A critical evaluation of location based services and their potential (original) (raw)

2007, Journal of Location Based Services

This Editorial lead paper for the Journal of Location Based Services surveys this complex and multidisciplinary field and identifies the key research issues. Although this field has produced early commercial disappointments, the inevitability that pervasive location-aware services on mobile devices will emerge means that much research is needed to inform these developments. The paper reviews firstly: the science and technology of positioning, geographic information science, mobile cartography, spatial cognition and interfaces, information science, ubiquitous computing; and secondly the business, content and legal, social and ethics aspects, before synthesising the key issues for this new field. One final question for this introductory survey of the issues: to what extent are LBS 'special' and deserving of this particular research focus? There are many specific reasons for this; however, one general point may suffice as a justification. In the 'digital transition' of the last decade almost all artefacts that people use have been re-invented in digital form. Among these artefacts, the most important are those that produce information for the most crucial forms of human knowledge. If we use Ranganathan's famous dictum (1931) that all knowledge can be divided into one of five fundamental categories-personality, matter, energy, space, and timewe can see that all except space have established digital artifacts in mass distribution. LBS may be the field from which a 'space' artifact can emerge. This paper reviews firstly: the science and technology of positioning, geographic information science, mobile cartography, spatial cognition and interfaces, information science, ubiquitous computing; and secondly the business, content and legal, social and ethics aspects, before synthesising the key issues for this new field.