Location Based Alarms and Notifications

A discussion was raised again today about the usefulness and validity of a location based alarm system. Most alarms that we think of our based on a specific time of day. The challenge with that type of alarm is your location, or context of your day may not have been what you planned for it to have been at that time.

What would really be helpful is to be reminded of something you needed to do when you were at a specific location, regardless of what time it was. For instance, the next time I’m around the corner of 71st and I-465, I need to pick up my dry cleaning.

This type of alarm system could be implemented with the technology we have already at our disposal. Phones with GPS in them, cars with GPS or handheld GPS receivers.

The other potential application would be to use the cellular network itself to set reminders. For instance, you could set a reminder on your phone to occur the next time it was within range and of the same cell tower you’re hitting at the moment for your signal.

The other perhaps useful feature there would be to have two phones, synch with each other. The next time they’re within range of each other, announce the reminder to both parties, or perhaps even immediately initiate a call between the two phones.  The application of this would be, “Next time I’m with Mark remind me that I owe him $20 for lunch last week.”

Image: flickr user brucebeh and Google Local map underlay