Location-Based Services: A Road Towards Situation Awareness

With the widespread use of mobile devices and increased demand for mobile services, Location-Based Services (LBS) represent a promising addition to service offerings of network operators as well as third-party service providers. Based on long-term research in LBS, our group has proposed a generic Enhanced LBS Reference Model (ELRM), which describes the concept, the architecture and the functionalities of the LBS. In addition, an evolutionary information process has been identified within the LBS, that represents knowledge maturity from position awareness to situation awareness. Both the ELRM and the information evolution process in LBS are presented in this article and illustrated by a case study within the framework of the 3GPP-standardised IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). This case-study emphasises the opportunities for navigation- and LBS-related solutions development provided by modern telecommunication technologies.