Location Based Services of the Future
Warwick Watkins | August 3, 2009
As with many areas of online service delivery, spatial information is becoming an increasingly important aspect of our daily lives.
Where once we reached for the street map atlas, now we have in-car, voice-mediated, global positioning systems guiding us to our destination. This is one area where the move 
away from paper based services to online technology has certainly moved ahead of the game as location based services are commonly provided via computers, mobile telephones and PDA deices.
Spatial information has many, perhaps less obvious, impacts on our lives. Location-based information is being used by local and state governments in decision making and provision of information concerning planning. It is used in developing scenarios for and responses to emergency events, and in modelling better solutions to reduce transport congestion. All have a marked impact on how on how we live and the quality of services we receive.
Writing on this forum last year Gary Nairn gave us A Glimpse of the Future. Given the marked advances of the last five to ten years where is spatial information heading?There is a huge amount of data capture being undertaken in government and private sectors as well as research and development improving access to and use of this information.
Given the great advances that have been made, one can’t help but wonder:
- What are some of the most remarkable advances in this area that have changed your life?
- What advances are being made in location based services that will impact our daily lives in the next five years?
Warwick Watkins is the Director General of the Department of Lands, Surveyor General and Registrar General of New South Wales.
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