A Framework for interoperable location based services application development on mobile devices

Abstract

A key limitation in the present generation of Location Based Services (LBS) applications is the lack of interoperability in terms of the data sources they utilize and the devices they run on. As most LBS applications are commonly bound to a specific high-end mobile platform, they fail to run on mobile phones which use other platforms. Even though two thirds of the world population use feature phones, the majority of available LBS applications cater only to smart phones which are used by the remaining one third. Many LBS applications are also bound to a single map data provider and they have limited facilities to use already available geographic data in local contexts or at individual level. In order to address the above interoperability issues, a framework which can be utilized to generate LBS applications interoperable in terms of the devices they run and the data sources they use is proposed in this research. The interoperability related to map data is achieved by using map servers compliant with Open Geographic Consortium’s (OGC) Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) based map servers via a Cascading Map Service. The interoperability related to devices is achieved by using a mobile web based approach. The key contribution of the research presented is a mechanism to generate LBS applications which are interoperable in these two contexts. The proposed framework is implemented using web technologies. Four sample LBS applications which make use of data from six map servers implemented using two different technologies are generated as a proof of the concept. Six different mobile phones which range from feature phones to smart phones are used for testing. Results indicate that the interoperability related to map data and devices can be achieved using the proposed approach. The framework can be used to generate interoperable LBS applications targeting the general public as well as for specific domains, for example management of resources of public utilities.