Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 2

The exponential increase in smartphone usage and mobile computing in the last decade has necessitated a basic requirement for accurate and timely indoor location services to be investigated and standardized. Such services might assist first responders in locating incapacitated people more quickly in large public spaces, enable more effective and targeted advertising, and even monitor and direct the elderly so that they may live longer in their own homes. A number of current technologies are able to produce granular indoor location data, alone or in concert, which a smartphone could use to reliably and efficiently determine its location in cases where satellite data is unavailable or unreliable (including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi, RFID, and Bluetooth). Sheridan College's School of Applied Computing and TELUS propose to collaborate to investigate various methods with a focus on developing a framework to create and improve the reliability and resolution of heterogeneous micro-location services through proof-of-concept prototypes. Social and economic benefits are anticipated outcomes of this research by augmenting and enriching life experiences for modern smartphone users in public and private indoor spaces.