|
|
 |
 |
Eyes in the Sky Used to Locate People
Do your parents know where you are? They might, if you have a cell phone and are signed up to Sniff. The name stands for Social Network Integrated Friend Finder. Sniff lets people know exactly where you are. It uses the technology in your mobile phone to find you. A Sniff search can give the nearest address, and show users where you are on a map.
The company that sells Sniff says that it can be useful. If you're in trouble, a call to 911 will help the police know where to send help. If you're lost, you could even "Sniff" yourself to get back on track. But more information about a person is not always a good thing. For example, bosses could check up on their employees, which make some folks nervous. Not everyone wants to be spied on by the boss.
Want to know how Sniff works? It uses technology called a Global Positioning System, or GPS. The GPS has 24 satellites that orbit Earth. When your mobile phone is on, it sends signals to these satellites. The GPS uses those signals to find you.
It needs three different satellites to get your signal. Then it makes a calculation called triangulation. Triangulation uses geometry, and it gets pretty complicated. But basically it uses a triangle with the three points to Sniff your location.
I'm Isaac and that's what happened in technology this week.
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
