Challenges in location-aware computing

The availability of massive amounts of high-quality data as well as advances in computing and communications suggest the possibility of powerful new applications in science, commerce, environment, and government-but many research challenges remain. Research in geospatial information systems is inherently multidisciplinary, and research efforts are likely to be most successful if conducted by teams that combine expertise in applications as well as information technology. Advances in location-aware computing, in particular, could have important implications not just for how geospatial data are acquired but also for how and with what quality they can be delivered and how mobile and geographically distributed systems are designed.