September 13, 2007

A Nigerian Case Study

Timothy AkinboDepartment of Electronic and Electrical Engineering,Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

http://timba.cowblock.net/

Implementing Operator-Independent Location Based Services

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Presentation Outline

What are LBS'?How does LBS work?

GPSTOAE-OTDCOO

An operator-independent approachHow is it implemented?Real World ExamplesOther questions?

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What are LBS'?

Location Based Services are services that are contextually location-specific?

Questions are of the variety – what, when, where, how...LBS try to answer the question – where!

Examples of Location Based ServicesEmergency ServicesTraffic InformationNavigational AssistanceStolen Vehicle RecoveryFleet TrackingEnhanced Directory/Information Services

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How does LBS work?

LBS uses wireless location technologiesGPSTOAE-OTDCOO

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GPS

GPS (Global Positioning System) is a system that uses a constellation of satellites beaming timing signals to the earth to determine the location of a device.

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Uplink Time of Arrival

Uplink Time of Arrival uses a network of base transmission stations (BTS) to determine the location of a mobile terminal by estimating the time (and hence distance) it takes for a signal to be received by each of the BTS in the setup.

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Enhanced Observed Time Difference

E-OTD uses timing signals sent from several BTS to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal in turn estimates location from this data and either reports it location back or consumes it.

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Cell of Origin

The COO method uses reported information on the cell site a mobile equipment is connected to in determining the location of the mobile equipment. This is done by looking up the cell id, local area code and others against a database.

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Why consider operator-independence?

Operators can be slow in deploying bleeding-edge technologyOperator bureaucracyDevelopment costs

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Implementation

First things first – we ought to build a database of cell sites

Using a technique known as cell stumbling

Secondly, create an interface or API for easy integration with other applicationsThirdly, create a application to consume the service

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Real World Applications

Dodgeball.comCulture around the cornerMeet Moi

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Questions

Questions?Questions??Questions???

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Thank You!