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back to article Nokia, Samsung and pals team up to map malls, stations

Nokia and Samsung have teamed up to try to standardise the technology used to for indoor location services. The firms, together with Sony, British chip designer CSR and 18 other companies, have launched the In-Location Alliance to launch standards-based services, starting with Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy technology and Wi-Fi …

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  1. frank ly

    "The Chocolate Factory uses WiFi for its indoor maps."

    Do the owners/operators of these WiFi units (routers or repeaters, I assume) know that they are being used to provide this Google service and have they given assurances that they will not be moved or their operation modified?

    For large public buildings, the owners would probably be very happy to install cheap Wi-Fi units to help in this function and ensure they are not modified without informing service operators.

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  2. Tom 38
    Happy

    HELLO DAVE? I HAVE SOME MAPS BELOOOONGING TO YOOOOU

    +1 just for the end sentence.

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  3. Andy 36
    Trollface

    Just you wait and see...

    Apple will patent the group findings along the way... then look to ban them all for idea theft

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  4. PeterGriffin

    Microsoft have a working system?

    Strange this alliance doesn't include Microsoft as they have a working system based on multiple WiFi transmitters. IIRC they installed and mapped the Tesco Extra at Gallows Corner in Romford over a year ago - again IIRC the access point had an SSID of Agora - but each it's own station/MAC address.

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  5. Mark .

    Kings Cross

    Anything that helps with the maze that is the new Kings Cross station is good - and indeed, it's already there now on Google Maps.

    Only downside is it seems to be 2D and top level only - what you really need for Kings Cross station is a 3D map for the underground station, complete with sat nav[*]. I'm sure the signed direcitons show longer routes than necessary, and it's a maze if you want to go via lifts...

    [*] Offline maps of course, so it still works. Which Nokia did this 6 years ago (so it's good to see this collaboration between them and Samsung), letting you select entire continents at a time. The entire world fits easily onto phone memory, so why on Google am I restricted to just a handful of city sized areas...

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Kings Cross

      Umm... "sat nav"? Satellites tend to be in space, rather than indoors, you know- that's the whole point of using other local location sensing methods.

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      1. Mark .
        Reply Icon

        Re: Kings Cross

        Well yes, I'm using the expression, not the literal meaning. And even with no location sensing at all, simply showing the directions in a map would be useful, though perhaps challenging to display if it's a 3D environment (though having played a bit more with Google Maps, I was impressed to see that it does already show different levels of the overground station). Maybe someone could convert it into a Quake-style level.

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    2. vic 4
      Reply Icon

      Re: Kings Cross

      The underground station is St. Pancras. The train station it's self is not very hard to find your way around though.

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  6. James 47

    Oh great, so people are now going to stop even more as soon as they exit the Underground barriers to check the station map on their phone.

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  7. Dan 55 Silver badge
    WTF?

    Am I getting old...

    ... or is there something wrong with looking at the map/store directories which are usually placed in convenient easily-findable places?

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  8. Ascylto
    Big Brother

    23456

    "Nokia and Samsung have teamed up..."

    Says it all, really.

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