Shopping Centers Track Customers Via Cell Phone Signals

oschobero writes "According an article from the Times, customers in shopping centers are having their every move tracked. Using cellphone signals, the system can tell when people enter the center, how long they stay in a particular shop, and what route each customer takes. The system works by monitoring the signals produced by mobile handsets and then locating the phone by triangulation." The particular tracking device described by the article is made by an English company called Path Intelligence.

Comments

Re:Walk randomly.

[MrEricSir]

Instead of walking, we could get a bunch of Roombas and glue cell phones to them.

That should take care of their system. And their floors.

public pranks possible

[timothy]

Lots of fun things you can imagine doing with this :)

Gather as many cellphones as possible (from cooperating friends etc). Put them all in a small basket.

Have them visit for a while in ... the dressing room at Victoria's Secret / Stall 3 in the bathroom at Baskin Robbins / the service elevator in any place you can find with a service elevator.

Or just have people do a lot of trading, so person A keeps visiting place 3, over and over and over. (Also works with grocery loyalty oath cards.)

Have a massive "appearance" / "disappearance" fest. Hey! 50 people just appeared inside Best Buy! No ... no, wait, they didn't. Errr ... 50 people just appeared spaced in a grid around the parking lot! No, they've disappeared.

timothy