PeopleNearMe project

The project is over.

Metropolia University of Applied Sciences' research unit Electria is developing a social media service concept, where the user has only a simple sensor tag and/or mobile device with cloud connections. The 14-month Tekes-funded project started in November 2012.

The PeopleNearMe project will develop new knowledge and business for a social media service concept based on previous RFID communication and tag-to-tag research projects (Tekes funded SPAGU, VisualRFID, Broadcast, Ubiquitous Helsinki-Vantaa). It will provide a system and method for answering “who is near me, inform me when certain people are near me”, etc. It will also enable people to have more real life social encounters, contacts, and open up new interesting discussions based on common interests, business interests, as it helps to connect people and release matched social discussion points for them.

The main objectives are

  • to analyze the functionality of PeopleNearMe service concept and its market potential
  • to build proof of concept prototype, and apply it to a real environment, e.g. campus, shopping centre
  • to find out the best way to commercialize the service concept

The target of this project is to develop the most appealing and agile service concept for businesses and users. User endpoint, i.e. tag, is a user-friendly personal device with attractive design, which automatically finds and communicates with other people’s tags. This is achieved via low power wireless sensor radio technology for local area communications.

Further information

tki-info [at] metropolia.fi (tki-info[at]metropolia[dot]fi)

Jarmo Tuppurainen
Project Manager
tel. +358 40 834 9891
jarmo.tuppurainen [at] metropolia.fi (jarmo[dot]tuppurainen[at]metropolia[dot]fi)

Sami Kalliokoski
Director of Electria R&D Unit
tel. +358 40 5854937
sami.kalliokoski [at] metropolia.fi (sami[dot]kalliokoski[at]metropolia[dot]fi)