!!Con 2018: So THAT’S how my phone knows where I am! by Mike Lazer Walker
15So THAT’S how my phone knows where I am! by Mike Lazer Walker
Your phone knows where you are at all times, usually with pretty shocking accuracy. How the heck does it know that?!
This talk will dive into the math and physics underlying modern smartphone location technology (GPS, AGPS, and indoor location), but we’ll also take a walk through the history of location tech. Modern GPS arose out of Cold War-era US DoD research, but how is that research connected to the larger historical and political context of geolocation throughout the ages? How is the technical solution to tracking Russian missiles directly indebted to the 17th century sailors who developed smarter ways to locate themselves on the open sea? This talk will answer all of that and more!