Through Mobisys05 web page (damn I missed the event for only some days!) I’ve bumped into “Accuracy Characterization for Metropolitan-Scale Wi-Fi Localization”, a very interesting paper that was presented some days ago comparing several systems available for using WiFi in positioning or enhancing GPS positioning data. The research shows how current systems can provide “a median positioning error of 13-40 meters” but with a much smaller calibration effort than regular indoor positioning systems, and of course working a lot better than GPS in dense urban environments and particularly indoors (GPS needs line of sight to the satellite)
Don’t you think this opens new ideas of everyday’s life enhancements? I mean, nowadays it’s quite more probable that you have a WiFi-enabled device than a GPS (think from a PDA to your laptop) and positioning does not only help in mapping/routing solutions but also in every other context-aware application, even inside a company building. And as the wireless networks are more and more commonly spread city-wide, it’s not that difficult to find yourself in a situation where you can actually use this systems outdoors.
This summer I’ll probably be working in mapping/localization technologies for mobile devices in Redmond, so if you happen to know more articles in the line of this one… please let me know! };D
UPDATE: note the full-text access in the mobisys05 website needs usenix membership. However, you can still access the full article searching for its title on your favourite engine
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