Challenge: ubiquitous location-aware computing and the "place lab" initiative

Abstract

To be widely adopted, location-aware computing must be as effortless, familiar and rewarding as web search tools like Google. We envisage the global scale Place Lab, consisting of an open software base and a community building activity as a way to bootstrap the broad adoption of location-aware computing. The initiative is a laboratory because it will also be a vehicle for research and instruction, especially in the formative stages. The authors draw on their experiences with campus and building-scale location systems to identify the technological and social barriers to a truly ubiquitous deployment. With a grasp of these "barriers to adoption," we present a usage scenario, the problems in realizing this scenario, and how these problems will be addressed. We conclude with a sketch of the multi-organization cooperative being formed to move this effort forward.