SWiFT

Given that more than 48% of all adults use social networking and 37% of all social networking is conducted on mobile applications, a large proportion of the population is accustomed to providing their geolocation or seeking geolocated services or resources. Currently, navigation is primarily outdoors using GPS; however new iBeacon technology (low Bluetooth emission devices) facilitates navigation and positioning indoors to within a few meters and can trigger media content on the smartphone. iBeacons are being used in retail environments to highlight products but the potential to combine indoor navigation with the delivery of information at selected points of interest is not currently being exploited. We propose to develop a navigation technology known as SWiFT that combines pre-existing lists of items (points of interest), known item (point of interest) locations, positioning systems, and user preferences to generate navigational pathways which both enhance and streamline environmental negotiation and, where applicable, facilitate the users primary task completion. SWiFT should open up a wide range of potential commercial and social applications.