About us / Press kit

LocoMatrix is one of the growing number of technology start-ups based in Brighton, the UK’s answer to Silicon Valley. The company offers a unique proposition for mobile games using geo-location (GPS), with a platform that allows for customised development across a number of sectors. From educational tools to geo-advertising campaigns, LocoMatrix delivers creative ways to make the most of today’s mobile technology and have fun at the same time!

Using geo-location to unlock the hidden realms of virtual worlds...

The mobile phone has become one of the most advanced and most versatile pieces of technology that most people now carry with them each day. The smartphone market has proliferated in the last couple of years and, with it, brings more opportunity for geo-location games that run on a good-sized touchscreen. (July 2010: Market analysts GfK suggest that smartphones make up almost 75% of all mobile handsets sold in 2010)

LocoMatrix takes advantage of the technology available in smartphones and develops games that are based upon your GPS position - games that are played outside, in the open air, and can be standalone or multiplayer.

Invisible Buildings

A great example of LocoMatrix’s game platform in application is Invisible Buildings, developed for the educational market to show what opportunities there are for geo-location games to inspire schoolchildren.

The game allows kids to use their school playing fields as virtual archaeological sites, locating underground treasures and buildings. The LocoMatrix technology allows schools to inspire classes both ‘in the field’ and, when the virtual dig is completed outdoors, back in the classroom to piece the information together. Have a look at a video of the Roman Villa edition of Invisible Buildings on our home page or here on YouTube

Current activity

The LocoMatrix team are working on a number of projects, each with the premise of providing a engaging new entertainment medium that gets young people running around outside.

We’re testing a number of playable games with our target groups, as well as further developing an open API (application programming interface) that allows other developers to connect to our system for their games. LocoMatrix can provide standard games, adapt our games, or create new games to your own requirements.

We’re also building a community of “Locos” – gamers, developers, game theorists, educators, mobile experts, funders, anyone interested in being “inside” the project.

The main areas of LocoMatrix interests are education, tourism, and team building / organisational development.

We’re on Twitter and Facebook, so sign up to stay informed about new activities the LocoMatrix team are working on.

The way that we’ve written our software means that we can offer very fast development of customised programs. For more on what we do, have a look in the games section of the site

Partnerships and Further Education Initiatives

Working with Brighton’s local talent in the technology sector and further education establishments, including two universities, LocoMatrix has developed a usability study (at Brighton University), and an investigation into games that do not rely on the phone screen, (e.g. stronger use of sound and vibration) at Sussex University.

Who we are

Richard Vahrman – COO

After gaining a BSc in Biology from Hatfield Poly, Richard worked with Prof. Heinz Wolff at the Clinical Research Institute in Harrow, later helping set up the Institute of Bioengineering at Brunel University, specialising in building robotic equipment for the European Space Agency. He then started up MultiAxis where he invented and marketed a novel method for tracking containers within the dairy industry. On moving to Brighton, he started up Brighton Web, a web hosting and design company, which is still operating with around 200 clients.

Moira Nangle - CEO

Moira was at Virgin Atlantic for 13 years, latterly as Director of Organisational Development. In this role she was responsible for Human Resources, Recruitment, and Learning and Development. In addition to LocoMatrix, she now runs her own consultancy and has amongst her clients - Rolls Royce, Nike, the NHS and Virgin Management Group. Particular interests are strategy execution, group dynamics and identification, development and fulfilment of potential. She is also a Board member for a number of regional and national charities. She speaks regularly at conferences both in the UK and abroad, most recently for the E.ON, the NHS and ING bank.

Andy Etter - Lead Designer

Andy came to LocoMatrix as an intern after gaining a First in game design at Southampton University. Since then he has created all the graphics for our smartphone games.

Richard Smith - Head of Computing

With extensive expertise in all sorts of clever computery things, Richard has been able to transform our ideas into reality, and in turn, turning your phone into a sophisticated location-based gaming console.

Lindsay Pollock - All Things Video

Lindsay Pollock is an independent film-maker, animator and cartoonist based in North London. His video-work has been seen internationally, most notably "We'll Never Meet Childhood Again" - a feature-documentary about HIV+ teenagers in post-communist Romania. Other work includes collaborations with the pop group Hot Chip, animated music videos and a graphic novel (...or the less pretentious 'long comic', as he prefers).