MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: The Star

"Such services have been successfully implemented in developed countries and have proven to be an indispensable tool for logistics and location finding," says its chief executive officer Steve Teoh.

With the introduction of advanced mobile technologies such as third-generation (3G) telephony, location-based services are expected to see increased use locally, he said.

"As one of the leading developing countries, Malaysia should leverage on its 3G infrastructure to implement services that provide enhanced convenience to the people, said Teoh. "I'm sure it will become a predominant service here, just like the existing meteorological services."

Technology Powerhouse has developed several applications on the Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 platform for location-based services in Malaysia.

These include the Malaysian Map Infrastructure, which provides location-based services like Malaysian Street Directory for tourism, hospitality and advertising services.

"The application provides a total mapping infrastructure catering to members of the public and the businesses surrounding them, and we hope that it will inspire the development of many more location-based services," Teoh said.

Based on Microsoft's Mappoint Web Service, the application comprises Location Service Provider, which tracks the location of mobile users; Mappoint Location Server (MLS) which handles provisioning, user information and "nearby" category management; and Smart Client, which runs on Windows Mobile devices.

The client is the component that issues requests to the MLS, which is an application provided by companies like Technology Powerhouse.

It, in turn, uses services from Mappoint Web Service, which is a global geo-coding platform provided by Microsoft, and pulls location information from cellular services operators like Maxis Communications or Celcom Malaysia to indicate the location of the nearest ATMSs (automated teller machines), petrol stations and hotels, via user handheld devices.

Technology Powerhouse's main focus is on developing various Smart Client applications, with a secondary focus on building up as much geo-coding information as possible, said Teoh.

Geo-coding is a technique for representing location-related information like latitude and longitude in digitised form so it can be searched and retrieved.

It is normally used in geographic information systems (GIS) for infrastructure and town planning, but also works with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for public use.

For more information on Kajang-based Technology Powerhouse, call (03-) 9080-2372 or go to www.tph.com.my.