Positioning based on wireless signal strengh better than GPS: Project in Nuremberg

[janozaurus]

heise (German) (http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/101765) reports that the guys of Frauenhofer IIS (the institute which invented MP3!) is developing a positioning software for WLAN devices.

The PDA or smartphone (or Internet Tablet) will passively scan available wireless networks and compare the signal strenghs found to a map of known access points. This system works in and outdoors and is said to be more accurate than GPS.

A Maemo port would be exciting.

[fpp]

This will be useful in cities and inside buildings where GPS reception is bad or absent. But I wouldn't want to rely on it in the middle of nowhere :-)
(no need to go trekking in Nepal or the Andes either - just try rural France or the Alps or take a sailing boat three miles out...)