MIT WiFi network goes Big Brother
posted Nov 4th 2005 4:30AM
Those crazies over at MIT have been busy upgrading their WiFi coverage — it now covers completely their 9.4 million square foot campus, making them one of the largest "hotspots" in the country — but not being satisfied with simple connectivity, they have set up the system to track how many users are in a given location, and who they are, if the users have chosen to make themselves known. All the data is accessible by students through a web interface, or can be seen on large format Plexiglas maps hung in the MIT Museum. Research is being done on the data collected and they have come up with a few amazing findings, including the fact that students tend to spend time in class during the day and in their dorms at night. That's some pretty great stuff there, keep up the good work guys!
I am sure their parents are proud... Research is being done on the data collected and they have come up with a few amazing findings, including the fact that students tend to spend time in class during the day and in their dorms at night. Who would have thought that such a thing like that was happening.
"including the fact that students tend to spend time in class during the day and in their dorms at night."
Wow... >.>
M.I.T.. my dreaming school. it always create new things for better world.
open course , $100 laptop,and now is WIFI.
Walk on......
I've always seen MIT as a bit like the School For The Gifted in X-Men. Which is why I wanna go there.
I guess some people dont recognize sarcasm when they read it - OOPS! There is goes again!
Yeah, but the real question is who's dorm is who in at night?
Don't MIT students have anything better to do in their dorms than use WiFi and be logged??
And/or, do they put their laptops in class, put on voice recording (video?) streaming it to ... wherever, and go get another coffee or ... once again in their dorms ...?
wow! some jealous boyfriends/girlfriends are going to have a field day with this technology!
This is cool.
And unquestionably, the critical new advance that wireless connectivity brings to organizations is that users and devices are no longer tied to specific locations to access information and applications on a network. Whereas in a traditional wired network, every laptop accesses the network through a designated port, with wireless networks it's been impossible to determine where the user or network device physically resides. And that's a problem.
To control the management and security of wireless networks the critical new capability organizations require is to regain control of the locations where wireless network access is available.
That means organizations require the ability to real-time track the exact location of all wireless 802.11 devices in and around the organization.
There's a company in Boston called Newbury Networks with software that does this. They provide the capability to precisely locate and track in real time the exact pysical locations of all wi-fi devices. Actually, they have a patent on this stuff. Check out their website
And if you're in San Fran, San Diego or Boston, they're giving live "wifi tracking" demos in the next week or two.
Didn't they have this map in one of those Harry Potter films?
TZK: The article stated that fact. Maybe you should read the article before opening up with a smartass remark?
Boo MIT.
Cornell Engineering 4evz.
Too bad our WiFi network only covers a handful of indoor public places, such as libraries and cafes and the like. And obviously no tracking. Maybe because our campus is about 200 billion acres.
/irrelevant
Hey Jose, congrats on getting your picture in engadget! :)
-Alex
Thanks alex :D
-Jose
That sounds a lot cheaper than putting Ethernet jacks in every room on the camps. :)
DUDE. Next time I am being a cheating ho at MIT, I shall have to remember to turn off the automatic wireless access thing on my laptop, like OMG!
I hope soon the whole world is one giant wi-fi campus :) Although I'd rather not be tracked by the government at all times.
People at MIT have boyfriends/girlfriends? wow.