Beyond Location Based - The Spatially Aware Mobile Phone

An increasing number of mobile phones feature embedded sensors such as GPS receivers, digital compasses or accelerometer-based tilt sensors. In this paper, we present an application framework for building spatially aware mobile applications – applications that visualize, process or exchange geospatial information – on mobile phones equipped with such sensors. The core component of the framework is a novel, platform-independent XML data exchange format that describes the geographic vicinity of the mobile device. The format enables a variety of new mobile interaction styles and user interface types – from traditional text-based local search and information interfaces to innovative real-time user interfaces like geo-pointers and smart compasses.