http://www.skyhookwireless.com/howitworks/submit_ap.php

Takes between a few days and two weeks (apparently) to kick into use. Just registered mine and will report back on how quickly my router lets my iTouch be found.

Lat/ Long: 33°42′41.06″N 116°18′59.79″W

Router B, G , N

Please register my WiFi Location.

The argument is not wether WiFi positioning is a viable solution in itself, but when paired with cell-tower triangulation, it’s a fairly accurate combination.

Cell-tower triangulation can approximate your position. If there’s a WiFi hotspot nearby, and it’s in the database, then you’ll get an even more accurate positional information.

The point is that combining the two technologies is the key.

And thanks Kipp for clearing that GPS thing…I’ve always thought those satellites are geostationary and quick googling also seemed to implicate so… but maybe you’re right.

willpark: ..the N95 was just an example…not to be taken literally. I bet google itself also records cell tower coverages but at least some of the work is done by users with GM and GPS on their mobile.

IT DOES WORK. I have used the WiFi positioning feature from Navizon to incredible effect (I would say the accuracy was down to 200ft.) Navizon combines a WiFi dbase with cell-tower triangulation – so when WiFi hotspots are available, positional data is spot-on.

WiFi positioning works well, as long as there is a hotspot nearby.

WiFi positioning combined with cell-tower triangulation can prove to be quite accurate at times. The Google Maps My Location uses (I believe) Skyhook’s WiFi dbase in conjunction with cell-tower triangulation (like Navizon), so the results should be quite accurate.

Offtopic:
Um, uh, thanks all N95 users?

You say it won’t work…based on what? Do you have any technical points to bring up as to what makes it completely infeasible technically to do accurate wifi positioning? It seems like all you are doing is trashing an idea without explaining why…

-Mike

But that’s neither here nor there wrt your point on WPS. I’ll let time and the jury decide as to the veracity of your other statements. My point is you seem to be arguing without the benefit of facts. Also, please note that I’m not taking away the value of other location methods, each type of location technology has some advantages and some disadvantages across a number of different attributes — and these different attributes are more important or less important based on the application, mode of transport, visible skyline, etc.

If you are really interested, I could point you to a healthy body of research that would argue quite strongly that it DOES work, and to a growing number of commercial deployments that may detract from your point.

Regards,

Kipp

But anyway, I’m 100% sure no-one will talk about WiFi navigation two years from now on. First of all you can’t even expect to find enough WiFi hotspots anywhere else than in the cities – when GSM/3G cells are practically everywhere…and very static. So I say again, it just won’t work

Actually, using Wifi for location has already been done. I’m sure you would have also been a naysayer a number of years ago about using a satellites to find your position — I mean come on, those things are ALWAYS moving…they are some 20,000 KM away…that’s just crazy. But it works, as does Wi-Fi positioning.

Happy to have a more scientific debate on the qualities and capabilities of WPS, the life cycle of an AP, the value of redundancy, signal propagation, anti-entropy mechanisms for stabilizing the system, etc., but to state that it is “Not going to work.” … well, that’s just crazy talk.

Kipp

Offtopic: It’s actually a bit funny that the N95 (and other GPS 3G phones) users using Google Maps with GPS who generate the GSM-cell database for Google and thus for the iPhone