License exempt RF enables localised services: new book, online forum, conference

location based services

new book is due out soon from the British publishing house Taylor & Francis: Local Positioning Systems: LBS Applications and Services by Krzysztof Kolodziej and Johan Hjelm. This 488-page $99.95/£56.99 hardcover describes the possibilities and issues involved in using existing WiFi, Bluetooth, UWB, RFID, and other ambient energy fields for geo-location, especially indoors where GPS often fails.

The authors also recently launched a Yahoo group ("GPS-Alternatives") and will participate in the Location-Based Services World Forum planned for 16-17 October 2006 in San Francisco (USA).

Here is an excerpt from the book's preface by Mark Reichardt, president of the Open Geospatial Consortium:

"...What are the current and evolving technologies for rendering location services indoors? GPS devices usually don't work indoors. How can we equip our first responders to give them indoor location information for search and rescue in an emergency? How can we best exploit existing and emerging infrastructure to deliver accurate indoor location services to support businesses, government and the consumer?

"This textbook leads us from 'macro to micro', taking us on a tour of dozens of existing and possible indoor location based services [and] applications. We get a grounding in the underlying common requirements of such applications and we learn about the relevant features and benefits of current and emerging technologies. The author provides enough technical detail to provide a firm foundation for developers, while stimulating our imaginations with descriptions of dozens of applications.

"Many technical textbooks neglect the importance of standards. Kris Kolodziej, who has had experience with geospatial standards development, doesn't make that mistake. Today's location services depend on a set of standard open interfaces and encodings that support plug and play integration and that create market opportunities for the diverse businesses who provide the links in the location services value chain.

"This book brings together for the first time everything that should be in a single book about location based services for buildings, campuses, malls, manufacturing centers and other built environments that preclude complete dependence on GPS. The information is timely, because many of the technologies have only recently become available as affordable, capable products that are easily integrated into solutions, and there is a growing awareness of what should be possible...."

[WiFi: 21 May 2006