Mapping building interiors allows for location matching by phone

MIT Technology Review : A database of panoramic images of building interiors can be used to determine someone’s location to within a 1-m radius using a single picture from that person’s smartphone. Developed by Avideh Zakhor of the University of California, Berkeley, and her colleagues, the database of imagery was created using a backpack panoramic camera system paired with laser scanners and other sensors. A user takes a picture of the building he or she is in, and the smartphone app compares the picture to the database to determine location and orientation. They tested the system using a shopping mall and were able to match more than 96% of the images sent from the smartphone. Google has begun using a similar system to map airports and train stations for inclusion in its map applications. Zakhor’s group hopes to include both the mapping and location-finding ability in computerized glasses that would take pictures as the person moves.