Global Positioning System Reference
In-Depth Information
infrastructure costs if the intelligence can be shifted to the edge of the network
into the user's device.
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From a business perspective this intelligence is very important. In addition to
converging positioning methods and offering security and identity management, it
could be the main thing that customers will be paying for. The more difficult a
problem is that can be solved automatically, the more people would be likely to
pay for the information concerning a solution. Some of the more important
common intelligence requirements are now discussed in more detail, including:
•
Routing information such as messages, multimedia, and machine
commands;
•
Accounting units of value such as money, energy, and personal exercise;
•
Route guidance for people and vehicles;
•
Controlling systems including access, equipment, assets, and radio
systems.
These are called common capabilities because they support many different
applications but have a very similar underlying function. The databases,
computing platforms, and software for each of the capabilities can be very similar
and thus reusable after appropriate configuration. They differ, because each type
needs to interact with other associated information spaces. Some applications may
use several or all of these capabilities, and it is likely that some operators of
services may subdivide the capabilities. Some details of each common capability
class are now given with some typical application examples and details of
associated information spaces.
3.6.2
Routing Information
One of the main applications in the original ubiquitous computing vision is the
idea of media “following” the user's movements. Assuming there is a location
system in operation (for now it does not matter how this is being done), as the user
needs to interact with some media, it will appear on the screen or other display
close by. Essentially there is a decoupling between the terminal and the
application and a distributed computing model is assumed.
Another area of interest would concern location-based services for mobile
phone users who can have messages routed to them based on their location. A set
of rules would be followed according to the location of the user. Messages would
be sent, stored, returned, or deleted according to the rules. For example, a rule
could be set “return all messages from my work colleagues when I am known to
be at my holiday home.” Associated information spaces are user names, addresses,
diaries, calendars, e-mail, SMS, and other messaging systems and all manner of
information resources.
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Web 2.0 and its use of AJAX, as described in Section 8.3.6, is an example.
