Locate end users with Labs’ API
In response to a booming interest in location-based services, Ericsson Labs’ Mobile Location API helps developers to build applications that draw on the mobile user’s position.
Mobile Location uses cell ID as the basis for specifying user location. The cell ID is a unique number that identifies the radio base station that serves the user’s mobile phone. The cell ID is then translated to a geographical position with the help of a "cell ID look-up" database. This database currently covers nearly 4 million cells all over the world, although not necessarily all cells in any specific location.
Marika Stålnacke, senior research engineer at Ericsson Research, is the project manager for this enabler. She says it can be used in any client-side application that has access to the current cell ID of the user's device and that it works for both GSM and WCDMA networks. Mobile Location gives the same accuracy as Labs’ Web Location API, but is an "over-the-top" enabler that does not retrieve the position from the operator.
Stålnacke says that privacy is an issue, which is addressed by the fact that applications based on this API are client-based, and require the user to actively install them and agree to the terms of use.
What kind of applications can you create with it?
There are lots of services that would benefit from location information. This enabler, however, is perhaps best suited to local search services. As an end user, you would be able to search for things in your vicinity without specifying where you are. It could, of course, also be used for other types of applications when it is convenient for the mobile phone to keep track of your whereabouts. These include services that provide information about shops, restaurants or events in your surroundings.
Do you recognize any trends in relation to your API?
Location-based services are becoming increasingly popular. Several players have been very active lately in building location databases that are now mature enough to be really useful.
Interest is growing steadily, and a lot has happened within the past year or so. One reason is that the technology has matured. Now there are attractive maps, several app stores with location-based applications, and the devices such as the iPhone and other smartphones are getting better and cheaper.
What feedback have you received so far?
We get a lot of positive feedback, and it is one of Labs’ most popular APIs. In the ongoing contest called the Ericsson Application Awards, where students are challenged to build applications using one or more of Labs’ APIs, Mobile Location is one of the most popular choices. Many are also asking when and how it will be available for commercial usage.
Many developers have said they appreciate that our database has such good coverage. It seems to be one of the largest in the market.
What are your plans for the future?
We plan to make a few small improvements, such as supporting more types of mobile phones. We have also talked about introducing features that offer better accuracy and coverage by using data other than cell ID. And then there is the commercial track: how to support the usage of the API in commercial services.
Mobile Location uses cell ID as the basis for specifying user location. The cell ID is a unique number that identifies the radio base station that serves the user’s mobile phone. The cell ID is then translated to a geographical position with the help of a "cell ID look-up" database. This database currently covers nearly 4 million cells all over the world, although not necessarily all cells in any specific location.
Marika Stålnacke, senior research engineer at Ericsson Research, is the project manager for this enabler. She says it can be used in any client-side application that has access to the current cell ID of the user's device and that it works for both GSM and WCDMA networks. Mobile Location gives the same accuracy as Labs’ Web Location API, but is an "over-the-top" enabler that does not retrieve the position from the operator.
Stålnacke says that privacy is an issue, which is addressed by the fact that applications based on this API are client-based, and require the user to actively install them and agree to the terms of use.
What kind of applications can you create with it?
There are lots of services that would benefit from location information. This enabler, however, is perhaps best suited to local search services. As an end user, you would be able to search for things in your vicinity without specifying where you are. It could, of course, also be used for other types of applications when it is convenient for the mobile phone to keep track of your whereabouts. These include services that provide information about shops, restaurants or events in your surroundings.
Do you recognize any trends in relation to your API?
Location-based services are becoming increasingly popular. Several players have been very active lately in building location databases that are now mature enough to be really useful.
Interest is growing steadily, and a lot has happened within the past year or so. One reason is that the technology has matured. Now there are attractive maps, several app stores with location-based applications, and the devices such as the iPhone and other smartphones are getting better and cheaper.
What feedback have you received so far?
We get a lot of positive feedback, and it is one of Labs’ most popular APIs. In the ongoing contest called the Ericsson Application Awards, where students are challenged to build applications using one or more of Labs’ APIs, Mobile Location is one of the most popular choices. Many are also asking when and how it will be available for commercial usage.
Many developers have said they appreciate that our database has such good coverage. It seems to be one of the largest in the market.
What are your plans for the future?
We plan to make a few small improvements, such as supporting more types of mobile phones. We have also talked about introducing features that offer better accuracy and coverage by using data other than cell ID. And then there is the commercial track: how to support the usage of the API in commercial services.
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