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CityWare: Facebook + Bluetooth Mashup
According to this BBC article, a team of Bath University scientists is combining the power of social networking site Facebook with Bluetooth to learn more about human interactions.
To facilitate this, the researchers have set up Bluetooth proximity nodes around the UK and at locations in the US. Users opt in by registering with a Facebook tool, called Cityware.Then, when they are out and about, the Bluetooth nodes--which are constantly scanning for Bluetooth-enabled devices in a given area--send that information back to servers which compare the IDs of the gadgets with any enabled Facebook profiles.
As described by Dr Vassilis Kostakos, research associate at the University of Bath: "When you return to Facebook you will see a list of all the devices you were near and the link to profiles of people who have tagged themselves on Cityware."
If you find that to be a rather antisocial approach to social networking, well--you are not alone. Witness Gizmodo's take on the network:
Bluetooth/Facebook Nodes Take Even More Human Interaction Out of Meeting People
Or how about this one, courtesy of the boygeniusreport:
Walk by total strangers and meet them. But later.
In defense of the Bath team, the Facebook tool is said to be part of a wider plan to study issues regarding pervasive computing in the environment.
But that won't stop us from having a little fun with it in the meantime.
