Sensor web enablement

With the rapid evolution of location technologies, wireless communication and sensors, it becomes increasingly feasible to identify and locate any valuable resource or individual in real time anywhere. This capability underlines a fundamental development: we are becoming increasingly used to know the 'where' of people or things, in a way that is similar to our general ability to know precise time. Organizations that adopt these technologies are faced with some fundamental questions, which are in part typical of early-stage technologies but which are magnified by the deep and pervasive implications of location and identification technologies and the internet of things. How will organization operate in a hyper-connected world? What will be the boundary between the inside and outside of an organization? How can the benefits and risks be assessed while there is a major uncertainty on technology and its acceptance? What does privacy mean when all information can be interrelated without individuals being aware of it? How should the organisation look at these developments and take the intrinsic long-term uncertainty into account for investment decisions? How do there developments affect the organisation mandate and its scope of activities? Should the organisation simply adapt to market developments or should it proactively influence how it evolves? Questions like these are at the core of any organisation that depends for its core activities on location and identification of people or goods or things. This paper illustrates a scenario analysis that tries to address these issues. The Location Awareness 2020 study Rijkswaterstaat (RWS – Dutch Ministry of Transport and Waterways) ensures a proper functioning of the road and waterway network in the Netherlands. RWS mandate is to ensure mobility of goods and people, accessibility to transport infrastructures and safety of transportation. RWS is one of the largest users of location information in the Netherlands and its Geo-ICT infrastructure is at the forefront of developments in this sector. The growing adoption of sensor based environments, in addition to the traditional Geographical Information Systems and satellite technologies, provides a new development space for RWS, an option which is attractive given the relevance of location information for RWS.