Zoosh, Powered by Naratte, Utilizes Ultrasonic Technology to Deliver Secure Device-to-Device Communication
- Uses the existing speaker and microphone to deliver secure device to device communication
- With one App update, millions of mobile phones can make secure mobile wallet transactions
- Uses ultrasonic technology that is inaudible to humans
- Available now from Naratte with consumer deployments in July
Naratte [rhymes with karate] Inc., a Silicon Valley-based start-up, has announced that it can provide the benefits of near-field communication (NFC) with ultrasonic technology by using the speaker and microphone already found on mobile devices. This new technology, called Zoosh™, is highly engineered software that communicates in frequencies that are inaudible to humans, but are used in nature by frogs, dolphins and other animals. With one software update, an App can now become Zoosh-powered to securely transfer data between millions of devices already in use by consumers.
"In order to deliver a secure and reliable data transaction using existing audio subsystems, we had to overcome some incredibly difficult engineering hurdles," says Naratte cofounder and CEO, Brett Paulson. "We have accomplished what some said was not possible, and the market timing could not be any better."
Naratte's Zoosh technology is engineered to be low cost, fast, secure and reliable. It can be instantly deployed to millions of mobile devices, including iPhones, Android phones, tablets and even feature phones. It requires no network connection and has no interoperability issues. Zoosh is architected to be safe for mobile payments by implementing security techniques such as creating a unique and perishable transaction IDs.
Zoosh technology is available now. Naratte's partners are currently integrating Zoosh into many different applications and environments, including phone-to-phone and phone-to-POS payments, phone-to-POS loyalty systems and digital couponing. Many other applications are in development, including instant and reliable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi authentication.
"Early adopters are already doing amazing things with Zoosh. A great example is SparkBase whose Zoosh-enabled mobile wallet application, PayCloud, recently won the 'ETA 2011 Technology Innovation Award,'" says Paulson. "Our partners are excited to enable near-field communication across millions of devices without having to wait to 2015 or beyond for mass NFC adoption."
Naratte is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., was founded in May 2009 and has 12 employees. It has received $5 million in strategic funding from an unnamed investor, and its technology is underpinned by eight patents pending. More information on Naratte and its products can be found on its new web site, also launched today at www.naratte.com.
Technology Endorsements:"PayPal is very excited about Naratte's Zoosh technology. Naratte's approach provides instant scale and low cost integration options for merchants which is a major hurdle for most mobile payment technologies. Zoosh has the potential to enable complete consumer-merchant shopping experiences." -- Laura Chambers, general manager of PayPal Mobile.
"We are extremely excited to have Naratte's Zoosh technology running on Texas Instruments' (TI) C5000™ ultra-low-power DSPs. Zoosh opens doors for every mobile customer on the planet to use their handheld device in new ways that makes their world smarter, more secure and definitely more fun. With all the innovation that's been done around wireless communication, this is one of the most creative uses of technology that I've seen." -- Matt Muse, general manager, C5000 Ultra-Low-Power DSPs, Texas Instruments.
"Zoosh is one of the most impressive and clever technologies I've seen in a long time. Being able to easily enable transactions among all types of mobile devices within the true proximity from each other, all done through a pure software-based solution, is incredibly powerful. I am a big fan of the Naratte team's obsession with the end-user experience and its knack to solve really difficult problems." -- Fay Arjomandi, head of US R&D and Incubation Centre, Vodafone Group.
