Category Archives: LBS

Starting next month, stores in the Ginza district in Tokyo will be beaming coupons, special notices, and other information to shoppers and passers-by through the use of RFID tags and wireless transmitters. The initiative, called the Tokyo Ubiquitous Network Project, will allow shoppers to rent a prototype reader or get messages on their own cell phones. The phone or reader’s location Shoppers can either rent a prototype reader or get messages on their cell phones. The phone or reader’s location is identified by the RFID network, and then matches it to information provided by shops within a certain proximity. People will also be able to access maps and visitor information in different languages by bringing their cell phones or readers close to street lamps with embedded RFID tags.

The service will be available as a trial from January 21st to March 10th and, according to the article, has generated significant interest from stores in Ginza. This is the first large-scale trial of RFID-based LBS services for conveying localized business information that I’ve heard about, and I’m anxious to see how successful it is. I am also certain that there will be others in the near future, as a lot of the innovation that we have seen in the law few years starts to bear results.

Via CNN

The town of Burnley Wood in the UK has become a test bed for a new system that will help local residents visualize how proposed development will change what their town looks like. The Augmented Reality Interactive Environment System (ARIES) consists of a 3D representation of what the area will look like following the planned multi-million pound redevelopment project, loaded onto GPS-enable handheld devices. Residents are then able to move around and see what that specific location will look like. In addition, residents are also able to use the handhelds to record comments and notes as they are walking around. The test is part of the Elevate East Lancashire project, which

There has been a lot of research into using GIS and geospatial technologies for participatory local decision making, and the Burnley Wood test of the ARIES system is just one of an increasing number of examples of how these technologies can be used to help local communities.

Via Burnley Citizen

Microsoft has a new prototype mobile application called Slam (Social, Location, Annotation, Mobile) that lets users send messages and photos back and forth to members of a group, or “slam” Group members can also see each other’s locations mapped using Virtual Earth. The SLAM server handles all the messages and mapping, as it periodically polls the client application for its location, which is determined not by GPS, but by the nearest cell tower. The SLAM client came be downloaded for free, and works on any Windows Mobile SmartPhone. However, Microsoft does have one warning:

“The Slam smartphone client does not use SMS to send and receive messages, it uses HTTP to post messages to the server and to poll for new messages from the server. Because Slam uses the data pipe to send and receive messages, it is very important that all smartphone client users be on an unlimited data plan . We can not stress this strongly enough. Smartphone client users not on an unlimited data plan can expect bills up to $600 / month or more. SMS users will only have to pay for the SMS messages they send and receive per the plan they with their carrier. There are no special charges associated with Slam.”

Slam is another facet of Microsoft’s increasing interest in social networking applications, and it will be interesting to see what users think of the service. Not having a Windows Mobile device, we can not try it out of course.

Via InformationWeek

The city of Norwich in the UK has set up a city-wide wi-fi that is open to the public at 256kbs and open to municipal employees at 1Mbs. One of the goals of implementing the technology is to not only create access to the internet but to allow for public workers to access relevant data and information without having to return to the office. They didn’t specifically mention mobile GIS, but you know someone is wandering around with a tablet, updating a spatial database…even if they don’t know it.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Norwich pioneers free city wi-fi

It seems that a patent was just issued, to Microsoft, for a method and system for location-based licensing. This system would allow the owner of content to specify the locations or geographical areas where the content can be consumed. The licensed device’s location would be checked against the locational constraints before it would be allowed to access content. I’m sure we can all imagine many annoying ways that this could be put to use…….Over on his blog, Kevin Maney speculates that Apple will be licensing the technology any day now to prevent iTunes songs from playing on devices in France.