AIONAV Systems AG
AIONAV Systems AG Democratising Mobile App Development

Mobile apps have come a long way since the introduction of the first smartphone in 1994 that only had ten inbuilt apps to make basic functions available such as calculator, calendar, and gaming. Today, there are 3 billion smartphone users who, while using their devices, spend 92 per cent of their time with mobile apps, which have transcended into several verticals from lifestyle to social media, sports, streaming, productivity, and countless others. Several organisations have been acknowledging the rapid development of mobile apps and want to leverage the technology for many of their operational requirements. However, developing apps with high functionalities, appealing design, and security to cater to the professional environment is an expensive (almost $50000) and arduous process that can only be performed by specialists. On top of that, there are only two operating systems (iOS and Android) that can publish these apps on their app content store. Unlike the websites that can operate on any web browser, mobile apps must be designed separately to run on these two environments, which adds to the development cost significantly. Also, both these platforms dictate the terms for publication of mobile apps on their platform. These operating systems not only define the technical standards but also determine the elementary usability (user interfaces), design, and content for these apps before integrating them into their app content stores. Many times, apps fail to comply with the stringent operating requirements of the iOS and Android operating systems. In 2017, Apple alone deleted some 100,000 published apps from its store that were allegedly created using sub-par app content kits. Several small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), public institutions and individuals get affected due to these pain points concerning mobile app content development and publishing. This is where AIONAV Systems AG comes to the picture with innovative app content technology and autonomous indoor navigation that allows organisations to create and share their self-made sophisticated mobile apps and digitalise their ideas. The app content technology of the company overcomes the existing barriers by enabling the app content creators to design, create and even publish their apps—all at a fraction of current costs. "We strive to create the foundations for the digitalisation, offering the required software, the necessary tools, and a possibility to publish mobile app contents independently without any programming knowledge," states Ulrich Walder, Founder, and CEO at AIONAV Systems.

A Revolutionary Approach for App content Development and Publication

The company offers AIONAV App-Studio that enables the creation of sophisticated mobile apps even by the non-professionals without any programming knowledge. The App-Studio maintains a database that has all the prerequisites such as multimedia information, graphical user interfaces, floor plans, location-based services, texts, forms, multilingualism, checklists, and several other documentations for a hassle-free development of sophisticated apps. Besides, the APP-Studio also separates the content from the processing of the app content, enabling organisations to choose the design, functionality, and content of their apps intuitively with complete creative freedom.

“Our database is like a content management system that allows organisations to structure the database according to their requirement freely,” informs Walder. Once developed, the apps can be used both online and offline for uninterrupted usage.

On the other hand, AIONAV Systems also has two APPPlayers on each of the iOS and Android app content store that allows organisations to publish their apps on these operating systems. Available for free, these App-Players act as a web browser, that can publish any app content developed with AIONAV APP-Studio on iOS and Android operating systems. The organisations just need to program the apps once per operating system to avail these features. Furthermore, the company enables the publication of several apps under its unique cover app content concept where the content of the app can be published as independent subapps— for internal purposes or specific customer groups. This composability helps organisations separate private apps containing sensitive organisational contents with the contents that are publicly available through many authentication methods such as QR codes and passwords. In addition, any new sub-apps can be added anytime to the cover apps and the users also get updates for any new content that is added to the app content, which they can access by completing the authentication process.

Further on, based on the AIONAV technology, the patented indoor navigation system AIONAV-IPS was developed for first responders and military personnel. It is one of the world's most precise positioning systems for completely autonomous positioning in GPS-denied environments available today. By measuring the accelerations, angular rotations and the strength of the earth's magnetic field in three directions by a small sensor, an accurate position can be determined continuously relative to a known starting point. "Our navigation system is based on inertial technology, completely independent of a fixed infrastructure (GPS, WLAN) and provides the most accurate, fully autonomous positioning solution on the market," says Walder. But, positioning and navigation also works in AIONAV apps without a sensor system using GPS, e.g. for tourist guides. In general, apps for sights and museums are among the most popular applications. Apps for exploring the ancient sites of Rome or Athens, St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums or Chenonceau Castle are very popular. Even small museums and sights, such as botanical gardens or zoos, can also afford an app content today thanks to the cheap and simple creation with the AIONAV App-Studio.

Walder shares a customer success story of a well-known architecture house that wanted an app content in which the people at the construction site could communicate with the project manager efficiently with improved transparency. The company developed a complete app content, including the user interface and other icons within two days for the architecture company. The architects only need to download the template of the app content and enter the relevant information to use the app content for any project. Once the project is uploaded, a QR code is produced, which can be used by all the concerned parties to add or follow the contents of the app content. The app content helped the construction company to establish a communication channel for each member of a project, which has resulted in enhanced workflow management, transparency and improved productivity. “Not only the drawings, but our app content also allows the architecture company to perform reporting, security checks, and many other functions on the building management side,” states Walder.

The Journey towards a Mobile World

Founded in 2011 as a spin-off from the Graz University of Technology, AIONAV Systems has its roots in the autonomous indoor and outdoor navigation systems. The cornerstone of the company was laid with its accumulated knowledge from developing positioning systems for emergency services. Since then, AIONAV Systems has been developing and marketing new technologies for mobile app contents and autonomous indoor navigation in Germanspeaking countries. With more than hundred thousands of download of apps created with AIONAV app content technology, the company has carved a niche in the mobile app content industry. For its innovative and disruptive technology, AIONAV Systems has won several awards and accolades, including Seal of Excellence EU Horizon 2020 SME Instruments (2x), Finalist-Digital Innovation of the Year 2019, and others. Going forward, AIONAV Systems intends to expand geographically and cater to global markets in the near future. "The combination of high functionality, individuality, great design possibilities, easy handling, and especially the independent publication make our technology standout from other players in the market, and we will continue to innovate for an efficient and seamless mobile world," concludes Walder.