challenge within the location industry today is that tracking solutions are not really ubiquitous. This is particularly acute with GPS, which is still the dominant technology used in most parts of the world. While the evolution of GPS has been a tremendous boon for companies and individuals in many ways, it also has had some shortcomings. GPS technology is known to have accuracy issues, particularly locating anything less than 5 meters/14 ft and especially suffers in bad weather or indoors, where it doesn’t work well and shows an estimate at best. GPS also suffers from power inefficiencies, which is an issue because modern tracking solutions require a lot of power and a lot of bandwidth.
Another challenge in the industry is with indoor tracking, as there isn’t one technology that everyone considers the industry standard. There are many options available to businesses to track indoor assets, like RF beacons, ultrasonic sensors, object tracking/computer vision and such, but none are a perfect, ubiquitous solution adopted by a majority.
