I recently came across a very interesting research project from the University of Bath. The project is called Cityware and its aim is 'to develop theory, principles, tools and techniques for the design, implementation and evaluation of city-scale pervasive systems as integral facets of the urban landscape'.

The project started 3 years ago, when the research group installed Bluetooth 'scanners' in offices, cafes, and streets in Bath, which recorded all Bluetooth signals that appeared within range (10m) and were subsequently analyzed to help improve traffic and other city functions.

One of the researchers, greek Vassilis Kostakos, claims the project could be used in a number of fields, from helping to design mass transportation networks, to helping prevent spreading epidemics. The project has attracted great interest from the academic community, but from a number of companies as well.

Mr. Kostakos and his colleagues released an online application in July 2007 for Facebook (and Second Life) for Cityware and that's when Cityware really took off. Thousands of users used the software on their computers, participating that way in a distributed system that utilised the Bluetooth capabilities of their computer to record Bluetooth activity, and enabled user annotation, which in turn linked Bluetooth data to Facebook data. The application is currently 'down for maintenance', and asks people to 'Please come back in the near future'.

Perhaps this is due to the controversial nature of the research project, that arises from the fact that people do not necessarily realize they are being tracked. It's easy to see why there would be all sorts of privacy issues with this sort of thing. From my personal point of view, however, I agree with Mr. Kostakos who was quoted saying: "Bluetooth is a relatively useless medium for tracking individuals, but ideal for tracking crowds".

However there is also the opposite point of view. There was an article in the Guardian, a while back, about Cityware, that mainly discusses the privacy concerns in length. It's a good and interesting read though in my opinion some of the views are a bit extreme. In a world where we are constantly being tracked by CCTV cameras, via our IP addresses, through our identity cards and passports, our license plates and all sorts of other uniquely identifiable information, I sincerely doubt Bluetooth is top of the list for invading our privacy. Some interesting excerpts from the article:

Contacted about the Cityware project, the office of the information commissioner said in a statement that the public should "think carefully" before switching on their Bluetooth signals. A spokesman said the government watchdog would "monitor" the experiment.

"This is yet another example of moronic use of technology," said Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, an independent campaigning group defending personal privacy. "For Bath University to assert that there aren't privacy implications demonstrates an astonishing disregard for consumer rights. If the technology is as safe as they claim, then all the technical specifications should be published and people should be informed when they are being tracked."

...

More than 1,000 scanners across the world at any time detect passing Bluetooth signals and send the data to Cityware's central database. Those with access to the database admit they do not know precisely how many scanners have been created, but there are known to be scanners in San Diego, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Toronto and Berlin.

In Bath alone scanners are tracking as many as 3,000 Bluetooth devices every weekend. One recent study used the scanners to monitor the movements of 10,000 people in the city.

About 250,000 owners of Bluetooth devices, mostly mobile phones, have been spotted by Cityware scanners worldwide.

What are your views? Is Bluetooth really Big Brother material?