Location based services-the underlying technology

Abstract

For centuries, people have been concerned with their spatial location and surroundings onEarth. The methods of describing routes and areas of space by one person to another havealways been a function of the available resources. Today these resources include mobilephones, personal digital assistants and palmtop computers, providing people with detailedspatial information whilst 'on the move'.To the Geomatics industry, the potential created by the convergence of wirelesscommunication, positioning technology and Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) is tremendous.It is now possible to deliver relevant information where it is needed most. Time critical andlocation dependent information services have been identified as potentially successfulapplication areas in this domain. Not only will field workers be empowered by such services,but the general citizen will also benefit. There are many examples in Europe and more recentlyin Australia where such benefits are being realised. Most of these examples are termedLocation Based Services (LBS). The underlying technologies of LBS along with their synergywith wireless communication, positioning technology and SDI will be examined.