Mobile communication equipment (GSM/GPRS/UMTS), a range of terminals including Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), Palmtops and powerful mobile PCs, and GNSS satellite location services can now be easily integrated in a distributed scenario: mobile devices are rapidly converging in standards and components to meet the growing demands in terms of users and need of internet based services. To be truly useful, components and devices must be interconnected and interoperable: this will be more and more possible with the emerging standards on the fusion between higher order tools and markup languages (e.g. XML based).
Location services are more and more available in low-cost devices and equipment (e.g. GPS and Handhelds or mobile communication terminals) that use (or are ready to use) communication protocols (e.g. IP and WAP) and languages (e.g. WML) that allow an easy integration into Internet services.

WEB servers offer now a high level of security and reliability needed for sensible applications.
The project will therefore develop a modular and extensible architecture (based on component approaches) that will allow the selection of those handheld and mobile mounted terminals that will offer the best value for money in terms of cost and performance.
The user requirements for this type of technology include:
Pedestrian terminal
i. High Portability  PDA configuration
ii. Touch screen
iii. Robustness
iv. External Use
v. High connection possibilities to external devices (PCMCIA, BT, IrDA)
vi. Operative Time Life (6-8 hours)
Mobile Terminal (installed on vehicle or craft)
i Medium Portability  Tablet PC configuration
ii. Robustness
iii. Touch screen with hot buttons
iv. Possible External Use nearby the mobile vehicle/craft
v. High connection possibilities to external devices (PCMCIA, BT, Ir, COM)
vi. Operative Time Life (4-6 hours) when disconnected from vehicle/craft
vii. Embedded Communication/Positioning Technologies
Mobile Control Centre.
viii. No/Low Portability  Laptop configuration
ix. Robustness
x. No Touch screen
xi. High Connection possibilities to external devices (PCMCIA, BT, Ir, COM)
xii. Operative Time Life (4-6 hours) when disconnected from vehicle/craft
xiii. High performances CPU, DB and MEMORY

Pedestrian units/Mobile Devices

PDA, abbreviation for Personal Digital Assistant, is a handheld device that combines computing, telephone/fax, Internet and networking features. A typical PDA can function as a cellular phone, fax sender, Web browser and personal organizer.
All handhelds, including electronic organizers, let you manage your appointments, contacts, memos, notes, and tasks. You’ll even be able to synchronize your data with a conventional PC and a Web-based service. Some handhelds, such as Palm OS-, Windows CE- and Symbian EPOC-based devices, support PC-based tasks, enabling you to view, edit, transport, and print documents, spreadsheets, databases, and presentations.
Large-format, keyboard-equipped (Symbian EPOC, Windows CE, proprietary OSs). Keyboard-equipped handhelds have small standard keyboards; they may or may not have touch-sensitive displays and character recognition software. They may be relatively heavy, ranging from less than 1 pound to almost 3-but they usually support additional expansion slots or ports. Devices in this group are high on function but low on portability. The ‘cool’ factor is also pretty low, so they’re not very popular. However, for the serious professional user who needs a reliable and powerful tool, they can be made ruggedized to cater for harsh handling and abuse.
Pocket-size (Palm OS, Windows CE, proprietary OSs). This is the most popular category of handhelds, with the most unit sales and the widest range of manufacturers and models. Each of these devices usually incorporates an on-screen keyboard with very tiny keys, although a few now come with physical internal keyboards that flip over or slide out from inside the device. Typically it weighs half a pound or less.