Zartico Introduces Hot Spot Filtering to Geolocation Data Stream

Today Zartico announces a giant step forward in innovation and data science with the release of hotspot filtering within its ZDOS™ platform. This advancement strengthens the signal of human movement and visitation trends that destination partners find within Zartico’s Destination Operating System and use to make strategic decisions for the communities they serve.

Hotspot filtering identifies and removes imprecise location observations, which are present in all geolocation data sets. These approximate observations tend to collect in centralized locations, or hotspots, and can artificially inflate visitor counts to certain points of interest and skew visitation trends. Zartico’s proprietary dynamic hotspot filter targets and eliminates these observations — while maintaining 95% of the precise geolocation signal.

“This represents one of the most dramatic improvements we’ve ever made to enhance the quality, reliability, and accuracy of the geolocation data we provide our partners,” says Jay Kinghorn, Zartico’s co-founder and chief innovation officer. “By eliminating the imprecise observations, our partners can be sure that the decisions they make for their destinations are based on the clearest and most accurate geolocation signal available anywhere. It’s the next step in our ongoing investment in tools that support destination leaders in powering the possibilities of place.”

Zartico licenses the largest commercially available stream of geolocation data from its partner Azira, ingesting observations from more than 1.6 billion mobile devices each day. An internal team of dedicated data scientists applies sophisticated mathematical techniques to address the inconsistencies and fluctuations inherent in all geolocation data streams. These complex processes clean and normalize the data to ensure the quality and stability of what flows into the ZDOS™.

“Zartico has invested in data science in every stage of the process because we understand that to create tools that are robust and adaptable, we must first understand the universal principles that guide the way people move and interact with a destination,” says Alexandra Pasi, Ph.D., Zartico’s senior director of data science. “There are no shortcuts or simple algorithms capable of grappling with the complex questions that big data presents, which is why our scientific approach to the data informs everything we do.”

Introducing the hotspot filter positions Zartico on the cutting edge of discovering new ways to harness the power of geolocation data. Beyond aggregating or visualizing data, the ZDOS™ allows destinations to truly maximize their understanding of place and advance their strategic initiatives with confidence.