As a result of recent wireless technology advances, mobile devices with significant computational abilities, gigabytes of storage capacities, and wireless communication capabilities have increasingly become popular. In addition, positioning techniques like GPS are incorporated into an increasing number of mobile devices. Emerging mobile applications allow users to issue location-dependent queries in a ubiquitous manner. It is believed that location privacy preservation represents important security and privacy problems in mobile computing environments. For instance, when a mobile user launches a series of queries to a location-based service (LBS) provider, that user?s trajectory can be tracked through the service logs. Although it is true that not all location-dependent queries are privacy-sensitive, it is of growing importance to offer users the choice of protecting their location privacy when it is necessary. The technical objectives of the project are to (1) develop space encryption and space decryption mechanisms, (2) design privacy-protected query processing algorithms to answer spatial queries based on encrypted search space, and (3) develop a sophisticated SPEAR system architecture for supporting real-world applications. This project also promotes education by exposing students to mathematical and technological underpinnings in the fields of security and data management. The success of this project will lead to another wave of increased usage for LBS and benefit the economy of our country. Research results will be disseminated through publications at conferences, journals, and the website at www.eng.auburn.edu/~weishinn/SPEAR.html
