Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 4.4
Selecting the virtual recycling bin
Facebook accounts, and easily share their experience and accomplishments through
this social network, by posting them on their Wall. This allows users to spread the
word in an easy and powerful way that would be impossible otherwise.
In the various events where Gaea was set up, players arduously competed to
recycle the largest number of objects (which made them run across the game area)
and to achieve the best possible score in the quiz.
A team version of Gaea was also developed. When playing the team version,
users must register in one of the three possible teams and each team is in charge
of picking up one type of waste (paper, plastic/metal, or glass). Gaea turns into a
both collaborative and competitive social activity that persuades a group of people to
cooperate towards a common goal. By stimulating social and collaborative activities
Gaea may influence people to have the same kind of behavior in their daily lives.
To give users a more immersive and game-like experience, it was decided not to
use Google Maps (or any other web mapping service application) to show the objects
and users' locations, both on the mobile phones and on the public display. Instead, a
custom map was designed specifically for this activity (Fig.
4.5
).
Gaea is based upon a client-server architecture and it was developed, in Objec-
tive C, for iOS. The client application runs on iPhones and iPads, exploiting the
GPS, compass and accelerometer components. The public display is connected to a
computer running the server application, waiting for requests from the client mobile
devices.
Gaea was deployed on a large event for teenagers, an open day at our University
Campus attended by 7000 high-school students. During this event, a user study was
