Intel Experimetns with Wi-Fi as GPS Substitute

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Randall <rvh40 () insightbb com>
Date: July 13, 2005 1:07:28 AM EDT
To: Dave <dave () farber net>
Cc: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Subject: Intel Experimetns with Wi-Fi as GPS Substitute



Intel experiments with Wi-Fi as GPS substitute

By Michael Kanellos
http://news.com.com/Intel+experiments+with+Wi-Fi+as+GPS
+substitute/2100-7351_3-5785565.html

Story last modified Tue Jul 12 16:30:00 PDT 2005



SAN JOSE, Calif.--The satellites that comprise the global positioning
system can pinpoint a person's location to within a few meters. Intel is
experimenting with ordinary wireless networks to see if the same job can
be done on land.

Researchers at Intel are examining ways to triangulate an individual's
location with Wi-Fi or cellular networks like GSM, said Ian Smith, a
senior researcher from Intel Labs at the New Paradigms of Using
Computers conference at IBM's Almaden Labs.

The main benefit of wireless networks is that they can locate someone in
an urban environment. GPS often fails in downtown crystal canyons where
tall buildings can block signals. By timing how long it takes signals to
go from the satellites to a person, a handheld containing a GPS chip can
determine that person's location.

While GPS determines only the latitude and longitude of an individual,
wireless can also determine height and thus figure out what floor of a
particular building a person is on.

"GPS is at odds with human civilization," Smith said, because humans
spend most of their time inside or in dense environments. To help prove
the point, he wore a backpack for 3.5 months with a monitor. It found
that, on average, he spent only 4.5 percent of each day outside.

Boston's Skyhook Wireless already offers location services through Wi-Fi
in some urban areas in the United States.

A wireless system could potentially reduce the costs of implementing
location-based services. Adding GPS to a phone requires that the
manufacturer add a chip. In a wireless system, the calculations to
convert signal relay times into geographic location will get performed
on a phone's processor (although for now, the FCC has mandated that
phones in the future have GPS functionality). Not only does Intel
promote Wi-Fi, it has recently begun to gain momentum in the market for
cell phone chips.

Although the idea has been bandied about for years, the actual scenarios
in which people might use these sorts of services are beginning to gel.
In recent tests, parents said that they liked the idea of being able to
determine where their kids are by punching a few buttons on a phone and
looking at a graphical map.

By contrast, kids--conversant in messaging--didn't find it that
interesting. Messaging, in fact, is apparently leading to the demise of
doorbells in Europe, according to a new study from Georgia Tech. "Teens
call and text message because that way you won't have to deal with
someone's parents," he said.

Location-aware phones could also guide a vacationer to restaurants or
other establishments similar to those they have at home by comparing the
owner's usual haunts to reviews and recommendations found in a database
pertinent to the cell owner's current location.

Intel will conduct trials in August in which about 20 people will record
places they visit. The data will then be used to compile a
recommendation list.

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Privacy, of course, is a major concern, Smith said. A few years ago,
Intel got stung when it put serial numbers on processors. Basic location
services can also disclose embarrassing information; no one wants a
phone that would disclose you've been in the local jail for a few hours.
Consumers should have complete control over turning the tracking
mechanism off or on, he said.

"We've made a decision to take the problem really seriously," he said.

However, GPS, which has been around for years, can actually pinpoint a
person with more accuracy at the moment than Wi-Fi or cellular
networks.

"The trickiness of triangulation (with wireless) is that the data is a
little bit noisy," he said. Wireless systems also tend to work only
where several antennas have been set up.

Nonetheless, carriers are searching for more services to offer
customers, and ultimately that search will likely lead them to expand
the applications and services that can run on a phone.

"There will be some hungry, hungry hippo, probably a No. 2 or 3 carrier
that will become convinced that to grow they will have to open the box,"
Smith said.


--  
"We've got the hatemongers who literally hate this president, and that
is so wrong. . . . The people who hate George Bush hate him because he's
a follower of Jesus Christ, unashamedly says so and applies his faith in
his day-to-day operations." -- Rev. Jerry Falwell, on C-SPAN's  
"Washington Journal"



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