This week one of the topics we're covering is the potential for Global Positioning Systems to be used in a historical manner (though I'm sure most of you are familiar with GPS technology there is an excellent guide for beginners which can be found here). Basically, a GPS receiver calculates the user's position using signals from four or more GPS satellites. So far the only experience I've had with a GPS is getting directions while driving but since they can be used to give information about local restaurants, gas stations etc, I can't see why they couldn't also be used for local history.
Picture it, you're walking around London and anytime you come to a historical building your GPS, in conjunction with the City of London website, tells you the important historical information about the property. Add to this my previous wish for an Address Archive website and I think you've really got a fascinating tool. Not only would you learn about heritage properties which are still standing, but you could see pictures and read antidotes about buildings which were at one time in your location. I've created an example of what the entry you could see on your GPS screen would look like:
I'm not 100% sure that such a tool would be possible though I don't see why it wouldn't be. I really do think that a tool like this would help to bring the work the City of London has done for their website to a new level.
