Google has been working on recent Android releases on local discovery technologies that allow apps to be used to find nearby objects and users. The latest contribution is the release of a ‘WifiNanScan app’ from Google Play for developers to experiment with Wi-Fi Aware.
Wi-Fi Aware – also known as Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN) – allows Android 8.0+ devices to ‘discover and connect directly without any other connection’, such as an active internet connection. The APIs work to detect devices in the environment and create network connections that can ‘share large amounts of data’ or send short messages.
Google says this technology supports “higher throughput rates over longer distances than Bluetooth connections.” Possible use cases advocated by the Wi-Fi Alliance include:
- Send a document securely to a printer without first logging in to the network
- View a restaurant menu and make a reservation while passing by without an internet connection, even if the restaurant is closed
- Automate school sign-ups and calls and timestamp
- Streamline airport security, customs and immigration processing using mobile identification (ID), such as a driver’s license or passport, without travelers having to present a physical ID
Earlier this week, Developed with Google released the WifiNanScan (Play Store) app to show you how to use NAN to get the distance between two devices:
With this app it is possible to obtain a distance measurement with a precision of about 1 meter with phones up to 15 meters apart. Developers, OEMs, and researchers can use this tool to validate range / range measurements, enabling peer-to-peer scope development and data transfer, find my phone and context-aware applications based on the WiFi Aware / NAN API .
This compliments the WifiRttScan app that was released two years ago to use Wi-Fi return time for indoor positioning as an alternative to GPS.
In Android 12, Google made some improvements to Wi-Fi Aware, including efficiency improvements and addressing lost connections.
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