Researchers at Siemens have developed new mobile technology similar to Post-It Notes. In cooperation with researchers at the University of Linz in Austria and the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, the "digital graffiti" technology allows cell phone users to send SMS messages to physical geographical locations.
Unlike standard messaging, the text is not sent to a person or phone number, but a spot on the world. Once "posted," cell phone users walking or passing through the spot will see the note appear on their screens; offering more than location-based services (LBS) allowing users to post notes to zones themselves.
To illustrate, users type in text messages and send them via wireless link to a server. Once received, the server extracts the location instructions and assigns the message to the geographical point. After posting, the server will transmit the message to people entering the designated zone.
"Imagine a foreman walking through a plant and making notes of things to check for the maintenance crew on the production floor, or a friend who really knows his way around an area leaving tips of places to go for less familiar buddies," a Siemens spokesperson said. Additionally, users will have the option to accept or reject messages to thwart the threat for commercialized spam.
According to Siemens, the technology is about two years away from commercial roll-out
