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On location models for ubiquitous computing

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Abstract

Common queries regarding information processing in ubiquitous computing are based on the location of physical objects. No matter whether it is the next printer, next restaurant, or a friend is searched for, a notion of distances between objects is required. A search for all objects in a certain geographic area requires the possibility to define spatial ranges and spatial inclusion of locations. In this paper, we discuss general properties of symbolic and geometric coordinates. Based on that, we present an overview of existing location models allowing for position, range, and nearest neighbor queries. The location models are classified according to their suitability with respect to the query processing and the involved modeling effort along with other requirements. Besides an overview of existing location models and approaches, the classification of location models with respect to application requirements can assist developers in their design decisions.

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Acknowledgements

The second author gratefully acknowledges the financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within the Center of Excellence 627 “Spatial World Models for Mobile Context-Aware Systems.”

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  1. Institute of Parallel and Distributed Systems (IPVS), University of Stuttgart, Universitätsstraße 38, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    Christian Becker & Frank Dürr

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  1. Christian Becker
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  2. Frank Dürr
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Correspondence to Christian Becker.

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Becker, C., Dürr, F. On location models for ubiquitous computing. Pers Ubiquit Comput 9, 20–31 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-004-0270-2

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