Location-based spatial queries with data sharing in wireless broadcast environments

Location-based spatial queries (LBSQs) refer to spatial queries whose answers rely on the location of the inquirer. Efficient processing of LBSQs is of critical importance with the ever-increasing deployment and use of mobile technologies. We show that LBSQs have certain unique characteristics that traditional spatial query processing in centralized databases does not address. For example, a significant challenge is presented by wireless broadcasting environments, which often exhibit high-latency database access. In this paper, we present a novel query processing technique that, while maintaining high scalability and accuracy, manages to reduce the latency considerably in answering location-based spatial queries. Our approach is based on peer-to-peer sharing, which enables us to process queries without delay at a mobile host by using query results cached in its neighboring mobile peers. We illustrate the appeal of our technique through extensive simulation results. © 2007 IEEE.