Location based services: ongoing evolution and research agenda

We are now living in a mobile information era, which is fundamentally changing science and society. Location Based Services (LBS), which deliver information depending on the location of the (mobile) device and user, play a key role in this mobile information era. This article first reviews the ongoing evolution and research trends of the scientific field of LBS in the past years. To motivate further LBS research and stimulate collective efforts, this article then presents a series of key research challenges that are essential to advance the development of LBS, setting a research agenda for LBS to 'positively' shape the future of our mobile information society. These research challenges cover issues related to the core of LBS development (e.g. positioning, modelling, and communication), evaluation, and analysis of LBS-generated data, as well as social, ethical, and behavioural issues that rise as LBS enter into people's daily lives.