Location based services using geographical information systems

One of the most obvious technologies behind Location Based Services (LBS) is positioning, with the most widely recognized system being the Global Positioning System (GPS). There are, however, other means of positioning in addition to GPS. These other technologies are network based positioning and typically rely on various means of triangulation of the signal from cell sites serving a mobile phone. In addition, the serving cell site can be used as a fix for location of the user. More and more organizations have started to apply location-based services over Wireless LANs to enable improvements to applications. Generally, a LBS keeps track of the position of users on the network as they roam through the facility. A central system collects and integrates this position information to drive additional functions that identify the position of users in relation to the facility and pertinent areas, such as information on hospitals and medical centers, booths, emergency centers, stores, police stations, gas stations, etc. LBSs offer personalized services to the subscribers based on their current position using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and Wireless Communications and Networking technologies. LBSs offer modern world the tool for efficient management and continuous control. More and more people involve LBS in their industry and day-to-day life to better achieve their goals. In this paper, we present a review of LBSusingGeographical Information Systems and two applications thatwe developed. These are automatic vehicle location, which can provide better management and control for a moving fleet of vehicles and police traffic information system. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.