Applications of Moving Objects Databases

Miniaturization of computing devices and advances in wireless communication and sensor technology are some of the forces propagating computing from the stationary desktop to the mobile outdoors. Some important classes of new applications that will be enabled by this revolutionary development include location-based services, tourist services, mobile electronic commerce and digital battlefield. Some existing application classes that will benefit from the development include transportation and air traffic control, weather forecasting, emergency response, mobile resource management and mobile workforce. Location management, that is, the management of transient location information, is an enabling technology for all these applications. Location management is also a fundamental component of other technologies, such as fly-through visualization, context awareness, augmented reality, cellular communication and dynamic resource discovery. Moving Objects Databases (MODs) store and manage the This chapter appears in the book Spatial Databases: Technologies, Techniques and Trends by Yannis Manalopoulos, Apostolos Papadopoulos and Michael Gr. Vassilakopoulos. Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING Applications of Moving Objects Databases 187 Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. location as well as other dynamic information about moving objects. In this chapter we will present the applications of MODs and their functionality. The target readership is researchers and engineers working in databases and mobile computing.