The precise determination of an individual’s physical location based on their cell phone’s recurring pings involves a lot of complicated mathematical algorithms and nanosecond computerized calculations. But at the heart of the process is the Voronoi diagram, still to this day. The principle at the heart of cell phone location tracking is centuries old. The partitioning of a city-scale map into polygon-shaped regions dates back to the 17th century and philosopher Descartes. It was perfected in the early 1900s by Russian scientist George F. Voronoi and as a result, is commonly known today as the Voronoi diagram. [1] Signal Tower Maps If a cell phone subscriber is using provider company A, then their location can at all times be determined by the position of their cell phone’s transmission signal, or “ping,” in relation to an overall city map. For each cell phone provider, a map of the same city can be cut up into small geometric diagrams, with a cell phone transmission tower sitting at the center of each. (2) The precise determination of an individual’s physical location based on their cell phone’s recurring pings involves a lot of complicated mathematical algorithms and nanosecond computerized calculations. But at the heart [...]
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