'Indoor GPS' means your phone can always find you
FINDING your way around big shopping centres or airports may soon get a lot easier.
An indoor positioning system, similar to GPS, is being tested by visitors to the Kamppi shopping centre in Helsinki, Finland. GPS doesn't work in buildings because the satellite signals it uses can't get through walls. In this system, developed by Nokia, a cellphone can use nearby Wi-Fi transmitters instead of satellites. It triangulates their signals to calculate its position, which it then displays on a map.
It is not the first indoor system but the others have mostly been for specialist uses, such as helping firefighters find colleagues in smoke-filled buildings. The Nokia system will work with existing infrastructure and handsets.
One thing it does need, however, is access to maps of the inside of buildings. This may not be feasible for private homes, but many public sites such as sports centres and universities already make maps available.
If the Kamppi test is a success, the system could be rolled out much more widely, says project leader Christian Prehofer. It might help people find their departure gate at airports, meet friends in a museum, or locate goods in a superstore.
- wong chee tat :)
