Slashdot Mirror
Office Surveillance: Locating And Tracking 802.11b
securitas writes "The NY Times recently ran an article about locating and tracking users of 802.11b WiFi networks in three dimensions using triangulation (Google) with multiple base stations. The goal is to create context-aware networks that can allocate bandwidth and provide location-based services such as uploading relevant information to a PDA. The article can be seen in a new light when coupled with the growth in workplace surveillance of employees by corporate executives (Google / short version at IHT) and the associated practical, ethical and legal problems. Interlink Networks 802.11 wireless detection and tracking white paper (PDF)." (This seems as good a place as any to mention Kensington's handheld 802.11 detector; they claim it to be the only such device on the market today. This is the cheapest detector I've seen; have the others all disappeared?)
The only WiFi detector on the market today
Completely hassle free -- no more booting up your notebook to find a WiFi signal
Instantly detects WiFi networks with the press of a button
Three lights indicate signal strength
Messrs Kensington, could you make a version that
1) doesn't require me to push a button to detect WiFi networks (i.e. works continuously)
2) has a connector for an external antenna and an optional car lighter plug to power it
3) has a 4th led to indicate if the network uses encryption or not ?
I believe such a device would sell very much better. Thank you.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
In the article they mention the use of this in a hospital to push patient information to a handheld the doctor is carrying when doing rounds.
Instead of triangulating (requiring more power) wouldn't it be simpler and possibly quicker to outfit each bed with e.g. a rfid tag?
This seems an overly complex solution to a, relatively, simple problem.
The rfid would also be a plus when the patient is being transfered in his bed (from his room to the or)
A troll? Or just someone thinking too fast? Either way I'll bite.
They provide any information you put in it. You could conceivably put an RFID tag on the hospital bed that said "I AM BED NUMBER 37" and the RFID receiver would get this information and know where it was.