Expanding the SDI environment: comparing current spatial data infrastructure with emerging indoor location-based services

The authors compare key elements of the emerging field of Indoor Location-Based Services (Indoor LBS) to those currently found in spatial data infrastructure (SDI) programs. After a brief review of SDIs and Location-Based Services, the corresponding drivers, characteristics and emerging issues within the field of Indoor LBS are introduced and discussed. A comparative framework relates the two in terms of the criteria ‘People’, ‘Data', ‘Technologies', ‘Standards' and ‘Policies/Institutional Arrangements'. After highlighting key similarities and differences, the authors suggested three areas – definition of common framework datasets in Indoor LBS, more effective use of volunteered geographic information by SDI programs and development of appropriate privacy policies by both communities – that may benefit from sharing ‘lessons learned'.