Geo-fencing is a location-based technology[1] that was pioneered by Michael Dimino in the early ’90s. This technology uses GPS, cellular phones, and alarms to create a virtual boundary or “fence” to detect and track movement. It operates in two modes: Active, which uses continuous GPS, and Passive, which operates in the background without constant GPS usage. Geo-fencing is widely used in various sectors including law enforcement, safety, workplace management, and marketing. It allows for precise targeting through methods such as zip codes, street addresses, GPS coordinates, and IP targeting. Furthermore, geo-fencing has significant legal implications, often discussed in global security[2] conferences. It has also been used in a variety of high-profile cases, such as the Capitol Riot. Despite its technical nature, geo-fencing is a user-friendly technology, often used in smart home systems and other consumer[3] applications.
A geofence is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. A geofence can be dynamically generated (as in a radius around a point location) or match a predefined set of boundaries (such as school zones or neighborhood boundaries).
The use of a geofence is called geofencing, and one example of use involves a location-aware device of a location-based service (LBS) user entering or exiting a geofence. Geofencing approach is based on the observation that users move from one place to another and then stay at that place for a while. This method combines awareness of the user's current location with awareness of the user's proximity to locations that may be of interest. This activity could trigger an alert to the device's user as well as messaging to the geofence operator. This info, which could contain the location of the device, could be sent to a mobile telephone or an email account.