At the TechEd conference, in Amsterdam, two Microsoft employees dressed respectively as a cell phone and a PocketPC demonstrated a simple application that enabled them to take a photograph and post it, along with the location, to a Web log. The World-Wide Media eXchange, can couple with SenseCam output for a lifetime store of everything.
Microsoft is planning to deliver data about the location of cell phones to developers through a partnership between its MapPoint Location Server and several U.K. network operators. Microsoft’s director of marketing for the MapPoint, Tom Bailey, said he expected to have a deal with network operator O2 signed by the fall.
U.K.-based Zingo created a taxi-hailing service that matches mobile phone location data with GPRS positioning systems mounted in black cabs, but had to approach each network operator separately, a time-consuming, process.
A similar deal with TeliaSonera of Sweden is expected to be signed in July, and one with Dutch company Teydo is ready to go, says C/Net. Teydo supplies mobile phone positioning data from networks across Europe, including those operated by Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile and Orange in the United Kingdom.
WiFi RF-ID like Apriso and Aeroscout might be just the ticket for Wireless grocery shopping. Wi-Fi based positioning systems, like PlaceLab work best where GPS fails - indoors. RF-ID is also being used in Smart License Plates.
Herecast provides location-based services on a WiFi device. At its simplest level, it can tell you where you are. More advanced services can use your location to enhance information lookups, publish presence information, and create unique games — all while preserving privacy.
It’s not based on GPS or wardriving. Herecast uses a symbolic naming system — instead of using coordinates such as “42.9875, -81.2915″, it expresses your location in terms an ordinary person would use — for example, the name of the building. Every wireless access point broadcasts a unique identifier, which can be used to tell it apart from other access points. That identifier can also be used as a “landmark” to identify a particular location.
The immediate goals of the project are:
- Make sure it works as intended for Pocket PC, and that the user interface is good.
- Port it to desktop Windows XP.
Quarterscope’s Wi-Fi positioning technology, is similar GPS replacer. Wi-Fi Planet has the scoop on Quarterscope and their Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS). It calculates the position of a client in a manner similar to other Wi-Fi positioning developers such as PanGo Networks, Newbury Networks, Bluesoft and Ekahau.
Location Based Services might also develop around Blogmapper (links blog entries to clickable locations on a map), GeoURL ICBM Address Server (add Lat/Long to webpages), GeoNotes, (a free JAVA app that automatically detects your position for location-tagged messages), as used in Annotate Space, Trepia (a location-based list of other nearby Instant Messaging users), LocalFeeds (finds nearby RSS News feeds) and WWMX Travelogue (GPS tagged maps, photographs and text). Google Location Search can find local resources.
Ford Motor Co. announced yesterday that it has deployed WhereNet’s WhereCall real-time parts-locating system in its new F-150 truck plant in Dearborn, Mich. The wireless real-time locating system, should be able to track and schedule work more efficently.
Directions Magazine has a series of articles on mobile location-based services and content. Other magazines include Geospatial-Online, Geo World, GPS World and Wireless DevNet. Here’s a great list of innovative mobile projects
Related stories on Daily Wireless include:
- Location Services Hit the Street
- Multiplayer Wireless Games
- City Cloud Applications
- Ubiquitous Computing
- Streaming Local Content
- GPS Narrative Archaeology
- Mapping Oral History
- Poem Spots
- Geocoding the Wiki
- Wireless Museums
- Wireless Walking Tours
- Electric Bike Tours
- Mapping to Go Projects
- My Pal Mickey
- Cellular Walking Directions
- Ekahau + ESRI
- Linkspoint GPS + Symbol
- MapInfo’s Hotspot Services
- MapInfo’s Open LS
- ATT + Microsoft + Maps
- Location without GPS
- Location By Triangulation - Not
- Open GIS Magazine
- The Un-walled Garden
- Tracking Individuals
- Tracking Bryon
- GPS+TV=Location
- Location, Location, Location
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