Developing Location Based Services

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Developing Location Based Services Tony
Solon Research Associate Wireless Technology
Demonstration Centre Intelligent Systems
Engineering Laboratory
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• What is the Wireless Technology Demonstration
  Centre?
• Based in the Intelligent Systems Engineering
  Laboratory (SCIS), Magee
• DETI funded Northern Ireland Wireless Broadband
  Flagship Project
• Wireless- City, Campus, Council, Technology
  Demonstration Centre
• - www.wirelessderry.com
• 2 full-time researchers, supported by academic
  staff
• WTDC functions
• - Consultancy on wireless technologies to SMEs
  start-ups
• - Competitive advantage to these companies
• - Demonstrations of wireless technologies
• - Seminars/workshops

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• Overview
• What is a Location Based Service (LBS)?
• Location-specific content
• Positioning systems enabling LBS
• WTDC LBS Work
• - Development environment
• - WTDC LBS applications
• - Lessons learnt
• - Current future WTDC LBS research
• Conclusion

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• What is a LBS?
• LBS - app that is location-aware (Active/Passive
  positioning)
• LBS app domains
• - Maps way finding (Google Local Mobile,
  Mappoint)
• - Tracking (Personnel/fleet/equipment
  management)
• - Social mobile apps (IM)
• - Location-specific content (Locate services,
  E-tourist Guide)
• Ideally a LBS should be available 24/7 and
  ubiquitously guarantee privacy

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• Location-specific content
• The provision of location-specific
  information/multimedia mediascapes
• Points Of Interest (POI) form geospaces
• Remote/dynamic content - network coverage and
  necessary bps
• Local/static content - device memory
• Tourism, Business, Medical/Health, Education,
  Direct mobile access, Games

Education/ Gaming/Health
Direct Mobile access
Tourism guides
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• Positioning Systems enabling LBS
• LBS usually rely on positioning systems (PS)
  such as
• - GPS
• - Mobile Positioning System (MPS) -
  fingerprinting/triangulation
• - 802.11 - fingerprinting/triangulation
• - Static Bluetooth Nodes - fingerprinting
• - RFid/NFC
• - Semacodes
• Active PS - tracking w/o user intervention
• - geospace associated rules
• - geospace event -gt system
  reaction (e.g. content)
• Passive PS - user enters position/initiates
  tracking (e.g. semacode)
• - updated device position -gt location
  specific event

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Positioning System Comparisons
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• WTDC LBS Work
• Development environment - Mobile Bristol Toolkit
  (RAD)
• WTDC LBS apps - Tourism, Education/Games/Health,
  Direct mobile access
• Lessons learnt - problems/issues
• Current future WTDC LBS research

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• Development Environment
• Mobile Bristol Toolkit GUI, Magee map
  integration, Logic toolbox

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• Development Environment
• Campus PDA Tour Geospaces, Actionscript output
  trace, PDA GUI

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WTDC LBS Applications
Tourism guides City PDA Tour Campus PDA Tour
Education/Gaming/Health iPaqman
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• WTDC LBS Applications
• Campus PDA Tour

Multilingual welcome
Main screen Menu
Tour started
MD geospace menu
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• WTDC LBS Applications
• Campus PDA Tour

Continue Tour
Directory Internal positioning
Historic Timeline
Event info
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• WTDC LBS Applications
• City PDA Tour geospaces/points of interest
• History/Entertainment/Accommodation/Restaurants/B
  ars etc

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• WTDC LBS Applications
• City PDA Tour

Splash screen
Intro
Guildhall Geospace content
Guildhall Video
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• WTDC LBS Applications
• iPaqman

Geospaces
7/8 coins collected
Game completed
Game start
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• Lessons learnt
• GPS MPS ( most PS!) accuracy varies
  indeterminably
• Geospaces need to allow for inaccuracies
• application specific geospace design
• consider users environment buildings, POIs
• geospaces associated rules must avoid
  continuous event firing
• fast changing UI events - usability degradation
• Repetitive testing - unpredictable PS
  inaccuracies
• LBS bugs can easily hide!

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• Current WTDC LBS Research
• Integrated positioning using GPS, MPS,
  Bluetooth, WiFi RFid
• Zigbee RFid integration in sensory networks

Active Internal Bluetooth Positioning
Passive Internal Bluetooth Positioning
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• Current WTDC LBS Research
• LBS on mobile phones - Java (J2ME) , Symbian,
  Windows Mobile
• PS depends on device capability - integrated PS
  utilisation

Emulated positioning
Mobile phone LBS - J2ME
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• Future WTDC LBS Work
• Seamless integration of active Positioning
  systems - always best location
• GPS, MPS, WiFi, RFid BT
• Variations in granularity/accuracy allowed by
  mobile triangulation
• - LBS using mobile triangulation current
  mobile phones
• Sensory networks
• Zigbee apps
• RFid apps

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• LBS - Conclusions
• Location is increasingly important in mobile
  computing applications
• Various positioning systems currently available
• No one positioning system fulfils all
  requirements - pro/cons
• MB toolkit - applications
• WTDC research - integrated positioning system
• - Zigbee RFid sensory networks
• - J2ME LBS on mobile phones
• Trends - GPS in more mobile devices (e.g.
  Motorola A1000, iPaq 6515)
• Bluetooth improved cameras (e.g. Nokia N80 - 3
  megapixel)
• Integration of RFid readers (e.g. Nokia 5140i
  3220)

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Questions