Ubiquitous Access to Site Specific Services by Mobile Devices: the Process View

摘要

The increasing availability of tri-band mobile devices with mobile phone, wi-fi and Bluetooth capability means that the opportunities for increased access by mobile devices to services provided within a smaller locality becomes feasible. This increase in availability might, however, be tempered by users switching off their devices as they are overloaded with a multitude of messages from a variety of sources. A wide range of opportunities can be realised if we can provide a managed environment in which people can access wireless services specific to a particular physical site or location in a ubiquitous manner, independent of the service, and they can also choose from which services they are willing to receive messages. These opportunities range from retail promotions as a person walks down the street, to shopper specific offers as people enter stores that utilise reward card systems, to information about bus arrivals at a bus stop, additional curatorial information within a museum and access to health records within a hospital environment. The CPA paradigm offers a real opportunity to provide such capability with mobile processes, rather than the current approach that, typically, gives users access to web pages.