Author: Julie Campbell

Location based technology is now being used to be able to display the length of time major lines will take.

One of the world’s largest airports – the busiest one in New York – is now using geolocation beacons to be able to provide people with the actual wait times that they will face when they enter into a major lineup.

This new system will be powered by BlipTrack beacons from BLIP Systems, which is based in Denmark.

This geolocation technology beacon installation was put into place by Lockheed Martin. This system has been implemented with the intention of making it easier for passengers to make through Terminal 4 at JFK Airport. Thirteen new screens have been installed in order to display estimated processing times. These large-size screens are prominently displayed and have been installed at the checkpoints for TSA Security and Customers and Border Protection. There is also an indoor taxi lineup display.

The geolocation beacons make it possible for continual updates to be presented to travelers.

According to the JFKAT vice president, Daryl Jameson, “It continuously updates”. JFKIAT is the company behind the operation of Terminal 4. So far, people are responding well to having the information available to them, as they know how long they will have to wait in the lines, and aren’t left wondering. As lineups aren’t an activity that most people enjoy, this “signage helps to manage expectations.”

The beacons work by conducting anonymous tracking of the mobile devices of passengers as they make their way through the airport. This way, while the individuals aren’t identified, the length of time that they spend in certain processing locations can be determined. The BlipTrack solution detects devices running on WiFi or Bluetooth and that are in “discoverable” mode, such as in tablets and smartphones.

Once one of these devices makes its way past one of the geolocation beacons, the beacon records the mobile device’s non-personal unique ID (it’s MAC address), which is then encrypted and time stamped. When that device is identified once again at other beacon locations, patterns among travelers can be established so that wait and travel times can be measured.

With college students moving into their dorm rooms, the top tech trends are becoming very clear.

When it comes to college gadgets, there are three primary categories of tech: the stuff you want, but won’t use; the stuff you want and will use all the time; and the stuff you don’t think you want, but that will make a huge difference in your life.

All three of those types of mobile gadgets are popping up on college campuses across the country.

The lifestyle in residence and when renting off-campus isn’t the same as any other experience that will occur in a lifetime. For that reason, college gadgets aren’t always the same as the types of technology that are being seen at other levels of back to school shopping. When making the right choices, you can make fantastic investments into mobile tech and accessories that will make all the difference in making your school year more bearable.

Check out these hottest college gadgets and how they could make your school year awesome.

• Noise-cancelling headphones – since roommates and neighbors don’t tend to have all that much respect for what you do and don’t want to hear, a great pair of noise-cancelling headphones (like the very affordable Audio-Technical ATH-ANCI model for $79.95) can make all the difference in keeping your sanity.
• Portable battery charger – whether you need to make sure that you have extra juice for your smartphone, your tablet, or any other electronics that you bring with you to class or on the go, the Mogix external battery charger will give you around 6 charges to your cell phone without ever needing to be recharged. The slimmest and lightest in its high-powered class, it even charges devices faster than if you were to plug them into a wall – and it can charge two at a time.
• Super-powered alarm clock – if you choose the Sonic Boom Alarm Clock, your roommate might want to invest in some of those noise cancelling headphones, but you’ll guarantee to yourself that you’ll never miss a single early morning class.
• Light therapy skin care – sick of spending a fortune on acne skin care, or dealing with the side effects, bleached clothing, and smell of those products? Three 30-second sessions of acne light therapy that combines two ranges of blue wavelength and one range type of red wavelength can give your skin all it needs. In fact, it’s been proven in studies to be even more effective than benzoyl peroxide. For a total of 90 seconds of shining a light on your face, you can’t ask for much more.