Already this summer, navigating the extensive territory of Riga 1st Hospital will become significantly easier for patients and visitors – Latvian company “RedFrog” will introduce a navigation solution that will help users accurately find the necessary registration desk and later also the required office or department.
“RedFrog” is a Latvian startup developing the smartphone-based indoor navigation solution “Stride Navigation”. The system uses Bluetooth sensors placed throughout indoor spaces to determine the user’s location with approximately 1–2 meter accuracy and provide step-by-step directions to the destination – similarly to familiar outdoor navigation applications. The solution is particularly useful in large and complex facilities such as hospitals, universities, exhibition halls, and airports, where orientation is often difficult.
At Riga 1st Hospital, using the solution will be especially convenient – patients will not need to download an additional application. Before their appointment, they will receive a text message with a link, and once opened, the navigation will work directly in the smartphone browser. “We see that people are increasingly unwilling to download new applications – phones are already full enough. That is why it was important for us to ensure the navigation works without installation, simply by opening a link in the browser,” says Madara Kalniņa-Kalnmale, co-founder of “RedFrog”.
The solution functions similarly to conventional outdoor navigation applications – it determines the user’s location and displays the route to the destination in real time. Unlike many other solutions, the user does not have to manually indicate where they are located – the system determines this automatically. In addition to providing a more convenient navigation experience, the solution will also benefit the hospital itself by enabling analysis of visitor flows, identification of the busiest areas, and improved operational planning.
“Latvia is a very good testing environment for us – here we can quickly reach decision-makers and test the solution in real-life conditions. This allows us to understand what works and what still needs improvement before scaling exports more broadly,” explains Madara Kalniņa-Kalnmale.
The company has already implemented several large-scale projects in Latvia, including the student campus of Riga Technical University in Ķīpsala, where the navigation solution covers a large territory. In cooperation with RTU, the company is also working on further technology development, including researching the possibility of supplementing the solution with an ultrasound component to achieve even greater precision in the future.
Although Latvia serves as a testing and development environment for the technology, “RedFrog” is already strongly focused on exports. The company is currently actively negotiating with potential clients in several countries regarding implementation of the technology. One of the most interesting examples is a client in Eastern Europe, where the innovative technology developed in Latvia could be used differently than before – not for indoor or territory navigation, but for precise location tracking of individuals.
The specific potential client is a correctional institution where some inmates are subject to a more open regime, allowing them to stay outside the institution at certain times, for example at their homes. In such situations, it is important not only to know whether a person is in the “correct area”, but very precisely whether they are actually inside their own home rather than, for example, across the street or at another address. “In such cases GPS is often not accurate enough – the deviation may reach several dozen meters. This means it is impossible to determine with certainty whether a person is at home or, for example, at a neighbour’s house across the street,” explains Madara Kalniņa-Kalnmale.
In this case, the technology developed by “RedFrog” operates in reverse: while for navigation purposes sensors are installed indoors or within a defined territory and the user determines their location using a smartphone, here the transmitter is integrated into a bracelet worn by the inmate. It continuously and automatically communicates with a base station located at the correctional facility, allowing the precise location of the individual to be determined.
“Essentially, it is the same solution, only reversed – instead of a person with a phone searching for directions, we can determine where a specific individual is located. This is also a very interesting business development direction for us – we see that our technology can be used much more broadly than just navigation,” explains Madara Kalniņa-Kalnmale.
“RedFrog” is currently actively expanding exports, and participation in international exhibitions with support from the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia has provided a significant boost. Particularly successful was the company’s recent participation in a technology exhibition in Dubai, where the solution generated considerable interest.
“We did not expect such a strong response – people came, tested the solution, and immediately said they needed something like this,” says Madara.
The company is currently continuing discussions with several potential clients, particularly in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, where a significant portion of daily life takes place indoors due to climatic conditions, and building complexes are often large and difficult to navigate. The solution is especially suitable for locations where large numbers of people gather and infrastructure is complex, such as exhibition and conference centres, where it enables visitors to accurately locate the required stand or room.
At present, the company is still determining its primary focus – whether to concentrate on indoor navigation or further develop localization and tracking solutions more broadly. It is also evaluating whether establishing a representative office in the Middle East region and specific countries could help intensify cooperation and attract clients. “We see business development progressing in two directions – navigation and tracking. Right now, we are allowing the market to show which of these directions will become stronger,” says Madara Kalniņa-Kalnmale.
LIAA support has played an important role in the development of “RedFrog” so far – the company participates in the LIAA business incubation programme at its Jelgava representative office, while an innovation voucher received from LIAA helped create the first version of the product. “In this case, LIAA support is not only financing – it is also access to networks and information about various other opportunities, such as grants or international programmes, which entrepreneurs might otherwise never discover themselves. That is exactly how we learned about the SEB technology innovation grant, applied for it, and successfully received it,” explains Madara Kalniņa-Kalnmale.
Although the company continues to grow, its founders are currently evaluating additional investment opportunities very carefully. “At the beginning, when you are a startup, you are hungry for investment and perhaps ready to take any money available. But over time, you realize that the most important thing is what the investor brings in return, not only financing,” says Madara Kalniņa-Kalnmale openly.
The company has now fully bought out the previous investor’s stake and regained full control over the business. “We are very happy that we are once again fully independent. In the future, we will look for strategic investors – those who can help develop the business and who themselves benefit from the technology evolving,” she emphasizes.
The programme is financed under the European Union Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027 Specific Support Objective 1.2.1 “Strengthening research and innovation capacities and introducing advanced technologies in enterprises”, measure 1.2.1.4 “Support for improving the technology transfer system”.
