Location-Dependent & Value Added Services (vas) for Mobile Communications

A new domain for wireless applications: Location-Dependent Services (LDS)

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  The positioning systems access the wireless network to identify the current position of the “roamer”,
  
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  The location server allows access to multiple wireless location technologies, identifies the most accurate location, and correlates network related data to geographic X/Y data. The location server forwards this “X/Y” information to the application (hosted by the operator itself or by an ASP).
  

The following technologies available for establishing geographical location of a mobile handset can be considered:

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  Cell-ID: Accurate only to the BTS cell area (accuracy from 150m to 30km depending on the BTS coverage), requires access to the HLR and VLR to establish the cell in which the handset is currently located, potentially localisation is available from the MIF field within the SSUTR2 protocol using the prOceSS7 probe. Cell-ID can also be directly accessed on a handset specifically configured (Sim Toolkit application).
  
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  GPS: Requires extensive hardware and software modifications to both the network and the mobile handset, high level of accuracy with reasonable response times.
  
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  Wireless Assisted GPS: Requires extensive hardware and software modifications to the handset, high level of accuracy but takes considerable time to determine location.
  
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  E-OTD (Enhanced Observed Time Difference): Compares signals from a minimum of three different base stations for triangulation, requires software modifications to the handset, requires location Measurement Unit (LMU) in the network, high accuracy and good response time.
  
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  Time of Arrival (TOA): Compares time of arrival of signals from handsets at a minimum of three different base stations; requires synchronisation of Base Stations, planned availability is end 2000.
  
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  Angle of Arrival (AOA): Exploits the directions from which the handset signals arrive, planned availability is end 2000.
  
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  Time Advance (TA): Uses time difference of the arrival of a signal from a handset and the allocated time reference.
  

Location servers are software tools that make use of geographic data (GIS) to provide the correlation between network related data and geographic X/Y data.

ISCOM stands for “Information Systems for Combined Mobility Management in Urban and Regional Areas”. ISCOM is a 3-year (2000-2002) R&D project that has been selected by the European Union in the frame of the 5^th PCRD.

The overall topic of the ISCOM Project consists in the development and demonstration of public transport services and related mobility services on a digital network and within mobility centres.

Travel service will be enhanced by mobile access facilities to the information centre:

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  In Phase 1 (2000) via SMS messaging (Welcome application),
  
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  In Phase 2 (2002) via WAP technology, allowing Internet-like access from the mobile handset. In Phase 2 Geographic Information (GIS technology) will be attached to the travel information to facilitate the roamers localisation and guiding services.
  

The development, implementation and validation of electronic schedule information across borders will ensure interoperability and will enhance standards developments as EFA trough standards integration. The approach involves the acquisition, archiving, updating and output of data.

The project will contribute to the community’s objectives especially on information society and common transport policy. User friendliness of public transport information will be increased at home or at stop. Different sources of information public transport and related services will be integrated and supplied e.g. by Internet. Citizens will have more comfortable access to mobility information, starting with public transport timetable information, and being enlarged by cross-border and door-to-door information.

Sustainable mobility will be supported by the enlargement and improvement of mobility information and services. This includes services and entities that are complementary to public transport itself: Para-transit services, Park&Ride, Taxi&Ride or Bike&Ride. Also information on public transport itself will be improved, especially for handicapped users in Vienna and Rome. Direct user benefits as access to information, accurateness, reliability and comfort will be assessed by surveys.

The feasibility of successful implementation and demonstration of the mobility information and services is shown along different specific areas:

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  Two metropolitan areas - Rome and Vienna - have been chosen with public transport service typical for European capitals. This includes a rail rapid system, light rails, buses and subways,
  
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  Two regional areas - the Alsace Region and the Baden-Württemberg Region - have been selected which include public transport for the central city, regional traffic as well as Para-transit,
  
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  The city of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg will additionally improve traffic management functions, especially congestion information.
  

The areas already partially operate mobility centres that offer a great variety of mobility services. The transport services on the digital network are accessible either by end users directly as an internal service, or by operators staffing the mobility centre including guides on:

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  Information on the local public transport services,
  
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  Electronic time table information with extension to personal address entry,
  
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  Information and booking of special services,
  
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  Online-booking of yearly passes,
  
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  Box for comments by e-mail,
  
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  Information and booking of travel services and tourist and leisure time information.
  

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  Compilation of the database in a dialogue-oriented timetable construction and information system by conversion of partial public transport networks into labelled stops, trip attributes, integration of digitised city maps as well as house-coordinates and points of interest, conversion of tools of all participating public transport means, allocation of the fares when based on area structures,
  
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  Compilation of the database for congestion management in Stuttgart by using digitised urban road network, static and dynamic traffic data as well as short-term forecasts, and administrative support tools for congestion management and detour signing,
  
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  Collection of timetable-data from the different companies. Input of missing timetable-data if not existing. Harmonisation of the data by transformation in a single format. Building a data-pool for the different sites after the rules of the DELFI-Project, this is called data-integration,
  
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  Collection of IT-Networks for pedestrians, bicycles and cars if existing. The availability is different in the sites. Collection of maps to present the networks. Definition and description of the transitions-points in the network of public transport. Referencing of all transition-points. Collection of data of obstacles for handicapped people (mobility handicapped),
  
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  Compilation of the database for congestion management in Stuttgart by using the road network. Referencing of static and dynamic traffic data as well as short-term forecasts. Collection of administrative support tools for congestion management and detour signing,
  
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  Definition of data amount and data requirements, checking the availability. Define the methods of import for the PT-data, especially for the sites in Rome and Alsace. Decide which maps in what scales will be used. Decision what IT-network data will be used, what are the input formats, what transformations are necessary,
  
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  Public transport information, railway traffic, tariff associations. Transformation, Harmonisation, Integration of Public Transport data in the different sites, the data-pool for the different sites is filled by importing the data and transformation to an unique format (DIVA the format for the EFA-system). The stops, served by different providers, have to be identified and they must be assigned,
  
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  Private vehicle-information (P+R, taxi/public transport, bicycle/public transport, pedestrian trails). Definition of the Transition Points, Collection of the data of IT-Networks. In the PT-network the possible transition points have to be identified. Extra data for P+R, B+R (bike and ride), Taxi has to be inputted. The data of the IT-Networks selected has to be transformed to a unique format,
  
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  Processing and matching of private car data. Geographical Referencing of PT-Data to IT-Data. The stops and the transition regions of the PT data will be matched with the IT-data. With a mathematical catching-algorithm the transition points will be referenced to the IT-Network,
  
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  Urban road traffic data: Integration of Road-Traffic data (load and forecasts). In addition to the pure static IT-data in Stuttgart, traffic load-data and forecasts will be added to the IT-network. This will influence the computing of the routes, making them dependent of the time of the day and the date of the day,
  
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  Congestion management data: The databases on road net (static) and traffic load (dynamic or historical data) will be used. Sources of information on construction works, important events etc. will be defined and referenced,
  
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  Integration of databases: Permanent update of all data during the regular operation. The permanent update of all data is organised by installing procedures that need very few manual actions. Most of the updates should operate automatically in the night hours.
  
  Data dissemination and user interfaces:
  
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  Data delivered to the ISCOM information system have to be formatted and stored in a federative database. NMG’s MSDR system includes:
  
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  Middleware for database modelling and users rights and requests management,
  
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  DBMS and Spatial Indexer able to integrate any type of database models and data formats.
  
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  MSDR will be interfaced with EFA, which will fuse the data and offer door-to-door-information via the network media. The platform will offer the print-products also in the internet,
  
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  The timetable information will be referenced to the street-network GIS (geographical information system). This will enable the system to compute inter-modal itineraries,
  
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  In addition to the web access, it will provided access to the ISCOM information system through a mobile (GSM) handset; in a first phase via SMS (Short Messaging Service) and in phase 2 using WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) technology,
  
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  Location-Dependent techniques will locate automatically the roamer in a geographical area, and provide transport information relating to the place where he is: “Where is the nearest bus stop? How long does it take to go from where I am to the Airport? What is the best way to reach my hotel?”
  

As a conclusion there is no doubt that all these wireless appearing technologies will enhance Welcome and Travel applications, and that the convergence of Internet applications and mobility will facilitate the emergence of very new and innovative services.