Wi-Fi Positioning System
Encyclopedia
Wi-Fi-based positioning system (WPS) emerged as an idea that can solve the positioning in certain situations (like indoors), taking advantage of the rapid growth of wireless access point
s in urban areas. Skyhook Wireless
is one provider of this type of service, maintaining a public database that can be accessed through an API
, and get the position based on the access points are accessible from a terminal. Other providers include the Fraunhofer Institute or Google
The localization technique used for positioning with wireless access points is based on measuring the intensity of the received signal (received signal strength in English RSS) and the method of "fingerprinting" . The accuracy depends on the number of positions that have been entered into the database. The possible signal fluctuations that may occur can increase errors and inaccuracies in the path of the user. To minimize fluctuations in the received signal, there are certain techniques that can be applied to filter the noise. New laws and regulations are being imposed on VoIP operators to force them to design systems in which access points can determine the position of the terminals in a given environment.
Citing the specific privacy concerns arising out of WPS, Google suggested a unified approach for Opting-Out a particular Access Point from taking part in determining location using WPS.
Wireless access point
In computer networking, a wireless access point is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards...
s in urban areas. Skyhook Wireless
Skyhook Wireless
Skyhook Wireless is a Boston-based company that developed a technology for determining geographical location using Wi-Fi as the underlying reference system. Using the MAC addresses of nearby wireless access points and proprietary algorithms, Skyhook's Wi-Fi Positioning System WPS can determine...
is one provider of this type of service, maintaining a public database that can be accessed through an API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
, and get the position based on the access points are accessible from a terminal. Other providers include the Fraunhofer Institute or Google
The localization technique used for positioning with wireless access points is based on measuring the intensity of the received signal (received signal strength in English RSS) and the method of "fingerprinting" . The accuracy depends on the number of positions that have been entered into the database. The possible signal fluctuations that may occur can increase errors and inaccuracies in the path of the user. To minimize fluctuations in the received signal, there are certain techniques that can be applied to filter the noise. New laws and regulations are being imposed on VoIP operators to force them to design systems in which access points can determine the position of the terminals in a given environment.
Citing the specific privacy concerns arising out of WPS, Google suggested a unified approach for Opting-Out a particular Access Point from taking part in determining location using WPS.