Design and implementation of a location-based information system with extensible smart elements for mobile devices.
Motivation
Currently available mobile location-based communication services enable their users to consume geographically bound information containing static text, images, sound or videos. Having arrived at previously prepared spots people are provided with information about the next gas station, hotels or sights of interest. More sophisticated variants of mobile location-based services also include dynamic links to locally available content providers. They additionally reveal the current gas price, vacancy status and reroute users to the online ticket service for tourists. Recently recognizable trends even consider individual user profiles as contextual constrains for supplying personalized information and as a technique to counteract spam and to selectively address content to specific user groups. However, the potentials of mobile interaction are far beyond being exploited, considering limiting factors preventing users from attending to the information screen of their mobile device e.g. while driving in a car. Active interaction may also be hindered when people are handicapped or requested to wear gloves, safety glasses or protective suits in order to perform a working task. We expect mobile services to support the users in their tasks by automatically triggering (personally authorized) electronic actions just at spatial proximity of approaching users without the needs of glimpsing at displays, typing, clicking or pressing buttons
Goals
The context location in combination with personalized access privileges and further quantifiably sensory input should be the triggers for opening gates, automatically stopping engines in danger zones or validating tickets at entrance areas. Hence, people should be able to continue their natural behavior without being distracted from their focused task and simultaneously execute an (assumed incidental but necessary) action. The users’ mobile devices enabling location-triggered code execution remain in their pockets.
Results
Digital Graffiti is an open, extensible platform for mobile location-based services enabling location-triggered code execution. It enables users to arbitrarily place information to both public and private locations and perceive this information using state-of-the-art mobile tracking-enabled cell phones or trigger electronic actions just by their physical presence.
Partners:
Contact: Wolfgang Narzt
Publications