Global Positioning System;  GPS;  Location Based Systems LBS;  Position-Aware Technologies

Location-aware technologies are devices that can report their precise geographic location at high temporal resolutions.

Location-aware technologies (LATs) are devices that can report their geographic location in near-real time using methods such as radiolocation that exploit wireless communication systems, the global positioning system (GPS) that utilize time differences of signals from satellites in Earth orbit and dead-reckoning that use distances and directions along a route from a known location to determine the current location.

An emerging LAT is radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags. Mobile RFID tags transmit data to fixed readers using either passive (powerless) or active (powered) methods. Active tags are heavier and more expensive, but have a longer range and cheaper readers than can track multiple tags simultaneously. Unlike GPS, RFID tags must self-identify to the reader since the reader (not the client) conducts the location calculations. This means that RFID systems have a greater potential for surveillance

LAT enable location-based services (LBS). LBS provide targeted information to individuals based on their geographic location though wireless communication networks and devices such as portable computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones and in-vehicle navigation systems.