WifiNanScan : Now connect devices without Internet or Bluetooth

In the latest versions of Android, the Google team has worked on some local detection technologies that apps can use to find objects and users nearby and a new important step in this path is the publication of a new application on the Google Play Store: WifiNanScan App.

The tech-giant, Google recently rolled out a new WifiNanScan App for developers to enhance Wi-Fi Aware tech on smartphones and compatible products. This app lets you measure distance with a precision of about one meter with phones up to 15 meters apart. The new Wi-Fi feature is quite similar to Bluetooth, with the advantage of working over much larger distances. It is an exciting wireless Wifi application with innovative technology.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The WifiNanScan app is used to validate distance measurements between two smartphones using the Wi-Fi Aware protocol
• WifiNanScan App is built for developers, vendors, universities
• Wi-Fi Aware connections support higher transmission speeds over longer distances than Bluetooth connections.

GOOGLE DEFINES THIS APP AS:

The WifiNanScan app measures the distance between two smartphones using the Wi-Fi Aware protocol (also called Neighborhood Aware Networking(NAN)). It’s designed as a research, demonstration, and testing tool for developers, vendors, universities, and more.

WHAT IS WI-FI AWARE?

Wi-Fi Aware is a technology which is also known as Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN), allows devices based on Android 8.0 (or higher) to "detect and connect directly between them without any other type of connectivity ", like an active internet connection. The API is detecting nearby devices and creating network connections that can" share large amounts of data "or send short messages. 

Wi-Fi Aware network connections support higher throughput rates across longer distances than Bluetooth connections. These types of connections are useful for apps that share large amounts of data between users, such as photo-sharing apps. 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND THIS APP?

WifiNanScan App for Android has landed on the Google Play Store. WifiNanScan App is created to demonstrate how to exploit NAN technology to detect the distance between two devices ("With this app, it is possible to obtain a distance measurement with an accuracy of about 1 meter with mobile phones away up to 15 meters "). Developers, OEMs, and researchers can use this tool to calculate range and distance. 

If you are curious to try the WifiNanScan App for Android, you can download it from the Google Play Store through the following badge:

BENEFITS OF WIFINANSCAN APP

• With the help of this app, you will be able to send documents to the printer safely. All this will happen without any network login.
• You will be able to book movie tickets or a seat in any restaurant without an internet connection. This is possible even when the restaurant is closed.
• You can check-in into Airport Security, Custom, Immigration, without requiring to present a physical ID
• Automate and timestamp school check-ins and roll-call

A similar app called WifiRttScan was launched a couple of years ago for indoor positioning. The app uses Wi-Fi Round Trip Time instead of GPS for locating users.

Soon, Google might connect these Wi-Fi experiments to create new functionalities built around Wi-Fi Aware wireless connectivity standards into phones, and other smart devices.