Have tech, will travel
Not all of our reality can be virtual, but digital solves the problems of geography too
Back in the mid–1990s, little black boxes began to appear in cars, displaying live maps on small color LCD screens. The US government had opened its Global Positioning System (GPS) network to public use, and satellite navigation took off.
Because it only had to listen for signals, not transmit, GPS required fairly simple electronics. The hard part was the maps. First supplied on CD– ROM, then memory cards, data gradually improved in detail, while location accuracy was boosted in 2000 by the removal of a quality cap favoring the US military. But updates remained an issue, requiring a computer connection.
In 2008, Apple built GPS into the iPhone 3G. Google Maps and later Apple Maps (as well as other third– party rivals) added turn–by–turn navigation, with regular updates and real–time traffic information via Wi–Fi or cellular data. And GPS was just getting started. Fitness tracking apps now use it to measure and map activity, and geofencing lets Siri remind you when you leave or arrive at a location.
Gadgets from drones to robot lawnmowers rely on GPS, along with industrial machinery from automated harvesters to security robots, while endless Internet of Things, er, things are in the works.
On the road, the ubiquity of cell phone navigation led to Uber and its ilk, managing lifts in real time and — not uncontroversially — replacing driver knowledge with directions. The next stage is cars without drivers, a market Apple itself has a whole department working on (while remaining typically tight–lipped). Recent public setbacks for other autonomous vehicle developers, however, suggest the end of driving is still over the tech horizon. And privacy concerns about phones watching our every move have never gone away.
Borrowed time
‘Dockless’ bikes and scooters, which users can find through apps and leave anywhere for others to pick up, are another product of location tracking. On public transport, GPS keeps tabs on planes and trains and tells passengers when their buses will arrive. And GPS is just one of the technologies that’s made arranging travel a completely different experience. Just 20–odd years ago, the only way to buy plane tickets was to phone or visit a travel agent. Now just entering your dates and destination into Google will show available fares, and everyone from airlines to holiday cottage owners offers instant online booking.
Paying has changed too. Credit cards, around since the 60s, stepped up a level of convenience when websites began accepting them, and more so when they offered to remember the numbers — a function now more securely provided by Safari in your iCloud Keychain. Apple Pay, introduced in 2014, and its Android counterparts make payments in shops and online even easier, supported by fingerprint or Face ID and contactless NFC (near– field communication). Getting on a bus or tube in London, UK and a growing number of other cities is now just a matter of tapping your bank card, no ticket required. Could we soon simply walk on board and be charged automatically, like when buying from an Amazon Go store?