Wi-Fi may become the new urban GPS

That is if Intel finds success in their experiment to see if Wi-Fi can help pin point a person’s location within a few metres of their location. Though the limitation is that this service would only be available in an urban environment, the benefits of cost savings by using an existing technology network cannot be ignored. Expensive satellites used for Global Positioning Systems can be eliminated by using the Wi-Fi network.

The limitation of urban positioning via Wi-Fi is one of the things which is anyway difficult via GPS. Thus a combination of the two is likely to give a near perfect solution in locating people. Is someone really going to use these systems or are they likely to remain limited to the imagination of movie script writers? Well, the usage is now becoming talked about as parents have started showing keen interest in wanting to know the location of their children by dialling a number and looking up a map. There might be many more uses which might become mainstay such as defence related tracking, air travel, packages, tracking of children, old people and pets become more commonplace.

Though the commercial implementation of the technology is still a bit far away, it does look like mobile phone providers and wireless service carriers are likely to start exploring the revenue model to this service in order to get commercialized at the earliest. There aren’t many days left till that day when your mom can track you down and find out that you are at the Pizza joint rather than at school!