Tue, 03 May 2005 12:31pm

Ideas | You Are Here

It seems likely that one of the the next big things in personal communications will be location tracking. The falling costs of satellite navigation (using GPS) together with improvements in mobile mast triangulation mean that it will be soon be possible for all new mobile phones to be equipped with the technology to tell the network exactly where you are.

The communications companies are keen on selling us a range of applications that use this technology, from 'Find My Nearest' directories to dating services and games, but what about the more creative uses?

At Cuttlefish Digital Arts we are currently interested in two ideas that make use of 'location':

1) The first is 'custom mapping'. Using a GPS receiver and a Palm-sized computer or phone it's possible to show a person's current location on a map of your own making. Such maps can contain things that would not normally appear in official guides. For example, imagine the differences between how a skater might see a town's layout and a town planner. What points would would they choose to highlight on their maps?

2) The second is 'photo trails'. A GPS enabled phone can record exactly where you have been during a day and, consequently, any photographs you may have taken with your phone's camera can be attached to a map. If you then allow people to upload their trails to a Website you could produce a very interesting record of how people move around a town or city space.

We hope to have some examples of these ideas ready to upload fairly soon. Join the e-mail list for updates.

Author: Sean Clark