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Location based services are services that are sensitive to the location of the service user. Any service that makes use of the location of the user can be called a location based service. The location of a person can be found out using a GPS receiver or tracking his mobile phone. The GPS method will require the user to carry a GPS receiver everywhere he goes. Also to provide him with some service the location obtained from the GPS receiver must be sent to a server where the location based service is hosted. This is a difficult and can be expensive. But nowadays everyone carries a mobile phone whose location can be traced with enough accuracy and a lower cost. This new technology has given the LBS market a greater push.Location based services can be divided into 4 categories. The categories are
- Business to Business
- Business to Consumer
- Consumer to Business
- Consumer to Consumer
The business to business services include fleet tracking, courier tracking etc. Business to consumer services include pushed ads based on the location, where a user will receive ads most relevent to the location. Consumer to business services include location based search, where a user is searching for the nearest restaurant, petrol pump etc. A consumer to consumer service is the friend finder service where the user will be alerted if his friend is within a few meters.
Some of the services
Fleet Tracking
Courier tracking
Traffic alerts
Location sensitive advertising
Emergency Assistance
Location based yellow page look up
Friend finder
Destination maps
Weather alerts
Child/pet tracking
Location based billing
Games
Fleet tracking service can be used to locate and track moving vehicles. This can be very useful for fleet owners/individual vehicle owners. This enables them to pinpoint their vehicles on a map. Taxi fleets can use the location information to calculate the distance traveled, and use that for internal billing. Government can use this service for preventing misuse of government vehicles. Also the tracker will help in finding the vehicle in case of a theft.
Courier or costly assets can be tagged with tracking devices so that the position of these can be monitored. In case of freight items such tracking will allow the user to exactly know where his package is. This avoids manual intervention for data entry and can speed up the handling process. Current freight tracking systems use passive components to track items.
Traffic and weather alerts are among the most widely used location services. These alerts provides a traveling person with the latest traffic situation on the road ahead. It also delivers the latest weather updates for the subscribers current region. Traffic radios are very popular in many countries, but this location based traffic alerts can provide customer specific traffic alerts only when he needs an alert.
LBS can be used to provide location sensitive advertising. Think of a scenario where a traveler gets a message about the nearest hotels as soon as he lands in an airport. In a shopping mall the service can be used to push information about shops offering a discount. Everyone within a fixed distance from the mall will get the promotional message. This can increase sales and brand awareness.
Emergency assistance is the most useful and life saving among all location based services. I case of an accident a panic button can be pressed, which will send out the location information where the accident took place to nearest control center/ambulance/patrol car. This will help the police/paramedics to reach the accident scene at the earliest and save lives.
Location based services got a boost when the E-911 enhancements were suggested to the 911 system in USA. E-911 specifies that all operator must provide the location of a 911 caller so that the emergency team can reach the spot faster. This got about a lot of technological and business changes. Mobile locating technology improved a with increased accuracy and faster query time.
When you are traveling you will require many kinds of information, like nearest restaurant, medical shop, ATM counter, hospital, tourist places etc. Such information can be provided location specific, if we know travelers location. The user can request for such services using his mobile and he will get the result in the mobile itself either using sms or GPRS.
Friend finding services allows the user to keep track of his friends locations. A user can query to find out where his friends are right now. This service has some implications on privacy, but still this is an interesting service. Alerts can be provided to users when his or her friends come within a specific distance.
Electronic maps benefit a lot from knowing the location of a user. The information can be used to plot the location of the user. The map also can show real time direction tips to reach destination. With a voice enabled LBS-Navigation system, the device will give you directions, asking you to “Turn right” or “Turn Left” when a deviation comes.
Tracking devices can be installed in collars or lockets and can be used to track children and pets. Software can be made in such a way that, the users can set boundaries. When the child or the pet approaches the boundary or crosses it the software can raise an alarm or can send an alert message informing the parent or owner.
Location based billing can be used for promotional activities. The concept is that the billing tariff depends on the location of the user also. Operators can club with other service providors to make maximum use of location based billing. Think about an advertisment you see in front of a Coffee Day - “Enjoy free Hutch to Hutch Calls from your mobile along with your Coffe”.
Location based games can be very interesting. Treasure hunt, find me etc are some famous location based games.
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2 comments ↓
Well Airtel introduced a location based promotion in my city. While calling under my town tower, the offer was something like 3 minutes..99 Paise..dunno whether it is here now..
I think location based promotion has a huge market..must the player have to invest a lot.. Like they must ensure
1. No harm to culture
2. Must consider the majority population,..whether it is of old people or teenage like that
3. Must know religious fact… promo must not harm religious feeling .. rite?
4. Well the most important fact is whether they can promote the product there.. like if we are investing more for promotion of dry fruits in a place where there are farmers who produce fruits….yuk…money will be waste…
5. more over while studying about the location..we must ensure that the people staying there must be residing there for atleast 5 years..coz there may be people like visitors, tourists, employees who forces to relocate in 2 years or so…if research is based on such people… the output will not be as expected.
So in my opinion.. mass promotion is some what profitable and interesting…
I need to know what are the international standard for LBS,
Like Is it IS-801, IS-881
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