Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
1 Introduction
Mobile smartphones have taken a large share of the mobile phone market and they
are no longer the preserve of early technology adopters. All modern smartphones
are equipped with at least one camera, relatively large high-resolution display and
provide opportunities for complex user interactions. We are particularly interested
in the use of mobile devices to provide users with ability to produce and consume
time-, context- and location-dependent information. In other words, we are
interested in investigating spatiotemporal systems that manage user-generated
content through the use of ubiquitous smart mobile devices.
As an initial proof-of-concept we have chosen the problem of annotating
physical places or landmarks. The system can be considered a form of virtual
graffiti. We have devised a system for capturing, storing and presenting virtual
annotations in the context of real-world location. The information about a given
place is time- and location-dependent. Our system allows users to place virtual
objects, like markers, notes, voice or video annotations at any time in a particular
physical location. Users can then retrieve stored virtual notes relevant to their
current location, subject to further space- and time-considerations of when the note
was left, and when it is being accessed.
1.1 Spatiotemporal Aspects
One of the important challenges for this project is the usability and convenience of
the management process of spatiotemporal information. In this article we discuss
two different modalities for presenting spatiotemporal annotations of real objects
and locations in the urban environment. We discuss these two options in detail:
augmentation of the camera view (augmented reality) and augmentation of a 2D
map. Augmented reality (AR)—which superimposes virtual content on a real
camera view—is an emerging new technology that offers more meaningful and
context-dependent user interfaces (UI). We have decided to experiment with
mobile AR systems in the context of a spatiotemporal information management
system.
1.2 Minimal Requirements
There are certain features a smartphone (or tablet) must have in order to be capable
of running a map augmented or a camera augmented view. The map augmentation
requires the device to have a GPS unit to collect location information. The camera
augmentation also needs the GPS unit in addition to a built-in camera to stream
video and an accelerometer to sense the orientation of the phone. Devices capable