A bluetooth wireless network infrastructure for multimedia guidebooks on mobile computing devices

This paper describes the implementation of a Bluetooth Village Guide Book (VGB) scenario for use in the Kelvin Grove Urban Village located in Brisbane, Australia. An Information Point Station Network (IPSN) was developed, along with software for two types of mobile computing devices. The implementation consists of several Information Point Stations (IPSs) placed at locations of significance, with access to information items on a centralized server. Once registered, the user is given the opportunity to experience context-aware information on demand and in various multimedia formats. These information items are selected by the user, either by way of a menu system appearing on their mobile computing device or a more intuitive pointer-tag system. Information items are then ‘beamed’ via Bluetooth to the user’s mobile computing device for the user to view The implementation was found to be successful and was tested with multiple users accessing information items from a given IPS as well as multiple IPSs attached to the centralized server. Still, there is further work to be done on the VBG software, the user registration system and on creating an embedded solution for the individual Information Point Stations

Location based services with personal area network for community and tourism applications

The Infopoint Explorer is an outdoor wireless personal area network for location-based services that allows users to access locality information interactively using mobile computing devices such as PDAs and smartphones. The Infopoint explorer was used to study the limitations imposed by inexpensive and popular wireless technologies such as Bluetooth for outdoor location-based services. The Infopoint Explorer functioned as a multimedia guidebook that allowed access to location-specific information using wireless Infopoints. The Infopoints detect and attempt to transfer multimedia content to nearby mobile computing devices using Bluetooth connectivity. An adaptive Bluetooth Inquiry Access Code algorithm was developed to reduce the time taken for the Infopoint to detect nearby devices. The Infopoint was deployed for a four-month trial

Introduction to location-based mobile learning

[About the book] The report follows on from a 2-day workshop funded by the STELLAR Network of Excellence as part of their 2009 Alpine Rendez-Vous workshop series and is edited by Elizabeth Brown with a foreword from Mike Sharples. Contributors have provided examples of innovative and exciting research projects and practical applications for mobile learning in a location-sensitive setting, including the sharing of good practice and the key findings that have resulted from this work. There is also a debate about whether location-based and contextual learning results in shallower learning strategies and a section detailing the future challenges for location-based learning

Augmenting the field experience: a student-led comparison of techniques and technologies

In this study we report on our experiences of creating and running a student fieldtrip exercise which allowed students to compare a range of approaches to the design of technologies for augmenting landscape scenes. The main study site is around Keswick in the English Lake District, Cumbria, UK, an attractive upland environment popular with tourists and walkers. The aim of the exercise for the students was to assess the effectiveness of various forms of geographic information in augmenting real landscape scenes, as mediated through a range of techniques and technologies. These techniques were: computer-generated acetate overlays showing annotated wireframe views from certain key points; a custom-designed application running on a PDA; a mediascape running on the mScape software on a GPS-enabled mobile phone; Google Earth on a tablet PC; and a head-mounted in-field Virtual Reality system. Each group of students had all five techniques available to them, and were tasked with comparing them in the context of creating a visitor guide to the area centred on the field centre. Here we summarise their findings and reflect upon some of the broader research questions emerging from the project

Integrated Architecture for Configuration and Service Management in MANET Environments

Esta tesis nos ha permitido trasladar algunos conceptos teóricos de la computación ubicua a escenarios reales, identificando las necesidades específicas de diferentes tipos de aplicaciones. Con el fin de alcanzar este objetivo, proponemos dos prototipos que proporcionan servicios sensibles al contexto en diferentes entornos, tales como conferencias o salas de recuperación en hospitales. Estos prototipos experimentales explotan la tecnología Bluetooth para ofrecer información basada en las preferencias del usuario. En ambos casos, hemos llevado a cabo algunos experimentos con el fin de evaluar el comportamiento de los sistemas y su rendimento. También abordamos en esta tesis el problema de la autoconfiguración de redes MANET basadas en el estándar 802.11 a través de dos soluciones novedosas. La primera es una solución centralizada que se basa en la tecnología Bluetooth, mientras la segunda es una solución distribuida que no necesita recurrir a ninguna tecnología adicional, ya que se basa en el uso del parámetro SSID. Ambos métodos se han diseñado para permitir que usuarios no expertos puedan unirse a una red MANET de forma transparente, proporcionando una configuración automática, rápida, y fiable de los terminales. Los resultados experimentales en implementaciones reales nos han permitido evaluar el rendimiento de las soluciones propuestas y demostrar que las estaciones cercanas se pueden configurar en pocos segundos. Además, hemos comparado ambas soluciones entre sí para poner de manifiesto las diferentes ventajas y desventajas en cuanto a rendimento. La principal contribución de esta tesis es EasyMANET, una plataforma ampliable y configurable cuyo objetivo es automatizar lo máximo posible las tareas que afectan a la configuración y puesta en marcha de redes MANET, de modo que su uso sea más simple y accesible.Cano Reyes, J. (2012). Integrated Architecture for Configuration and Service Management in MANET Environments [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/14675Palanci

Reflecting back, looking forward: the challenges for location-based learning

This final section of the report has been reproduced from “D3.1 The STELLAR Rendez-Vous I report and white papers”, published in 2009 by the STELLAR Network of Excellence. It is included here for completeness; we, as co-authors, felt that it was important to look back at the main contributions to theworkshop and also where the challenges lie for the future. This chapter addresses two critical questions: - What has been learned from this workshop, especially in respect to the STELLAR Grand Challenges (“Connecting learners”, “Orchestration” and “Contextualisation”)? - What are the new research questions and issues for location-based learning, with respect to the Grand Challenges (“Connecting learners”, “Orchestration”and “Contextualisation”)

Wayfinding Situations

Wayfinding, which is the task of getting from some origin to a destination, is one of the primary spatial problems humans encounter in everyday life. When we wayfind, we act in the environment based on the structure and features of the environment, set against a background of knowledge which is generally understood as having visual characteristics. As mobile and wireless technologies proliferate in urban space it can be considered as having an existence in terms of several spaces, those of places that make up our direct perceptual experience and those of the digital devices and networks that facilitate communication, which are primarily non-visual in nature. This thesis will extend existing work on perception and action in urban space to investigate the role of mobile and ubiquitous technologies in wayfinding and environmental legibility, or more literally how we orientate and find our way in space when we experience it both with and through technology. In order to do this, the research takes the approach of considering wayfinding as a situated activity that takes place against a rich and articulated background of experiences and social connections. Through a series of empirical studies the concept of wayfinding situations is explored from two different perspectives. The first study investigates the relationship between an individual and technology as they act in environmental settings, by comparing learning for a spatial task depending on whether the individual accesses a map or a mobile map to make judgements. The second study seeks to understand the relationship between individual and environment as they act in technological settings, and focuses on the perception and action in space as affected by wireless technologies. The combined outcome of these two empirical studies provides the basis for the definition of a richer and more differentiated concept of wayfinding situations. This informs the final stage of the research in which an applied response is proposed to supporting wayfinding in a specific urban scenario, where the aim is to embed the technology into the spatial setting.Eine der grundlegenden Arten, wie wir die Welt wahrnehmen, ist die räumliche Wahrnehmung: Die physische Gestalt und Erscheinung unserer Umgebung ist der Schlüssel für unsere Handlungen und Wahrnehmungen darin. Das Aufkommen von Kommunikationstechnologien hat den Charakter der visuellen Präsenz im Alltag wesentlich beeinflusst, so dass das Bild, das der Einzelne von der Stadt hat (Lynch 1965), das er benutzt, um sich im städtischen Raum zurechtzufinden und zu orientieren, nicht länger ausschließlich auf physische Elemente und Strukturen beschränkt ist. Bei dem Versuch, die räumliche Erfahrung in zunehmend vermittelten Umgebungen zu entflechten, besteht der Bedarf, zu überdenken, wie wir in räumlichen Situationen denken, handeln und interagieren. In diesem Kontext bietet uns der Bereich der Wegfindung eine Möglichkeit, zu verstehen and darauf zu reagieren, wie wir im Raum handeln und uns zurechtfinden. Die Wegfindung ist eine zielorientierte, gelenkte und motivierte Handlung (Golledge 1999). Menschen benutzen unterschiedliche Wegfindungsstrategien, je nach ihrem eigenen individuellen räumlichen Bewusstsein und nach ihrer Kenntnis der Umgebung, durch die sie reisen. Wahrnehmung und Handlung im Raum werden teilweise durch unsere Fähigkeit ermöglicht, auf Denkschemata des Raumes zu reagieren (z. B. Siegel and White 1975, Tversky 1993). Wenn wir uns in der städtischen Umgebung bewegen und auf motivierte Art handeln, eignen wir uns Kenntnisse über sie an, die in geistige Repräsentationen umgewandelt werden. Diese Repräsentationen können abgerufen werden, um während des Navigierens Entscheidungen zu treffen; aber wir benutzen außerdem grafische Repräsentationen, wie Karten und mobile Karten, zur Unterstützung. Unterstützung in Form von Papierkarten wird zunehmend durch dynamische Karten verdrängt, die mithilfe von mobilen Vorrichtungen mit GPS arbeiten. Da solche Technologien es dem Einzelnen ermöglichen, Kenntnisse abzuladen, sind wir der Ansicht, dass ein Lernprozess über die Umgebung während dieser Aufgabe nicht gefördert wird. Die kognitiven Fähigkeiten Einzelner werden als solche nicht unbedingt von den derzeitigen Interaktionsmodellen solcher Anwendungen unterstützt. Zur weitergehenden Untersuchung dieses Themas beschreibt die erste Phase unserer Forschung eine Studie, die die Kenntnisaneignung bei einer Anzahl von räumlichen Aufgaben vergleicht, je nachdem, ob der Teilnehmer Zugang zu einer Papierkarte oder einer mobilen Karte hatte. Die zweite Phase unserer empirischen Arbeit bemüht sich um das Verständnis dessen, wie Einzelne die räumliche Situation wahrnehmen, wenn sie in Kommunikationstechnologie gebettet ist und untersucht den Fall „drahtlose Netzwerke“. Diese Ergebnisse werden dann in einer Zusammenfassung dargestellt, die sich bemüht, Wegfindungssituationen zu charakterisieren. Sie werden dann als Grundlage für das Design einer Anwendung genutzt, die solche Wegfindungssituationen innerhalb spezifischer städtischer Situationen unterstützt

Toward a more accessible cultural heritage. Experiences, methodologies and tools.

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen