Framework for Developing Mobile Location Based Applications.

摘要

Location based services and applications are buzzwords nowadays, yet they have been around for quite some time in a variety of applications. However, due to high costs of the positioning equipment the number of such applications is increasing too slowly. Even though 'location based' is a hot topic, there are no publicly available application development frameworks that would enable rapid location based application development on COTS hardware. The paper presents different options for determining location of mobile devices such as mobile phones and handhelds. It describes positioning possibilities using WiFi networks, GSM networks, Bluetooth beacons and the GPS system. Furthermore, it proposes an extensible and open framework for rapid mobile location based application development. The paper specifies the components comprising the framework, data structures used for spatial data interchange and Web Services used for communication among components. It also describes a location aware application prototype built on top of the proposed framework. This application displays spatial data according to the mobile device location and it provides means for entering our own location-based data. The paper demonstrates that building applications on top of the proposed framework is feasible, discusses the benefits and drawbacks of our approach and proposes integration with different sensors for example for tracking soldier's vital signs such as heartbeat or limbs movement.