Abstract:
Personal task reminders have been indispensable for modern people, in order to remind
them of their tasks at specific circumstances. Traditional paper based reminders are still useful,
but they cannot be organized efficiently. Electronic reminders based on the calendar in Cell
phones are more efficient and gaining popularity, but such reminders are mostly triggered by
time. In many situations, tasks are only meaningful to be performed at a specific location, so it
would be useful if reminders for those tasks can be triggered only when the person to be
reminded is physically near or located at that location.
Therefore, in this research, we develop a location-based personal task reminder for
Android-based smart phones and tablets. To distinguish our work from existing ones that rely
solely on the GPS technology, we take advantage of the ubiquity of IEEE 802.11 WLAN
infrastructure to Compliment the ‘‘blind spots’’ of GPS location sensing. Combining the two
technologies makes it possible for the personal task reminder to be effective in both indoor and
outdoor environments. We also propose two operating models for the personal task reminder to
boost the usability of the application. Furthermore, as long as the WLANinfrastructure is
available, our work as a foundation of location-based services can easily be extended to be used
in many other scenarios, such as guiding in public transportation systems or tourist attractions,
location based learning, and even caring of the Dementia residents.
