Using satnav on smartphones can assist in reaching destinations but new technology will soon allow us to use them to navigate in shopping malls, airports and even Ikea. If you have ever been lost in a shopping centre or been unable to find the item you want in a supermarket, read on.
Cambridge-based CSR is testing the system while Google is working on a system for San Francisco airport. Tesco is also trialling a system at its Romford store that uses wifi signals to send shoppers to the right part of the store.
The system uses several technologies to tell users where they are. “We have taken information from multiple sensors, such as satellite, radio signals such as cellular signals or wifi, and then sensors such as the compass built into phones. Using all this, we can work out where you are to give you an indoor experience just like an outdoor satnav,” says CSR.
CSR’s product, called SIRF Fusion, is set to appear in mobile phones within months, with the first big shopping centres adding it within a year.
For a view of Ikea – see the link http://tinyurl.com/brt34br
Text via London Evening Standard
