Location Dependent service(s)

How do I know where I am?

• Outdoors: GPS or from the network operators knowledge [of order 100m to sub-centimeter]
• Indoor: IR and RF beacons, triangulation, knowing what you can see or hear

What can I do with this knowledge?

• My students built a JAVA Applet which gets data from GPS unit and dynamically displays a list of the information available - as a function of where you are:
  • if near bus, subway, train stop - you get transit information
    (complete with highlighted time table entry - since the system also knows the time)
  • list of restaurants, shops, etc. where you are and in the direction you are headed
    • the scope is based on your velocity vector - so if you move quickly it reduces detail, but increases the scope
  • map information with updated position

How do I know who I'm with or what I'm near?

• Olivetti, Xerox, and MIT - using IR emitters as "ID" tags
  • Olivetti put them on people, equipment, ...
  • Xerox put them on electronic notepads, rooms, ...
  • MIT Media Lab is putting them on people + lots of inanimate objects (clock, fish tank, ...)