Location, Location, Location: GPS for Potholes, Poker, and Women's Safety

An innovative GPS application called SpeedBump
uses smartphones traveling in vehicles to find
potholes, so they can be assessed and repaired.

Continued from our prior article: Location information, most of it based on GPS, is being used to solve problems around the globe.

In Boston, an app called Speed Bump records the jolts from potholes as users drive around the streets. The software notes the location of potential potholes by using the phone’s GPS capability and accelerometer to assess the smoothness of the ride. The data is then sent to the city to help road crews find and fix the road divots.

Bwin uses IP location in order to make sure that players
are in compliance with local regulations regarding online
gaming.

Bwin, one of the word’s largest online gambling firms, is using location technology for regulatory compliance in the United States. The firm has to be sure its customers are only accessing its service from one of the handful of states that now allow online gambling.

Fight Back, is a women's safety app that can contact the
local authorities, as well as friends on social media such
as Facebook, to report an impending or ongoing attack.

In India, where a spate of horrendous gang rapes has triggered international headlines, a free app called Fight Back enables women in trouble to call for police assistance with the push of a button. The phone app gives officers the caller’s location and sends out a call for help via email and Facebook to loved ones. The application is one of thousands developed over the last four or five years by Tech Mahindra, an India firm that also does applications testing and develops enterprise applications.

Fight Back, which is India’s first mobile safety app for women, has been downloaded more than 100,000 times, said Karthik Natarajan, the firm’s senior vice president and global head of integrated engineering solutions. It has been used, he estimated, some 10,000 to 12,000 times.