possibly noteworthy wrote:
Citysense was built to show you where the action is, right now.
Decius asked:
What's the data source?
According to the web site:
At the heart of Macrosense are powerful machine learning algorithms that process time-stamped location data and metadata streams from heterogeneous sources – GPS, WiFi positioning, cell tower triangulation, RFID and other sensors – and empower companies and investors to better understand and predict human behavior on a macro scale.
We're on the path to precrime!
They promise to answer some interesting questions:
How many people are going out at night? Locally or to destinations? By income level? Did the financial district come in early this morning?
From where do the most people come from before arriving at a particular location? Where do most people go afterwards, and how does this change throughout the day?
I'll ask the follow-up question: Who is behind this?
It's MIT professor Sandy Pentland, of Reality Mining fame.
Unless there is some detail that I'm missing, this sounds positively orwellian.
