Sandy firm's wireless chip may fill holes

Locating emergency callers in skyscrapers or urban centers may become a more precise effort.

A chip being designed by Sandy-based S5 Wireless could fill holes currently left by global positioning systems, such as in buildings and urban canyons. Although only being tested on a limited basis, the possibility is that the chip will provide a complement to current GPS locators, said Steve Chacko, director of product marketing.

The location would be determined by using signals from as many as eight base centers, which are attached to cell phone towers, and can pinpoint a person's location down to the exact floor in a building.

Because it depends on towers instead of satellites, it is not a substitute for GPS. In fact, it would face the opposite problems of GPS and be less reliable in rural areas with very few cell phone towers.

"Where GPS is strong, we're in a marginalized position," Chacko said. "But where GPS falls down, we can fill those spots."

The service would be especially beneficial for the 911 system, which uses GPS to locate a cell phone caller's location. That can pose problems if the caller is in a tall office building, an underground tunnel or apartment complex.

The S5 chip could also present other opportunities, such as tracking services for children or pets, president David Carter said. Because of its price — around $1 per chip — it could be used in disposable products such as pet collars.

On the provider side, the chip could also present opportunities for location-based advertising. Right now, that can be done with GPS units, but the prohibitive cost and weaknesses in cities has stemmed its growth.

"There are some carriers who think that location-based search is the nirvana," Carter said. "But they have to charge a lot for their ads. If they can pinpoint those ads based on the users' exact location, it would make it a lot more attractive."

The company is addressing privacy concerns by allowing users to turn off the location finder, but unlike GPS services, it could still be activated immediately if 911 is called. The chip could also operate even if the cell phone is off, and will continually update its location by "pinging" towers instead of waiting for a location request.

While advertisers and techie pet owners will enjoy the gadgets and services of the chip, the real benefit of the service will probably come from a safety standpoint. Already, similar safety devices are being touted using the GPS system, which the S5 chip would complement.

This year, cell phone carriers have started to offer tracking services, such as Verizon's "Chaperone" or AmberWatch Mobile, which allows parents to monitor their child's location through a Web site and gives one-button emergency calling to the child, and can call multiple people if the first person does not answer.

"AmberWatch Mobile is designed to protect people in harm's way and to provide peace of mind," said Keith Jarrett, chairman and CEO of the AmberWatch Foundation, said in a news release prior to their September launch. "We are hopeful that this easy-to-use technology will be another tool that will prevent child abduction and other violent crimes before they happen."

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