Developing GIS-supported location-based services

TLDR

Mobile networking is rapidly expanding, with projections of over 1 billion subscribers by 2003, and the widespread deployment of Internet‑enabled terminals and precise location determination is enabling the emergence of Location‑Based Services (LBS). The paper examines how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their existing data can be leveraged for LBS, positioning GIS as a central component of mobile Internet applications. The authors analyze GIS properties against LBS requirements and demonstrate a pilot system that employs XML‑based vector city maps running on Java‑enabled mobile terminals, PDAs, and smartphones. The pilot system confirms that XML‑based vector city maps can be effectively used in LBS on Java‑enabled mobile devices, demonstrating the practical integration of GIS data.

Abstract

Mobile networking is developing and proliferating at a high speed. Many estimates say that the number of mobile telecom subscribers will exceed 1 billion in the year 2003. Among the terminals deployed, there will be hundreds of millions of Internet-enabled ones making Mobile Internet a reality for the big masses. The terminals and/or the mobile networks are now able to determine the position of the terminal on the earth with more and more precision. This is the basis for the new class of services called Location-Based Services (LBS). The paper discusses this new emerging application area that some people consider the central novel application class of Mobile Internet. The main topic of the paper is the question, how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the data hosted currently by them could be used in the context of LBS. We analyze their properties and relate them with the needs of LBS. We also present our LBS pilot system that is using XML-based vector formal for city maps and runs on Java-enabled mobile terminals, PDAs and smartphones.