Location based context-aware services in a digital ecosystem with location privacy

© 2013 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. This case discusses the architecture and application of privacy and trust issues in the Connected Mobility Digital Ecosystem (CMDE) for the University of Wollongong's main campus community. The authors describe four mobile location-sensitive, context-aware applications (app(s)) that are designed for iPhones: a public transport passenger information app; a route-based private vehicle car-pooling app; an oncampus location-based social networking app; and a virtual art-gallery tour guide app. These apps are location-based and designed to augment user interactions within their physical environments. In addition, location data provided by the apps can be used to create value-added services and optimize overall system performance. The authors characterize this socio-technical system as a digital ecosystem and explain its salient features. Using the University of Wollongong's campus and surrounds as the ecosystem's community for the case studies, the authors present the architectures of these four applications (apps) and address issues concerning privacy, location-identity and uniform standards developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).