'Indoor GPS' coming for shopping malls
Fed up with wandering aimlessly around massive shopping centres searching in vain for the one store you really wanted to visit? Good news! Your smartphone may be able to come to the rescue.
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New functionality has just been launched to allow an indoor version of GPS which will operate on Android and iOS handsets.
Dubbed "Indoor Positioning System", it utilises internal transmitters such as wi-fi to give users their location on a map.
There is of course a catch though, and as with much of the virtual world the catch here is advertising - with the twist being that the adverts will show you the actual location of the shops and specific bargains being promoted as you pass by.
Anyone who has seen sci-fi movie Minority Report will get the idea - although this set-up might be a bit less in your face.
The launch of the IPS technology was announced last week by Scottish firm Sensewhere and Google Maps has already pushed out updates to Android handsets.
Sensewhere chief exec Rob Palfreyman said: "This is the first system capable of offering the level of indoor accuracy and reliability required for, say, storefront virtual advertising or voucher provision, while remaining a realistic commercial proposition for use nationwide."
And we don't know what would whet your appetite if that doesn't!
What do you reckon? Will you use this technology? Comment below...
