Development services for Skyhook

Solutions

MyLoki

MyLoki location enables social networking. As you travel around MyLoki can automatically let your friends know where you are using your favorite platform – Facebook, RSS Feeds and badges for your blog or even Jaiku. You can pick and choose how and where you want your location to be displayed. MyLoki gives you total control over the posted location and who can see it.

Your location can be delivered with the help of Loki toolbar, which is downloaded on your browser from any place nearby that has a WiFi hotspot. This information can be reported in a number of ways. You can get your own MyLoki page that shows people your exact location, or you may have a constantly updated map on your blog which displays your current position. You can add the map as a Facebook app or create an embeddable badge and append it to your e-mail signature. You can also create a location feed integrated with any GeoRSS service, such as Google MyMaps, Jaiku and Yahoo’s Fire Eagle.

QArea team has implemented the project from the scratch. It’s built using Symfony framework. QArea was also responsible for redesigning Loki.com site and its integration with MyLoki.

Major challenges:

• Google Maps;
• Facebook application (users’ profile FBML box, posting to the feed and a standalone FB application which allows users to set their location while surfing on Facebook);
• The website (authentication, users’ privacy setting, history and groups locations viewing, generation of badges examples, RSS feed);
• Loki.com channels (developed own XML DTD for generating HTTP requests);
• iPhone API (own XML protocol as well);
• Updating of users’ location using Ajax technology (we have created a centralized database which stores and shares the information about users’ location between Facebook application and MyLoki standalone application);
• FireEagle, Twitter integration.

QArea’s team has united separate projects into one by developing and implementing the following features for Loki.com:

Channels: specific links to various LBS (location-based services) sites with your current location in themselves. There’s no necessity to enter your location manually if you want to rent a flat or looking for a cheap gas station.

Loki JS API subscription: Skyhook’s Loki allows other location dependent sites to place special JavaScript code which fetches users’ current location from Loki toolbar (installed on your computer). Loki.com site provides JS API registration and some examples for developers.

FindMe page demonstrates the power and preciseness of Skyhook’s technology. Users can view/set their location and try all available channels there.

The website

The portal is based on the Symfony framework and using Propel ORM to maintain Javascript API registrations. Google maps API is used to display Loki JS API sample code results. Integration with Loki JS API has been performed in order to demonstrate the technology on How it works and Findme pages. This project has been completed and now is in production.

Skyhook location logger

Another project from the Skyhook cluster is the location logger. This service allows to obtain periodic updates of the device’s geographical location, or to fire an application-specified intent, when the device enters the proximity of a given geographical location. Android gives your applications access to the location services.

The application includes:

• LocationManager
• MapView

Skyhook’s core location platform updated with LocalFaves

Skyhook’s Core Location Platform, which uses a combination of data from GPS satellites, cell towers and Wi-Fi systems to quickly come up with precise location data, enhances mobile devices’ ability to run a growing number of location-aware applications. It facilitates not only navigation and local search programs, but also applications such as OpenTable and Twitter, which use location awareness to personalize content, the company said upon announcing the partnership. Support and writing some modules for Skyhook LocalFaves system is allowed in the application. It includes heat maps and several demo apps.