Location Modeling for Ubiquitous Computing

Workshop at Ubicomp 2001, September 30, 2001, Atlanta

Many ubicomp applications make use of location information sensed using diverse sensors. To be able to relate locations, compute with them, or present location information to the user, applications use a location model, although it is often implicit. The aim of this workshop is to understand what location models are used, how they are related, and identify requirements for a standard location model for ubiquitous computing.

Proceedings of the Workshop on Location Modeling for Ubiquitous Computing, September 30, Atlanta, Georgia, 2001, (4 MB)

Location information is crucial for many mobile and Ubiquitous Computing applications. Location is used for a variety of purposes, e.g., to track people, to guide visitors, to trigger events or to route communication packets. These systems use a location model to represent different locations. The model allows one to distinguish between different locations, to compute with them, e.g., to compare locations or calculate distances, or to present the information to the user. Often existing models e.g., from geographic information systems are used and technically realized. The choice of a location model has implications on the usability of the applications as well as on the ease of implementation. Furthermore, different application domains might need different types of location models.

• Enumerate and compare existing location sensing technologies and their underlying location models. Contributions based on experiences using such technologies are especially welcome.

• Consider the usefulness of existing location models (e.g., from geographical information systems (GIS), cartography, geography, urban planning, etc).

• Present, assess and compare new models developed for ubicomp/mobile applications.

• Identify the special features of ubicomp/mobile applications and distinguish ubicomp location modeling from location modeling for other domains.

• Devise requirements for model(s) that would be suitable for ubicomp.

• Assess how models and data might be shared for reuse? This includes the consideration of access, intellectual property, pricing, privacy, etc.

• Explore the complementarities and potential synergies between different location models. Various location models exist or are planned. Are there approaches to relate different models to each other?

• Understand how technical parameters (e.g., deviation, accuracy, drift) should be represented in a location model. Which of the parameters are important/useful for applications? Can they be classified?

• the evaluation and comparison of current location models;
• the identification of a set of requirements for a standard location model or modeling language possibly the beginning of a proposal for an (XML-based)
  location description language for ubicomp;
• the creation and consolidation of links between researchers interested in location modeling for ubicomp, possibly in the form of an informal working group
  tackling the issue of a location description language for ubicomp.
  

The workshop organizers will select participants based on a review of submitted position papers, taking into account scientific quality and relation to the workshop topics.

Deadline for submissions: 13. August
Announcement of acceptance: 27. August

A submission has a limit of 6 pages. All submissions should be formatted according to Springer-Verlag's LNCS style, For LNCS templates, see the LNCS Authors Instructions page. Papers should be submitted electronically (PDF format) to Michael Beigl (michael@teco.edu).

The workshop proceedings will be published as a technical report. Participants will be invited to produce full papers for publication in a special issue of a major journal. Also, the workshop outcomes will be reported in the SIGCHI Bulletin.

Phil Gray,
GIST,
University of Glasgow
pdg@dcs.gla.ac.uk

Daniel Salber
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
30 Saw Mill River Road, Hawthorne, NY 10532, USA
salber@acm.org