Baidu advanced screen snapshot Bluetooth#

Such satellite systems are public infrastructures created by American, Russian, and Chinese governments, respectively, that enable our phones to determine users’ precise longitude and latitude coordinates. Smartphones possesses the ability to determine users’ positions by communicating with an array of satellites such as GPS (Global Positioning Service) GLONASS, Russia’s version of GPS or BeiDou, China’s satellite navigation system. The tech company, like its counterparts such as Google, take advantage of multiple features available in smartphones. (Baidu Maps screenshots retrieved by the author on March 21, 2019. Baidu Maps’ 3-D visualization feature not only maps street layouts but also building heights and interiors, the result of over 600 million users in China consulting the app or relying on other apps that use Baidu. The intricacy of its 3-D visualizations is the result of over 600 million users consulting the app for navigation every day or using apps that rely on Baidu Maps in the background, such as weather apps that rely on its geolocation features. Baidu began as a search engine, but has now branched out into autonomous driving, and therefore, maps. Like their American counterparts, these companies have managed to surveil their users and extract valuable data to create new products and features. The 3-D model makes an uncanny loop: Virtual models were used by architects and designers to design these spaces, which now unfold on a messy plane between real space and screen space.Ĭhina now has its own tech giants-Alibaba, JD.com, Tencent Holdings, and Baidu-homegrown behind the Great Firewall of China. The difference between the map’s 3-D model and the reality beneath my feet is smaller than ever. Strolling through the mall with the app tracking my location with a blue dot on the screen, life starts to feel like a virtual reality experience. Baidu Maps reveals which level the store is on and how many meters I need to walk. As I stand inside the Taikoo Hui Mall in the city of Guangzhou, China, I search for a store within the mall. Within public buildings, the floorplan of each building level is precisely mapped. The resolution of Baidu Maps is stunning: Entire cities are modeled in 3-D. The map on the Baidu app tilts to reveal an elaborately modeled 3-D cityscape.

Baidu advanced screen snapshot Bluetooth#

Inside the building, a network of Bluetooth beacons, Wi-Fi modems, and satellites from a global navigation satellite system whir and ping through the air and the ionosphere to determine your precise location. The best way to experience data’s strong grip on everyday life in China is to open up Baidu Maps, a mapping app by China’s biggest search engine company, and walk around a shopping mall for one afternoon.