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Re: Is the IP layer the right place to support location information
I tend to disagree with the assessment provided here. In fact there are very
real needs for position location even with non-mobile devices. I doubt the
example about bus schedules is all that useful - this same thing can be done
very simply without resorting to anything else: the user can go to a website
and select the location (since it might very well be somewhere else other
than the location of the mobile device doing the request).
The example I think as most useful has to do with hosting content. Right now
if I go to www.microsoft.com, I tend to traverse the entire network until I
end up in Redmond. Now image a situation like Disney or MSNBC or maybe even
the Victoria Secret show - the entire network clogs up with traffic to a set
of clustered machines. If we have positioning information in the system, in
other words I am at a machine in Boston, I can construct a DNS environment
that could factor in the location and identify a machine that can stream the
content to me, one that is closer. Of course this means that MS or Victoria
Secret might have to have multiple machines around the world, and stream
content (or maintain them in real-time), but the end result is that the
network load is more evenly distributed.
Take it for what it is worth...
Chuck Wegrzyn
----- Original Message -----
From: EXT Albert Godfrind <agodfrin@fr.oracle.com>
To: EXT Sharman,Richard <richard.sharman@roke.co.uk>
Cc: <ext-ip-location@research.nokia.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2000 3:25 AM
Subject: Re: Is the IP layer the right place to support location information
Sharman,Richard wrote:
> Also, I agree that the requirement itself hasn't been totally
articulated.
> The evidence of the archive on this discussion group is ambiguous. On the
> one hand it would be nice to have a few specific examples of services with
a
> compelling commercial justification, from which some generic capability
> requirement could be extracted. Of course, if the business case is too
> compelling it could lead to some short term, proprietary solutions which
> might not be best in the long run. Again, this needs amplification.
I don't know that there is a definite need for locating devices
generally, but there sure is a business opportunity for providing
location-dependent services to mobile devices. Note however the specific
environment:
- this opportunity concerns MOBILE devices, i.e. today generally GSM
phones, preferably WAP-enabled, and soon more complex devices (palmtops,
etc). That topic is already being covered by the WAP and W3C consortia.
Note that a joint workshop in february is going to cover those issues
(see http://www.w3.org/Mobile/posdep-workshop).
- this opportunity concerns the delivery of information or the access to
services that are dependent on the current position of the mobile
device. For instance, the scheduled time for a bus to pass next at the
nearest bus stop, or the nearest hotel with rooms available in my price
range, etc.
Adding a location capture/transport capability into the IP protocol
stack would enable those services on a more general basis. However, the
vast majority of IP devices today are static - i.e. they do not move:
they sit on a desk somewhere. [Of course, the laptops are "mobile" in a
way - but not really so when you compare them with a GSM phone. Plus
laptops only connect to the network today when they are stable - i.e. in
some office or home or hotel room or other well-known fairly static
location.]
I doubt that the opportunity for providing location-dependent services
or information to static devices exists. After all, you know where you
are. If you need to order something from some web service (say a book),
you just supply the delivery address yourself manually. Or the supplier
already knowe your delivery address because he holds it on file ... Why
would it depend on your physical location ? As for location for
emergency services, I personally would not want to depend on my laptop
or workstation to direct help to me ...
This is different for mobile devices, where you are out on the street
somewhere, possibly don't know where you are, and are moving (walking,
in a car, on a train, etc).
The situation may well change in the future if we move in the direction
of IP being THE ubiquitous transport for EVERYTHING (i.e. each and every
device has an IP address). Location information at the IP level then
becomes more meaningful - but again under the assumption that devices
are mobile. Even if my fridge has an IP address, I still know where it
is. On the other hand, if my TV remote control does have an IP address
and includes a device that is able to advertise its location, then that
would help in finding the damn thing under the sofa ;-)
/albert
--
Albert Godfrind Oracle Data Server Division
Oracle Corporation Multimedia and GeoSpatial Technologies
C.I.C.A Email: agodfrin@fr.oracle.com
2229 Route des Crêtes Phone: +33/4/92.94.21.37
06560 Sophia-Antipolis Mobile: +33/6/09.97.27.23
France FAX: +33/4/92.94.21.45
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