Content

This one-day Masterclass will offer participants a comprehensive vision of where location-based services, personal navigation devices and mobile GIS are headed in the 2-5 year time frame. Still expanding rapidly despite the Credit Crunch, the addition of geopositioning hardware and software to many mobile devices has created a mass market platform offering many new opportunities for geo-developers. The change from the era of high data costs, slow GPS and installable applications on mobiles to flat data tariffs, location APIs and 'app' stores for seamless installation will have profound implications for data providers, developers and end users. These changes are already encouraging data providers to release their data as geo-web feeds (eg London Transport), and the arrival of location-enhanced browsers like Firefox on mobile will make it easier and cheaper to bring services using geodata to the market.

This Masterclass will look at the drivers behind this change and the key events on the evolutionary timeline for location technologies. It will cover the devices, operating systems and geo-mobile software developments, especially the impacts on the GIS industry and the traditional map data suppliers. It will also cover the new generation of business models, distribution mechanisms and the impact of open source software and data movements on location technologies. The Masterclass will bring the latest news from industry and research around the world together in one accessible briefing.

Advantages of participation

At the end of the Masterclass, the take-away advantages for attendees will include:

• a technology development timeline for the next 2-5 years
• a mobile device capability grid
• a mobile software architecture map showing the location interfaces available on each platform
• a link database for location applications on the market
• documentary case studies for services based on location technologies

Who should attend?

The Masterclasses are designed as accessible but practical briefings for those with positions focussed on, or exposed to developments in location technologies, for example, researchers, designers, marketeers, managers and analysts in either the private, public or voluntary sector. The Masterclasses will be eligible for continuing professional development credit.

Who teaches the courses?

These one-day courses are led by internationally known researchers Professor Jonathan Raper and Dr David Mountain. Jonathan and David are the founders of Location Based Services Research (LBSR) at City University and they also run Placr Ltd. a location technology startup company. The course will be a mixture of lectures, demonstrations and Q&A sessions and will offer all participants hands on experience with the technology. Participants will receive digital copies of the course materials.