A comparison of protocols for updating location information

Abstract

The detailed location information of mobile objects, for example that of a user with a mobile computer or phone, is an important input for many location-aware applications. However, constantly updating the location information for thousands of mobile objects is not feasible. Update protocols for location information therefore use the special properties of this information to transmit it as efficiently as possible, that is requiring only few update messages, while still being effective in returning the location information with the desired accuracy. Different classes of such update protocols are described in this paper and a new combined protocol is proposed. To be able to compare their effectiveness and efficiency, we present an analysis for the minimum and average resulting accuracy of the location information on the receiver and the number of messages transmitted between them. We also present some simulation results, which we have performed to back up our analysis.