Google started sharing success stories from customers using Google Maps APIs and the company’s other location-based solutions to build new businesses or improve their existing products and services. The first set of stories released by the Mountain View-based tech giant revolves around three startups trying to create Internet of Things (IoT) networks using the company’s geolocation services.
On Thursday, Head of Google Maps Flora Wong wrote about a Finnish startup Enevo which is equipping trash containers with Internet-enabled sensors to keep track of their remaining capacity. The firm’s sensors upload that data online, and Enevo then shares it with waste management companies which are able to use it to plan their routes. Due to Google Maps APIs integration, Enevo’s clients are able to see tracked containers on a map. Employees of waste disposal companies then use Android tablets to determine which containers need emptying and navigate their surroundings. A similar solution was also implemented by an American company Vagabond which used Google Maps JavaScript API to develop an online app allowing it to track vending machines on a map. Vagabond equipped its vending machines with sensors to track their stock, allowing the company’s clients to know which vending machines need to be refilled. Vagabond’s sensors also track other data and can detect mechanical failures, meaning malfunctioning vending machines on its network are detected automatically.
The last example shared by Wong on Thursday was that of Pod Trackers, a company that offers a pet tracking service based on Google Maps APIs. The firm’s customers are able to track their pets in real time and can even be automatically notified once their pets leave a previously specified area. The solution consists of a sensor attached to a collar that communicates with a dedicated mobile app and supports both GPS and Wi-Fi, the latter of which is useful when a pet isn’t lost and is only hiding somewhere in the house. Pod Trackers even monitor fitness activity and are currently offering their services in 175 countries around the world. Google promised to soon share more success stories of businesses that turned to Google Maps APIs to create or improve their products and services.
