1.2. How is it useful?
Learning Objectives
- You will be able to distinguish between user activities and demands.
- You will be able to list four types of activities and state how they relate to given goals.
- You will be able to describe existing Location based services in terms of their application field, their accuracy needs and their room of usage (indoor or outdoor).
Introduction
Where am I? Where are my friends? What is here around
me?
The idea behind LBS is to answer these and
other questions. If designing LBS the user’s needs on information have to be met
in
order to make the services useful.
When individuals find themselves in an environment with which they are
unfamiliar, their behaviour and needs are largely predictable, whether in their
own
country or abroad, in a vehicle or on foot. People need to find somewhere to eat,
perhaps a pharmacy, somewhere to obtain cash, a taxi stand, and so on. When abroad,
there are additional requirements: finding the local tourist attractions, getting
around, locating a hotel and a foreign exchange. When driving, there may be other
requirements, such as help with finding a route through an unknown city or details
of breakdown services. Today, an ill-prepared traveller (who does not consult
the
Internet, buy a guide book, pick up information at the hotel or airport check-in,
book in advance, etc) wastes a lot of time, and will not receive much help from
his
or her mobile phone. (Dru et al. 2001)
This Unit
will first clarify what typical user actions are and what type of information
therefore is needed. Second usefulness of LBS is shown by giving some examples
of
LBS which are already operational or will be soon.