Gimbal (company)
 | |
| Private | |
| Founded | San Diego, California, United States (2014)[1] |
| Headquarters |
11010 Roselle Street Suite 150 San Diego, CA 92121 |
Key people |
Jeff Russakow, CEO; Rocco Fabiano, Chairman |
| Products | iBeacon/Beacon mobile engagement platform; Gimbal geolocation/geofencing and analytics; Bluetooth smart beacons |
| Website | http://www.gimbal.com |
Gimbal, Inc. is a San Diego, CA-based mobile customer engagement and location solutions company. The company develops technology that allows its customers to deliver custom content to their own customers' mobile apps, using beacons, wireless proximity sensing technology powered using Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), in addition to geofences.
Originally incubated as part of wireless semiconductor company Qualcomm, Gimbal was launched as its own company in 2014.[1]
History
As part of Qualcomm, Gimbal was originally called Qualcomm Retail Solutions, and brought its first products to market under that name.[2] One of the early customers was the Sacramento Kings basketball team, who announced they were using beacon technology to send offers and communications to the iPhones of fans attending games at the team's arena.[3]
In April 2014, Qualcomm announced that it was spinning off the business unit to outside investors, which included individuals as well as the i-Hatch LBS Fund, a fund created with investments from companies including Zebra Technologies, AEG and SK Planet.[2][4] Qualcomm reportedly kept a substantial but non-controlling interest.[1] The transaction was completed in May 2014, and Rocco Fabiano was named the company's first CEO.[5]
In October 2014, media coverage described how baseball and football teams were using Gimbal's technology to communicate with fans, including giving messages about shorter concession lines at the stadiums.[5] Also that month, news coverage described a pilot advertising program in New York City where beacons were installed in phone booths, to reach consumers on the sidewalks. The program was shut down because the installer, New York based transit advertising company Titan, now Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google, had not received the necessary approvals from the City.[6]
In June 2015, the company announced it was making its beacon firmware available for any Bluetooth LE device to act as a beacon.[7]
In July 2015, the company announced that Jeff Russakow was joining as their new CEO, and that Rocco Fabiano, who had led the transition of Gimbal out of Qualcomm, was assuming the role of Chairman.[8] Media coverage of the transition reported that Gimbal had the largest deployment of Bluetooth beacons in the US.[8]
Also in July 2015, the company introduced a low cost, USB-powered Bluetooth beacon called the U-Series 5, as a way for customers to add beacon functionality to devices with USB ports, such as vending machines.[9]
In August 2015, the company announced a partnership with do it outdoors, a mobile media company, to create a fleet of roving proximity ads, bridging the so-called gap between out of home and digital.[10] Beacons would be placed in do it outdoors' owned and operated mobile billboard units, along with Segways, jet packs, brand ambassador teams and other field marketing-related company managed sites. Consumers with the correct app downloaded onto their iPhone or Android phones and within 50 meters of a beacon would receive push notifications.[10]
Products
Gimbal's produces beacon wireless sensors and related management software used for out of home advertising and customer engagement, focusing on messaging consumers when they are in public places.
Their products include the following:
- Gimbal Platform - A mobile engagement platform combining location geofences and proximity beacons with software, hardware, analytics tools and a management portal
- Gimbal Beacons - The company markets beacons with its own beacon technology and also supports Apple's iBeacon technology, both which use Bluetooth Smart Bluetooth Low Energy technology. A low cost USB-powered beacon is called the U-Series 5.[9] The company also licenses its technology firmware for integration into third party Bluetooth-enabled devices.
- Gimbal Marketplace - Gimbal offers a marketplace to connect advertisers, mobile apps, retailers, venues and out-of-home (OOH) networks.[11]
Applications
The company targets four areas with its beacon solutions:
- Venues - Stadiums, arenas, concert halls and other venues deploy beacons to create personalized mobile experiences for fans.[12]
- Retailers - Beacons are used by retailers to engage and educate shoppers, and traffic analytics can offer additional market intelligence.[13]
- Advertising - Beacons are used to send targeted ads to local shoppers.[10]
- Solution Providers - Gimbal offers a software development kit SDK for developers who want to add beacons to third party applications.[14]
Privacy concerns
Gimbal's technology has raised security concerns related to customer privacy. Unlike GPS, which isn't very accurate, and doesn't work indoors or in dense cities, beacons have more precise location sensing capabilities. Analysts have been quoted as saying that wider adoption of the technology requires addressing these concerns.[5] In interviews, the company described how it was addressing these concerns, by only allowing their beacons to work with Gimbal-enabled apps that consumers download to their smartphones. Unlike some other beacon technology, it was reported that Gimbal's beacons will not connect to a phone that isn't running a specific app. The company also announced that they have developed a rolling encrypted code to ensure only users with the correct privileges can see the beacon's information,[5] and that their technology is TRUSTe-certified. The company also sits on the board advisory committee for the Washington, DC-based Future of Privacy Forum, an organization with the stated mission to promote responsible data practices.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 "Qualcomm Spin-Off Gimbal Transitions to Stand-Alone Company". San Diego Business Journal. 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- 1 2 "Qualcomm spins off Gimbal beacon technology into a separate company". fiercewireless.com. 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ "Sacramento Kings Implementing Cutting-Edge Technology to Enhance the Fan Experience". nba.com. 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ "Qualcomm Spins off Gimbal Business Unit into Gimbal, Inc.". VR World. 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- 1 2 3 4 "Gimbal betting on beacons". San Diego Union Tribune. 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ "New York City Shuts Down Unauthorized Sensors". Wall Street Journal. 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
- 1 2 "Gimbal wants to turn Bluetooth LE devices into beacons". fiercewireless.com. 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- 1 2 "Gimbal names new CEO". fierceretail.com. 2015-07-28. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- 1 2 "USB-Powered Beacons Enable Plug-And-Play Proximity Functionality To Vending And Amusement Machines". vendingtimes.com. 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- 1 2 3 "Gimbal Partners With Do It Outdoors Media To Promote Beacon Tech". mediapost.com. 2014-08-18. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
- ↑ "Our solution". gimbal.com. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ "US Open App Serves up Beacon and Location-Targeted Messages". urbanairship.com. 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
- ↑ "How Gimbal Connects Retail's Digital And Physical World". pymnts.com. 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
- ↑ "Shazam, Gimbal partner for location-based music suggestions". slashgear.com. 2015-01-12. Retrieved 2015-08-27.