flaik Inc. Launches GPS Satellite-Based Guest Locator System at Steamboat
Written by flaik Inc.
Monday, 19 January 2009
BOULDER, Colo.--Boulder location-based
services company flaik Inc. has teamed up with the Steamboat Ski Resort
& Corporation to provide its cutting-edge GPS satellite-based guest
locator and resort amenity system across the nearly 3,000-acre
Steamboat Ski Area this winter.
"Steamboat has always pioneered state-of-the-art guest technologies," said Steve Kenny, flaik CEO. "Their application of the first GPS-based peace-of-mind solution for ski and snowboard schools is another example of the resort's commitment to customer service."
Using GPS-enabled tags assigned to each individual, the flaik system can locate individuals, allow instructors and Ski & Snowboard school supervisors to monitor students, deliver run-by-run and day-by-day statistics, and enable skiers and boarders to share their day with friends and families. Currently, every child in Steamboat's childcare and Ski & Snowboard program receives a Steamboat MountainWatch, powered by flaik device.
"Steamboat's partnership with flaik significantly augments our position as the best mountain resort destination for families," said Jim Schneider, vice president of skier services at Steamboat. "Our investment in this cutting-edge technology affords parents peace of mind when their children are in our Ski & Snowboard school programs. In the coming months, powderhounds will benefit from the technology's unique social networking services as the system's capabilities continue to expand across the resort."
flaik recently relocated its headquarters from Brisbane, Australia, to Boulder and is part of the 8th Continent Aerospace Business Incubator, managed by the Boulder Innovation Center (BIC). "flaik is a perfect example of a Space 2.0 company - using space-related technology in commercial applications as Steamboat is doing," said Burke Fort, director of the 8th Continent Project, based in Golden at the Colorado School of Mines.
"flaik and Steamboat are filling a market need using the constellation of GPS satellites originally deployed by NASA and the Department of Defense," said BIC Director Tim Bour. "The company is establishing relationships within Colorado's technology, workforce, venture capital and ski industry communities - a perfect fit for the BIC's services, and part of the 8th Continent Project's initiative to position Colorado as the global economic center for the commercialization of space-derived technologies."
About flaik
flaik, an Australian startup company whose satellite-based social networking technology helps skiers track their vertical performance and resorts monitor ski and snowboard school students, is the first tenant to join the 8th Continent Aerospace Business Incubator. In 2008, flaik was named Australian International Product of the Year by the Australian International Design Awards, and was awarded an IF Product Design by the International Forum Design in Hanover, Germany. For more information, please visit at www.flaik.com, www.8cproject.com, and www.boulderinnovationcenter.com.
About Steamboat Ski Resort
Famous for its authentic Western atmosphere, friendliness, Olympic tradition, variety of terrain and abundant Champagne Powderr snow, Steamboat-Ski Town, U.S.A.r encompasses 165 trails, 3,668 vertical feet and nearly 3,000 skiable acres with six peaks filled with world-class groomed cruisers, bumps, steeps, meadows, legendary trees, Mavericks Superpipe, two terrain parks and the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel. In the past three years, Steamboat has stampeded ahead with nearly $30 million in on-mountain investments across the resort. www.steamboat.com.
Mobile Technology Feature - Top 10 Business Apps for Android - Android has become one of the most popular mobile operating systems
in the world due to advanced software, competitive manufacturers, and an
app market that is filled with exciting and useful applications. Read
on for this fine Top 10 List compiled by tech writer, Blake Sanders
The Really Big List of Mapping, Geo location Mobile developer resources, APIs and Tools - The Mobile Ecosystem... no question that mobile is huge and
the opportunity for developers, in particular, geo developers! There's
loads of developer resources on the web so to help the developer,
here's a listing of just some of the fine dev resources, blogs,
toolsets and more to consider when developing or porting your app to a
smartphone or Tablet.
ArcGIS.com Mashup Tutorial with Flickr and Foursquare data-
Here's a simple "how to" tutorial on working with the free ArcGIS.com
to easily import KML or RSS data from Flickr and foursquare into ArcGIS
to create your own custom map mashup. ArcGIS.com has some recent
updates including support for KML, be sure to check it out!
Most Users of Free Photo Apps Say Adding Cool Effects is Most Useful - Adding cool effects
to photos was rated as the most useful thing by more than halfof
consumers surveyed using free online photography services, according to
CatchFree a free
online service that helps people find the best free mobile and web applications
to perform useful tasks.
Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Up Close - No Replacement for the iPad But Pretty Darned Sweet - As could be
expected, speculation and blogging is rampant with many stories and
pseudo "reviews" coming out, many of them touting the next "iPad
killer".
Mobile Developer Resource - MapQuest & The Mobile Worker - Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing,
insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field
workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in
to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done
Flickr GPS Photo Tag Tip - Here's a tip for Flickr users who want to share their GPS information
with their photos. note, in order to do this you'll need to be
capturing photos using a GPS-enabled or GPS-aware camera (see you're
smartphone hardware settings to ensure that GPS or location sharing is
turned "ON)".
Mobile data usage in Canada to triple between 2010 and 2012 - Some interesting, yet not terribly surprising, numbers on mobile
usage coming out of Canada. According to a report summarized on
Techvibes, mobile usage is soaring, in particular, the smartphone
segment
Social Location Directory
Do you have a location-aware application, social location service or other location-sensitive service that you'd like to share with us? Please browse this growing directory of Social location Services and feel free to leave a link to your favorite service! See the Directory HERE
Suggested Reading
The Underground Guide To The iPhone:
The iPhone is – if I may say so – one of the greatest mobile
revolutions of the past decade. More and more, mobile phones seem to
materialize out of our wildest dreams. Because of the tight integration
of third-party applications, you can do nearly everything with your
device — be it gaming, working, fooling around, and of course phoning.
Good Mobile Messaging: Executives and professional field forces spend an increasing amount of time on the road tending to business.
Mobile Apps - Native or Web?:
You probably have a plan to build a mobile app, but you've struggled
with the basic question - Should I build it using open web standards
such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or should I build it as a native app
for the devices I want to target?
iBike Coach App- a new “Always On” feature always gathers data
Nike+ GPS App- for sports tracking, recording and sharing
Featured Events
Content & Apps for Automotive Europe 2012 (18-19 April, Germany)
will give you key insights on how in-vehicle connectivity is being
revolutionised as OEMs integrate dynamic content to stay relevant
throughout the vehicle life cycle.
Location Intelligence for Enterprise - Europe 2012, January 16-17, London Hear from Google, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tesco, Willis, Oracle,
ESRI, Microsoft, PBBI and many more as they debate the best strategies
for business models and integration.
Consumer Telematics Show 2012 (Jan 9, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, USA) is the most prestigious and
dynamic consumer telematics focused meeting for the automotive industry.
Held in Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
this year's senior-level speakers will include General Motors, Audi,
Toyota, Panasonic, Continental, Hughes Telematics, Gartner, KIA,
Mercedes-Benz and many more
Esri Dev Summit - The
Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) brings together developers and GIS
professionals from all over the globe. March 26-29, 2012, Palm Springs,
CA
