I’m a bus rider and when I’m waiting outside in the frigid Wisconsin cold, I would love to know how soon the next bus will get there.  Is it running late or right on time?  Well, Professor Jingnesh Patel at The University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed technology for smart phones and laptops that can provide real-time information on, not only the location of buses, but much more.

As this UW article describes, Patel’s innovation can help with serious needs such as helping doctor’s locate exactly were an organ donation is.  However, it can also simply increase convenience by being able to locate the nearest restaurants and even provide e-coupons for those restaurants.

This technology also provides the ability to locate other people, but the great thing is it does provide for consumer privacy.  In the article Patel states that consumer privacy is “a major concern” so “built-in privacy options are part of the DNA of the system’s architecture.”  We applaud this dedication to consumer privacy because at Wired Wisconsin we firmly believe that as new technology develops privacy controls must be created simultaneously.

Patel’s location awareness technology is just one more development that shows how technology enhances our lives.  As new technologies keep getting smarter and smarter, quickly becoming a part of our personal and professional lives, we soon begin to wonder, how did we ever live without this?