Location-based services are now extremely prevalent due to their massive usage in current and emerging technologies. The use of simulation tools has been gaining popularity in the domain of LBS systems, where researchers take advantage of simulators for evaluating the behavior and performance of new architecture design. This popularity results from the availability of various powerful and sophisticated LBS simulators that are continuously verifying the flexibility of proposed models of LBS research projects. Despite its popularity worldwide, there is still a problem for researchers to choose the best simulator according to their needs and requirements, which provide them accurate results. Furthermore, conducting research on the physical LBS environment for individuals or small educational institutes is very challenging due to the cost involved in setting up location-based services live. Therefore, for selecting an appropriate LBS simulator, it is important to have knowledge of simulators that are currently available along with their features and selection criteria considered for conducting research in a particular type of problems in the LBS system. In the current study, we have presented various simulators that provide a cost-effective way of conducting LBS research projects. This paper compares 10 simulators to help researchers and developers for selecting the most appropriate simulation tool depending on selection criteria. Moreover, a detailed discussion with the recommendation for best practice in LBS simulation tools is also included in this paper, which would surely help new researchers to quickly identify the most suitable simulator according to their research problem.

Rida Qayyum,Hina Ejaz."A Comparative Study of Location Based Services Simulators". International Journal of Computer Engineering In Research Trends (IJCERT) ,ISSN:2349-7084 ,Vol.7, Issue 11,pp.1-12, November - 2020, URL :https://ijcert.org/ems/ijcert_papers/V7I1101.pdf,

[1]	Ashraf, Muhammad Usman, Rida Qayyum, and Hina Ejaz. "STATE-OF-THE-ART, CHALLENGES: PRIVACY PROVISIONING IN TTP LOCATION BASED SERVICES SYSTEMS", International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science (IJARCS), 10(2), 2019 DOI: 10.26483/ijarcs.v10i2.6396
[2]	Muhammad Usman Ashraf, Kamal M. Jambi, Rida Qayyum, Hina Ejaz and Iqra Ilyas, “IDP: A Privacy Provisioning Framework for TIP Attributes in Trusted Third Party-based Location-based Services Systems”, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications (IJACSA), 11(7), 2020.                                           DOI: 10.14569/IJACSA.2020.0110773
[3]	Rida Qayyum, Hina Ejaz, “Provisioning Privacy for TIP Attribute in Trusted Third Party (TTP) Location Based Services (LBS) System”, May 2019.                            DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25631.59041
[4]	LBS Simulation, Available at: https://www.learningbysimulation.eu/
[5]	Calabrese, F., Diao, M., Di Lorenzo, G., Ferreira Jr, J. and Ratti, C., “Understanding individual mobility patterns from urban sensing data: A mobile phone trace example”, Transportation research part C: emerging technologies, 26, pp.301-313. 2013.
[6]	Suryateja, P.S., “A comparative analysis of cloud simulators”, International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science, 8(4), p.64. 2016.
[7]	Bohanudin, S., Ismail, M. and Hussain, H., “Simulation model and location accuracy for observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning technique in third generation system”, In 2010 IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD), pp. 63-66. IEEE. 2010.
[8]	Fernandes, P. and Nunes, U., “Platooning of autonomous vehicles with intervehicle communications in SUMO traffic simulator”, In 13th International IEEE Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems, pp. 1313-1318. IEEE. 2010.
[9]	Pfoser, D. and Theodoridis, Y., “Generating semantics-based trajectories of moving objects”, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 27(3), pp.243-263. 2003.
[10]	Memon, I., Arain, Q.A., Memon, H. and Mangi, F.A., “Efficient user based authentication protocol for location based services discovery over road networks”, Wireless Personal Communications, 95(4), pp.3713-3732. 2017.
[11]	Sun, G., Liao, D., Li, H., Yu, H., and Chang, V., L2P2: “A location-label based approach for privacy preserving in LBS”, Future Generation Computer Systems, 74, pp.375-384. 2017.
[12]	Weingartner, E., Vom Lehn, H. and Wehrle, K., June. “A performance comparison of recent network simulators”, In 2009 IEEE International Conference on Communications (pp. 1-5). IEEE. 2009.
[13]	Brinkhoff, T., “A framework for generating network-based moving objects”, GeoInformatica, 6(2), pp.153-180. 2002.
[14]	Zhang, S., Choo, K.K.R., Liu, Q. and Wang, G., “Enhancing privacy through uniform grid and caching in location-based services”, Future Generation Computer Systems, 86, pp.881-892. 2018.
[15]	Zhang, X., Gui, X. and Tian, F., “A Framework for measuring query privacy in Location-based Service”, KSII Transactions on Internet & Information Systems, 9(5). 2015.
[16]	Zhang, C. and Huang, Y., “Cloaking locations for anonymous location based services: a hybrid approach”, GeoInformatica, 13(2), pp.159-182. 2009.
[17]	Bennett, J., “OpenStreetMap”, Packet Publishing Ltd. 2010.
[18]	Memon, I., Ali, Q., Zubedi, A. and Mangi, F.A., “DPMM: dynamic pseudonym-based multiple mix-zones generation for mobile traveler”, Multimedia Tools and Applications, 76(22), pp.24359-24388. 2017.
[19]	ilazzo, V.A., “Specifications for updating USGS land use and land cover maps”, US Geological Survey. 1983.
[20]	Palanisamy, Balaji, and Ling Liu. "Mobimix: Protecting location privacy with mix-zones over road networks", In 2011 IEEE 27th International Conference on Data Engineering, pp. 494-505. IEEE, 2011.
[21]	Memon, I., Arain, Q.A., Memon, M.H., Mangi, F.A. and Akhtar, R., “Search me if you can: Multiple mix zones with location privacy protection for mapping services”, International Journal of Communication Systems, 30(16), p.e3312. 2017.
[22]	Maeda, K., Umedu, T., Yamaguchi, H., Yasumoto, K. and Higashino, T.H., “MobiREAL: scenario generation and toolset for MANET simulation with realistic node mobility”, In 7th International Conference on Mobile Data Management (MDM'06), IEEE. 2006.
[23]	Suzuki, A., Iwata, M., Arase, Y., Hara, T., Xie, X. and Nishio, S., “A user location anonymization method for location based services in a real environment”, In Proceedings of the 18th SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems, pp. 398-401. 2010.
[24]	Hara, T., Suzuki, A., Iwata, M., Arase, Y. and Xie, X., “Dummy-based user location anonymization under real-world constraints”, IEEE Access, 4, pp.673-687. 2016.
[25]	Hiramatsu K, Kobayashi K, Benjamin B, Ishida T, Akahani J, “Map-based user interface for digital city Kyoto”, The Internet Global Summit (INET2000).
[26]	Kido, H., Yanagisawa, Y. and Satoh, T., July. “An anonymous communication technique using dummies for location-based services”, In ICPS'05. Proceedings. International Conference on Pervasive Services, 2005. pp. 88-97, IEEE. 2005.
[27]	Miquel Martin and Petteri Nurmi. “A generic large scale simulator for ubiquitous computing”, In Proc. of the 3rd Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Networks and Services. IEEE Computer Society, 2006.
[28]	Mascetti, Sergio, Claudio Bettini, X. Sean Wang, Dario Freni, and Sushil Jajodia. "ProvidentHider: An algorithm to preserve historical k-anonymity in LBS", In 2009 Tenth International Conference on Mobile Data Management: Systems, Services and Middleware, pp. 172-181. IEEE, 2009.
[29]	Gedik, B. and Liu, L. “Protecting location privacy with personalized k-anonymity: Architecture and algorithms”, IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, 7(1), pp.1-18. 2007.
[30]	Bamba, Bhuvan, Ling Liu, Peter Pesti, and Ting Wang. "Supporting anonymous location queries in mobile environments with privacygrid", In Proceedings of the 17th international conference on World Wide Web, pp. 237-246. 2008.
[31]	Gedik, Bugra, and Ling Liu. "Location privacy in mobile systems: A personalized anonymization model", In 25th IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS'05), pp. 620-629. IEEE, 2005.
[32]	Gruteser, Marco, and Dirk Grunwald. "Anonymous usage of location-based services through spatial and temporal cloaking", In Proceedings of the 1st international conference on Mobile systems, applications and services, pp. 31-42. 2003.
[33]	Holtzman, J., Hui, J., Moayeri, N., Seskar, I., Varma, H., Yip, J., Maric, S. and Williams, T., “A vehicular traffic GIS and simulator for route guidance on NY/NJ highways”, In Proceedings of VNIS'93-Vehicle Navigation and Information Systems Conference, pp. 367-372, IEEE.
[34]	Sabah, L. and ?im?ek, M., “GEOSPATIAL SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS WITH USING GIS FOR LOCATION-BASED SERVICE RECOMMENDATION”, Eski?ehir Technical University Journal of Science and Technology A-Applied Sciences and Engineering, 19(3), pp.585-606.
[35]	GIS For Location Based Services Available at: https://www.coursehero.com/file/17040554/GIS-for-LBS/
[36]	Sherman, G.E., Sutton, T., Blazek, R. and Luthman, L., “Quantum GIS User Guide”, 2004.
[37]	Chen, F., Yang, C., Yu, W., Le, X. and Yang, J., “Research on mobile GIS based on LBS”, In Proceedings. 2005 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Vol. 2, pp. 4-10, IEEE. 2005.
[38]	Memon, I., Arain, Q.A., Memon, H. and Mangi, F.A., “Efficient user based authentication protocol for location based services discovery over road networks”, Wireless Personal Communications, 95(4), pp.3713-3732. 2017.
[39]	Carneiro, G., “NS-3: Network simulator 3”, In UTM Lab Meeting, Vol. 20, pp. 4-5. 2010.
[40]	Henderson, T.R., Lacage, M., Riley, G.F., Dowell, C. and Kopena, J., “Network simulations with the ns-3 simulator”, SIGCOMM demonstration, 14(14), p.527. 2008.
[41]	R. McHaney, “Computer simulation: a practical perspective”, San Diego:Academic Press, 1991.
[42]	R. G. Sargent, “Validation and verification of Simulation Models”, In 2004 Winter Simulation Conference, pp. 17-28. 2004.
[43]	Rida Qayyum. "A Roadmap Towards Big Data Opportunities, Emerging Issues and Hadoop as a Solution", International Journal of Education and Management Engineering (IJEME), Vol.10, No.4, pp.8-17, 2020. DOI: 10.5815/ijeme.2020.04.02
[44]	Rida Qayyum, Hina Ejaz, "Data Security in Mobile Cloud Computing: A State of the Art Review", International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science (IJMECS), Vol.12, No.2, pp. 30-35, 2020. DOI: 10.5815/ijmecs.2020.02.04
[45]	Jiang, B. and Yao, X., “Location-based services and GIS in perspective”, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 30(6), pp.712-725. 2006.