09-05-2015, 04:12 PM
Location-aware computing involves the automatic tailoring of information and services based on the current location of the user. We have designed and implemented Rover, a system that enables location-based services, as well as the traditional time-aware, user-aware and device-aware services. To achieve system scalability to very large client sets, Rover servers are implemented in an “action-based” concurrent software architecture that enables fine-grained application-specific scheduling of tasks. We have demonstrated feasibility through implementations for both outdoor and indoor environments on multiple platforms.
A user is shopping in a mall. On entering a store, he pulls out a PDA and browses through detailed information about the products on display. Satisfied with the information, through the PDA, he makes an online purchase of the items of interest that will be subsequently shipped to his home directly. As he walks on to the next store, which happens to be a video rental store, information on newly-released movies in his favorite categories are downloaded automatically into his PDA, along with their availability information. He chooses a couple of these movies and indicates that he will pick them up at the storefront.