LBS: A new way of doing business

Imagine a world where you know the location of the people and things that are important to you. Application provider Asian Navigation and Tracking Systems Inc. (ANTS) has pioneered in location-based services (LBS) technology which allows one to locate an asset, a person or a particular establishment. Mostly based on radio, satellite and mobile phone technologies, LBS is fast becoming a powerful and affordable tool in business.

ANTS started in 1995 as a developer and distributor of Global Positioning System (GPS)-based vehicle tracking hardware and software, otherwise known as AVLS or Automated Vehicle Location System.

Committed to making LBS more available and affordable for both business and private use, ANTS further developed the technology, resulting in the country’s first Internet-based AVLS platform. With this, subscribers need not buy an expensive software.

This system was initially created to service the corporate sector, but since the demand for location-based services is ever increasing, ANTS furthered the development of LBS by introducing GSM-based products for various applications that will also cater to consumer needs.

What is LBS?

LBS is a resource management tool that makes use of satellite, GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) and digital mapping technology to accurately locate people, goods and vehicles at any given time. The technology has made it possible for a businessman or manager to effectively monitor movements, thus improving the routing schedules of personnel and vehicle fleet.

LBS has been used in businesses such as cargo forwarding and delivery, armored vehicle services, pharmaceuticals, public transportation and tourist-related services. With LBS, users get an accurate means of monitoring mobile resources in real time. This, in turn, gives the user the information needed to enhance the efficiency of both the field personnel and vehicle fleet. Knowing the location of your field vehicles and personnel may prevent the risk of theft or robbery, enabling users to respond immediately during emergencies.

However, LBS goes beyond business applications and comes in handy in helping private individuals keep track of friends and family. LBS allows a user to accurately determine his friend or family’s whereabouts at any given time – without having to call or send a text message.

Reinforcing its continued leadership in the LBS industry, ANTS developed different LBS products: Radiant (GPS-based AVLS); Person Finder, which is LBS for the private individual; and WOW Philippines Finder.

Each of these ANTS products has been customized to provide affordable LBS applications for specific sectors.

Auto location system

For those who want to know the whereabouts of their vehicles, may it be a fleet or a private car, ANTS created Radiant. Using satellite-based GPS technology and digital mapping, Radiant allows a business to locate each of its units anywhere in the country, at any given moment.

With Radiant, users can monitor the routes and speed taken by their vehicles, the average time spent at each stop, and even security-related incidents such as accidents, theft or vehicle malfunction.

Radiant works through an exchange of wireless signals – between an electronic tracking unit installed in each of the vehicles, to any of several orbiting GPS satellites and to the ANTS website (www.ants.ph).

Person Finder

For the needs of a private individual, ANTS has created Person Finder, a GSM-based LBS designed for family and friends that will ensure peace of mind by knowing the whereabouts of their loved ones.

Using Person Finder is as easy as texting. Following an easy single-step activation process, which essentially authorizes the user to locate any number of mobile phones within his network, the user just has to type "WIS," followed by the name of the person he wishes to locate, then send to 288 (for Smart and Talk N Text users).

In a few seconds, Person Finder will scan the network’s cellsites, identify which one is picking up the signal of the mobile phone being located, and report the location to the user via a text message.

Wow Philippines Finder

The latest innovative tool from ANTS, the WOW Philippines Finder, was developed in collaboration with KSDI. The first-of-its-kind product to be offered to mobile phone users, it offers accurate and complete information on tourism facilities, services and attractions in the country through text messaging.

Mobile phone users who want to avail themselves of this service just need to type "WOW<space><type of attraction or facility><space> in <space><location>" and then send to 288 for Smart and Talk N Text users and 2958 for Globe users.

For example, users can send "wow birdwatching in batanes" and receive information on the best birdwatching sites in that northernmost province and other tourist activities available.