An Intelligent Mobile GIS 

Frank, C. , Caduff, D., and Wuersch, M.

GIS Days 2004, Muenster, Muenster, Germany, IfGI Prints, pp. 277-287

Location-based Services (LBS) is a relatively new, growing technology field that focuses on providing information via mobile and field units based on individual spatial positions. In contrast, Geographic Information Systems (GISs) is a well-established field of technology, which incorporates decades of academic and industrial research and development. GISs contain many of the components necessary for LBS as they provide the basic tools and, hence, make LBS functionally possible. Three additional fundamen-tal aspects, however, are required for GISs to provide added value services: mobility, distributiveness, and egocentric awareness. In this paper we investigate these three as-pects, illustrate how they close the gap between a GIS and a LBS, and finally propose an intelligent mobile GIS that conforms to the definition of LBS.

Introduction

Mobile GIS solutions and location-based services, which extend beyond today’s use, will play a major role in the future. Especially tourists, but also fire fighters or field workers will benefit from getting localized information on mobile devices anywhere anytime. Such systems rely on a range of mo-bile hardware units that require different interaction styles compared to their desktop-based counterparts. To alleviate the cognitive load placed upon the user while using such devices, new techniques and methods have to be found. Sensor-based systems allow gathering data about variables such as position, speed, heading, or orientation, from which information related to the user’s context and immediate surrounding might be deducted. This paper presents a novel approach that closes the gap between GISs and LBS due to the use of integrated sensors. These sensors are instrumental in generating information that enables automatic extraction of information about the environment. Mobility, distributiveness, and egocentric aware-ness are the fundamental aspects that need to be considered in the devel-opment of such a system.

Mobility

GISs are typically used on desktop computers where the users’ primary concern is interacting with the system, that is, interacting with an abstract virtual representation of the real world. LBS, on the other hand, are used in the field where users preferably interact with their surroundings, hence, de-grading interaction with the system to a secondary concern. To support such live interaction GISs need to become mobile. Making GISs mobile is an inherently challenging task because of the complexity and resource in-tensive structure of GISs (Dix et al. 2000). In addition, interfaces need to be redesigned and tailored to the new requirements of mobile environments (Rodden et al. 1998).

Distributiveness

With desktop GISs being memory and processor intensive, it will be diffi-cult for mobile computers to provide the same functionality. To resolve this lack of infrastructure processing needs to be spread over multiple entities (Hinze and Voisard 2003). Such a distributed system may include a thin client in form of a mobile device, a connection to the Internet, an applica-tion server, and a database management system. This structure allows the data to be stored and managed in one place. Complex processing occurs in a different place, finally, leaving the mobile device with the manageable task of coordinating the users’ interaction in the field.

Egocentric Awareness

Map data is usually organized and presented in an allocentric or “birds-eye-view” form (Krum et al. 2001). Users in the field, however, view their sur-rounds in a perspective way, relating real-world objects to their position. Therefore, GISs need to translate between the egocentric view users have and the allocentric data in the system (Frank 2003). In addition, LBS intrin-sically create the need for personalized map content. This translation and content management is based on the distributed system’s awareness of the user’s position, orientation, and task at hand.