Hughes Telematics Partners with Location Labs to Bring Cross-Carrier Mobile Location to Connected Vehicles – Location Labs Universal Location Service to Support Hughes Telematics Service with Navigation Enhancements
Las Vegas, NV, Consumer Telematics 2011 and CES, January 10, 2011 — Location Labs, the leading provider of mobile location-as-a-service infrastructure and applications, today announced a partnership with Hughes Telematics Inc., (HTI) to include the Location Labs Universal Location Service [ULS] as part of HTI’s telematics service offering. Location Labs’ cloud-based ULS API will supplement HTI’s connected service offerings by enabling drivers to use their smartphones to request the location of any contact in their mobile address book.
Upon request, friends and family members will be asked to share their locations via their mobile phones. When the request is accepted, HTI’s service will locate the phones regardless of the device type or wireless carrier and wirelessly send that location to the in-vehicle navigation system. This is a convenient way to integrate and connect with social networks and the service can locate all mobile phones on the AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless networks.
“The Universal Location Service allows us to provide a unique and useful service to our automotive customers. Now drivers have the ability to remotely request the location of anyone in their smartphone contact list and once the request is approved, remotely send the location to their in-vehicle navigation system,” said Mike Peterson, Vice President of Product Development, HTI. “Partnering with Location Labs allows us to leverage their innovation in the location space to continue to take significant steps in creating a true connected experience for drivers.”
Location Labs’ ULS is a developer platform that enables privacy-protected access into the location systems and services of leading tier 1 wireless carriers. The Web service is 100% cloud based, and does not require server software or a mobile download to locate phones. ULS currently supports remote location access for all mobile devices on the AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless networks, providing unprecedented reach of over 250MM locatable end users.
“HTI has a proven history of innovation in the connected vehicle market, and we’re excited to help them deliver this first-of-its-kind service combining smartphone capabilities and wireless network remote location,” said Tasso Roumeliotis, CEO, Location Labs. “Offering drivers a simple and streamlined way to locate and navigate to anyone in their contact list helps families and friends communicate more efficiently and stay safe while on-the-go.”
About Location Labs
Location Labs is the leader in mobile location-as-a-service with consumer products that enhance the personal safety of millions of users and a location platform that enables 2,000+ developers to build their own rich location based applications.
The company operates the world’s most successful mobile location-based personal safety service, powering nearly a dozen products, including AT&T FamilyMap and Sprint Family Locator. Recent accolades include: 2010 Inc. 500 list of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies and San Francisco Business Journal’s “Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies”. The company has raised $26MM in venture financing from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, BlueRun Ventures (formerly Nokia Venture Partners), QUALCOMM Ventures, Intel Capital, and Mitsui Ventures. The company was previously operating as Wavemarket, Inc. More information: http://www.location-labs.com.