Quarterscope using wardriving databases, software-only approach to simulate GPS services: The CTIA (cell trade association) gave Quarterscope a runner-up award for its unique software-only solution, still in testing, which can identify a Wi-Fi-enabled device's location through a mapped database of wardrove access points.
It's opportunistically connecting the GIS (geographic information system) style mapping of wardriving (with fixed coordinates obtained via GPS) with the indiscriminate beaconing of most access points--APs that aren't operating with a closed network setting. Quarterscope says they can pinpoint to within 20 meters, but there have to be active, open, and wardrove access points nearby.
The company says in the Wi-Fi Planet article that it's plotting the locations of millions of APs, but I have to assume they're starting with existing databases. I've queried the company for an interview to get more information. But with that assumption, the product has an essential strength: it can initially rely on the GPS gathering thousands of others, instead of seeding its own transmitters or maps. Over time, they can gather more data points and have a model for when APs move--across town or to another country!
Because it's software only, it means that you can run their eventual product without special hardware. The company says it's looking into working with a GPS partner in order to bring both the benefits together: Quarterscope will work well in urban areas where getting the three or four satellite signals for best GPS performance are difficult; GPS in rural areas where Wi-Fi is hard to find. [link via Smart Mobs]