A new ad display can monitor Bluetooth gadgets in its vicinity, so that audiences will only see minimal repeats. The display detects devices that are fitted with Bluetooth transmitters on people
walking by, like cell phones and PDAs. Software agents then "bid" against one another to determine which ads are shown to those viewers. A prototype system called BluScreen has been installed in a
corridor at Southampton University in the U.K., and it runs a mix of alerts on upcoming seminars, news items and video streams of lectures. Since each passing device has a unique Bluetooth signal, it
allows the screen to identify different individuals as they pass and builds a record of what they haven't seen. If more than one person is standing in front of the screen, the system will choose
material seen by as few of them as possible.
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