[youtube]http://youtu.be/OGdvjvla1Tc[/youtube]
WIFISLAM este o companie micuta pe care Apple a decis sa o achizitioneze pentru suma de 20 de milioane de dolari, motivul achizitiei fiind tehnologia care le permite posesorilor de smartphone-uri sa se localizeze in interiorul cladirilor. Apple a confirmat achizitionarea WIFISLAM pentru Wall Street Journal, nu a specificat ce intentioneaza sa faca cu ea, insa e clar ca Apple Maps va permite utilizatorilor sa se localizeze in interiorul cladirilor, insa deocamdata nu stim cand. Cei de la WIFISLAM utilizeaza numai semnalele Wi-Fi ambientale pentru a face localizarea in interiorul cladirilor, dezvoltatorii sai sustinand ca ea face localizari cu o precizie de pana la 2.5 metri.
Apple has acquired indoor-GPS company WifiSLAM, a sign that the war over indoor mobile location services is heating up. Apple paid around $20 million for the Silicon Valley-based company, according to a person familiar with the matter who said the deal closed recently. An Apple spokesman confirmed the deal saying the company “buys smaller technology companies from time to time” and generally doesn’t discuss its plans. He declined to comment further. WifiSLAM could not immediately be reached for comment.
Achizitionarea acestei companii si implementarea tehnologiei in Apple Maps este cat se poate de logica, mai ales ca Google Maps ofera acelasi lucru de cateva luni bune de zile. Apple probabil va grabi implementarea sistemului in Apple Maps si in urmatorul an e posibil sa lanseze in cateva tari posibilitatea de a face geolocalizari in interioril cladirilor. Chiar daca pentru SUA, Marea Britanie, Franta, etc, vestea este extrem de buna, din pacate pentru o tara ca Romania nu putem cere prea multe, avand in vedere ca nici macar Google nu a adus serviciul sau aici.
Allow your smartphone to pinpoint its location (and the location of your friends) in real-time to 2.5m accuracy using only ambient WiFi signals that are already present in buildings. We are building the next generation of location-based mobile apps that, for the first time, engage with users at the scale that personal interaction actually takes place. Applications range from step-by-step indoor navigation, to product-level retail customer engagement, to proximity-based social networking. Company cofounder Anand Atreya explained how the technology works: users collect the data passively by walking around the building — that means the phone needs to be left on with Wi-Fi enabled, which can affect battery life. Another possible pitfall would be changes in Wi-Fi hotspot locations, although the company notes that most businesses leave their routers in place for a long time after setting them up, and new fingerprints are always being gathered, making updates pretty simple.
