I thought of an excellent use for this technology; for guiding visually impaired persons throughout public areas! Devices could communicate with the user through audio.
I have seen some of this all demo on android phones. The app tried to do some indoor mapping based on wifi signals. Once the mapping is done it can help you navigate indoors. Pretty impressive though it needs sufficient wifi signals to be around. I would love these kind of apps to be more improved and accurare.
I can imagine that app helping blind people get around indoor areas, easier.
@Mr. Roques, I agree with you. Such apps/system will definitely help blind people get around indoor areas. It will also help people to easily navigate indoors when they find it difficult to find the destination.
I can imagine that app helping blind people get around indoor areas, easier. I don't know the current state of blind people using smart phones, but with voice integration, I can imagine it helping them go through malls, bus and train stations, etc.
I have read about a similar positioning technology that uses a combination of magnetometers, GPS, accelerometer and an electronic compass for indoor positioning.
The idea is to use GPS tracking outdoors and when the coverage is lost indoors the remaining three technologies work together to keep track of things. Obviously, there is an error margine here but this hybrid approach is a move in the right direction for maintaining accurate tracking when indoors.
I think there is a huge potential for positioning indoors. I have not come across a cheap and an accurate indoor positioning system yet.
The Earth's magnetic field once helped pioneering explorers discover exciting new lands and untold riches. Now, it could stop you getting lost at the shops, thanks to an upcoming smartphone app that uses magnetic fluctuations to map indoor locations, guiding you around places that GPS can't penetrate. Do you find such Apps useful and would you want to download such Apps ?
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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