Patent attributes
Described is a system and method in a wireless (Wi-Fi) network comprising a server, clients and various mechanisms that compute lists of other clients and resources that are physically nearby. Clients report Wi-Fi access points' signal strengths to a server, which uses that data to compute the proximity of resources to one another, including an estimate the distance between resources. The data may be returned to the client as a list of resources within short range proximity, or resources within long-range proximity, with an approximate time to that resource based on previous clients' reporting. Because proximity is used rather than absolute location, only minimal setup is needed. As the number of clients and resources that use the system increases, the server knowledge also increases with respect to the number of resources that can be found and in the physical range over which other people and places can be found.
