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Location-aware tracking could be new 'killer app'

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We should soon hear the last of the annoying refrain that has become the bane of commuters’ lives – ‘I’m on the train!’

‘Location awareness’ will be one of the most important functions of the next generation of mobile phones, according to a new report from Demos called Mobilisation which is published in partnership with O2.

Mobile phones of the future will automatically send and receive information about their location in relation to other users. This marks a potential shift away from public concerns over ‘big brother’ surveillance to a less centralised approach where location information is shared among users.

Mobilisation argues that location-awareness may become the ‘killer app’ of the next generation of mobile phones such as 3G. Not only will users be able to locate other people but their phones will continuously ‘talk’ to other devices.

‘If mobiles are now mainly used to help us co-ordinate our activities, devices that enable us to track of our friends’ movements will take mobile co-ordination into a whole new dimension,’ says James Harkin, author of Mobilisation.

‘Teenagers have already become urban nomads who operate within networks linked almost entirely by mobile phones, but this is becoming more true for the rest of the population. We will see more ‘approximeeting’, where mobiles are used to improvise meeting arrangements as people head towards a location.’

Mobile phones will soon act as ‘personal tracking devices’ which will be able to receive services that rely on providers being able to pinpoint where a user is located. Location-awareness will be another way in which mobile technology profoundly affects the way we to relate to our personal environment and those around us.

In Japan, some users have created ‘buddy lists’ so their phone sends them a message when they are in the same area as a friend. More adventurous users are now experimenting with allowing their phones to contact strangers in the same vicinity who match their personal profile.

An experimental system in Helsinki called Flirt enabled mobile users to leaves virtual messages or ‘hanging data’ in specific locations which would be picked up by the next user to pass the same location. The experiment turned the city into a chatroom of flirty Finns.

The Demos research showed that in Britain the public need a better understanding of how mobile devices can reveal their location, as the distinction between message content and ‘traffic data’ – information on the location of mobile devices – breaks down.

Some phone users interviewed in the research expressed reservations about the privacy implications of location-aware devices,  but none of the people interviewed would seriously have considered giving up their phones.

This paradoxical combination of love and mistrust for mobiles was a running theme throughout the research. Another example of the love/hate relationship is the way employees can have more work freedoms and increase productivity but also fear ‘the mobile leash’ of the always-on connection.

‘People, companies and governments need to understand how the mobile has re-shaped society for good,’ says Richard Brown, group public affairs director of O2. ‘We need to look at the positive aspects of technological advancement – for example, how location technology improves personal safety and can help save lives. Some people  may love and loathe mobiles in equal measure, but these paradoxes will be overcome in time.’

Mobilisation concludes that people will gradually recognise the potential benefits of location-aware technology and accept the trade-off  in reduced privacy. This has happened with other new services which required the disclosure of personal information in return for receiving a service.

The taxi hailing system Zingo which connects the caller to the nearest cab is one obvious example of how location awareness would be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat by most users.

Demos believes that the government could help to grow awareness of the public benefits of mobile technology by undertaking not to request mobile location data for anything other than investigation of serious crime or terrorism.

The report also argues that:

Notes for editors

  1. Mobilisation: The growing public interest in mobile technology is published by Demos in partnership with O2 on Wednesday 25 June.
  2. James Harkin is a writer, social forecaster and Demos associate who specialises in the role of technology in society.
  3. Demos is an independent think tank with a strong interest in the way network-based technologies affect social interactions.