Mobile phones and positioning

[_V_]

Can you geo-locate a mobile phone by sending or receiving a txt from said phone?

I am thinking of a service that relies on knowing (roughly) where a person is by sending them or them sending me (a computer) a txt message. Is this enabled/possible in the UK?

TIA

[dang65]

Such a thing was referred to in this recent news story, if I've understood your question correctly. i.e. It can be done.

[_V_]

Anyone got any more technical links to how one might use/pay for a service to obtain the cellular position of a mobile phone via SMS?

Does the phone have to opt in/out of this geo-locating data sharing or it is on and available to all and sundry?

[TheFaQQer]

Yes - there is an application for the Google G1 which does it for you.

[Purple Dalek]

Can you geo-locate a mobile phone by sending or receiving a txt from said phone?

I am thinking of a service that relies on knowing (roughly) where a person is by sending them or them sending me (a computer) a txt message. Is this enabled/possible in the UK?

TIA

Yes. I wrote such an application for a client. Specific to the phone models the clients customers use, etc.. Mainly HTC models, and phone units built into fleet vehicles. Depending on settings you can even interrogate the phone without the users being aware. Other fun features allow calling the phone without switching on the speaker, fleet users can switch the vehicles engine off remotely, enquire on speed, max speed, petrol consumption...

The family have a set on Android platform, uses maps too, so we can just press a button, it updates in less than a second, and hence find each other for whatever reason. For license reasons no names no pack drill, but I've given enough away for you to google it up.

Years ago used to really difficult to write stuff like this, because the phone was really three machines strapped together, then it was two, but on the latest platform it was a days work. Just dig out the API doco and have a go yourself, it's really easy.

[Mich the Tester]

Anyone got any more technical links to how one might use/pay for a service to obtain the cellular position of a mobile phone via SMS?

Does the phone have to opt in/out of this geo-locating data sharing or it is on and available to all and sundry?

It’s technically possible, but there are all sorts of legal issues. I worked on a telecom project for the Dutch emergency services, where we introduced geo-location for mobile callers to the emergency number. The data comes from the mobile service providers who basically show you where the caller is in relation to a set of masts. Trouble is, the service providers and network demand quite hefty sums of money (6 or 7 figure sums) for providing the service and they cite all sorts of legal barriers to do with privacy (that might not apply in Britain, which doesn’t have privacy any more thanks to NuLabour).

Mind you, a phone with GPS might be another story.

[DaveB]

Dont know about triggering location via text but it's been possible to locate a phone remotely with a reasonable degree of accuracy by triangulating from multiple transmitters for a long time. However as far as I know you can only do this with access to data from the mobile service providers and knowing some technical info about the phone you want to locate.

Thinking about it a bit more it should be possible if you can obtain signal strength data from the phone in question. I belive Sony Ericsson phones have the ability to extract this through their API, not sure about any others.

With this and the cellid you should be able to get an estimated location with accuracy dependant on the signal strength - i.e. the closer to the tower you are, the stronger the signal, which narrows the potential area you could be in.

Now if you could get signal strength info for multiple towers, not just the one the phone is actively using you could triangulate for greater accuracy. I have no idea if any current phones support this functionality in their API's though.

[_V_]

Let me be clear.

I'm talking about locating any person the UK, via me paying a subscription to a telecom or other provider, which gived me the real time cellular position of any mobile in the country be me receiving or sending that phone a text.

E.g. I send 01234 567890 a txt and using some (paid) service I can find out where that phone is or 01234 567890 sends me a txt and I can use the same (web?) service to locate that phone?

I think google has the answer:

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/ne...ml?newsId=2305

[_V_]

http://www.childlocate.co.uk/

[TheFaQQer]

Yes. I wrote such an application for a client. Specific to the phone models the clients customers use, etc.. Mainly HTC models, and phone units built into fleet vehicles. Depending on settings you can even interrogate the phone without the users being aware. Other fun features allow calling the phone without switching on the speaker, fleet users can switch the vehicles engine off remotely, enquire on speed, max speed, petrol consumption...

I believe that the Taliban have some similar technology.

A mate of mine is in Afghanistan at the moment, and wasn't even allowed to take his mobile with him out there because they can remotely scan for phones, and once they know there is one there, switch it on - from there, getting the position, or even ringing it and trying to listen to briefings etc. is possible.