WifiPositioning
Latest
Finnish mall rats take Nokia's WiFi positioning system for a test drive
Nokia is currently testing an indoor positioning system at the Kamppi Shopping Center in Helsinki that lets users triangulate their position from a series of WiFi transmitters on their Nokia S60 cellphone. The handset runs an app that allows users to pinpoint their location on a map of the mall, send SMS messages with their location to fellow shoppers, and find the shortest route to the Orange Julius (or its Finnish counterpart). Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen a company try to make GPS-like positioning viable indoors, but it may be the first that's expressly designed to enable your shopping addiction. We'll be keeping an eye out for further developments -- in the meantime, peep the video demonstration after the break.[Via Switched]
Skyhook XPS integrates with TI's NaviLink and WiLink mobile solutions
It's not that hybrid GPS systems are all that new, it's just that most are working totally under the radar. Skyhook's hoping to get its rendition out in the open a tad more via a new partnership with Texas Instruments. The company's XPS hybrid positioning system is now cleared for integration within TI's NaviLink and WiLink mobile solutions, though there's no mention made of who all is drooling to get this into their phones. In short, Skyhook's XPS works by detecting WiFi hotspots, raw GPS readings and cellular IDs, and then comparing that information against a known database of geo-located points. In theory, this stuff could totally amp up the location abilities of most any handset, but in reality, we wouldn't be surprised to see it get swept away and forgotten just like the eerily similar announcement between Skyhook and Broadcom. Full release is after the break.
