<p>For instance, at a business meeting, the software could remind a user of a forgotten acquaintance's name, or help him make new professional contacts in the same area of research.<br /><br />Dong Xuan, associate professor of computer science and engineering at Ohio State University, said: "Today, online social networking has advanced dramatically, but our ability to meet people face-to-face hasn't gotten any easier." <br /><br />Called eShadow, the software uses nearby wireless networks and smartphones' wireless communication technologies to alert users that a friend who also uses the software is in the area and gives directions to that friend's location, according to a Ohio statement.<br />"We want eShadow to close social gaps and connect people in meaningful ways while keeping the technology non-intrusive and protecting privacy," said Xuan, who led the project.<br /><br />As to users' safety, Xuan feels that, at least for some situations, meeting someone in person is safer than meeting them online.<br /><br />"Online, people can steal others' identity, or lie easily without detection. It's much harder to pull off a masquerade in person," he said.<br /><br />The name eShadow comes from the idea that users input their interests into the software, and their smartphone broadcasts those interests to certain other users of the software - but only within 50 yards of the phone. So as users move, the broadcast follows them around like a shadow.<br /><br />In outdoor tests, they measured how fast the software could detect users who were 20, 30, and 50 yards apart. They tested different numbers of users, from two to seven.<br />In all cases, the software was able to connect people within about half a minute - an average of 25 seconds for two users, and 35 seconds for seven.<br /><br />Xuan noted that eShadow's algorithms could be useful beyond socialising. Soldiers could use something akin to eShadow to locate each other on the battlefield.<br /><br />These findings were presented at the IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS) Thursday in Minneapolis.</p>
<p>For instance, at a business meeting, the software could remind a user of a forgotten acquaintance's name, or help him make new professional contacts in the same area of research.<br /><br />Dong Xuan, associate professor of computer science and engineering at Ohio State University, said: "Today, online social networking has advanced dramatically, but our ability to meet people face-to-face hasn't gotten any easier." <br /><br />Called eShadow, the software uses nearby wireless networks and smartphones' wireless communication technologies to alert users that a friend who also uses the software is in the area and gives directions to that friend's location, according to a Ohio statement.<br />"We want eShadow to close social gaps and connect people in meaningful ways while keeping the technology non-intrusive and protecting privacy," said Xuan, who led the project.<br /><br />As to users' safety, Xuan feels that, at least for some situations, meeting someone in person is safer than meeting them online.<br /><br />"Online, people can steal others' identity, or lie easily without detection. It's much harder to pull off a masquerade in person," he said.<br /><br />The name eShadow comes from the idea that users input their interests into the software, and their smartphone broadcasts those interests to certain other users of the software - but only within 50 yards of the phone. So as users move, the broadcast follows them around like a shadow.<br /><br />In outdoor tests, they measured how fast the software could detect users who were 20, 30, and 50 yards apart. They tested different numbers of users, from two to seven.<br />In all cases, the software was able to connect people within about half a minute - an average of 25 seconds for two users, and 35 seconds for seven.<br /><br />Xuan noted that eShadow's algorithms could be useful beyond socialising. Soldiers could use something akin to eShadow to locate each other on the battlefield.<br /><br />These findings were presented at the IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS) Thursday in Minneapolis.</p>