OpenSpace puts people on the map

Service locates people with 10m accuracy

Mobile device firm Locatorz has launched a new person-location service using the Ordnance Survey's (OS) OpenSpace platform. The new system has an accuracy of 10 metres.

Ordnance Survey sales and marketing development director James Brayshaw said: "Using OS OpenSpace means Pro Locatorz has the perfect online solution to allow users to locate the whereabouts of their selected people.”

The system uses a mobile phone device called Locatorz, which sends a GPS signal over a GSM connection to one of Locatorz' servers. Using the signal, Locatorz sends back a viewable, secure webpage with the person's location plotted.

OS OpenSpace Pro can use high-volume and commercial websites, adding to the standard version of OS OpenSpace, a free online mapping application for community groups and web developers.

Locatorz claims its service is: "The first fully commercial application to use OS OpenSpace Pro." It allows smooth panning and zooming to locate colleagues, friends, and relatives.

Locatorz chief executive Guy Norgrove said: “OS OpenSpace has provided us with a fantastic platform for users to accurately locate people to within 10 metres.”