Context Aware Tour Guides

I'm finally getting around to posting up about three papers I have read on context awareness in tourism guides. These guides are typically aware of their location and give a the user a tour, such as an audio tour, in this way it is in the same category as AR tours.

'Context-awareness in Mobile Tourist Information Systems: Challenges for User interaction' by Hinze and Buchanan discusses the challenges in context handling in mobile tourist information systems, and how to model, observe, evaluate and exploit this application area.

Development of a personal profile which knows travel history, means of travel, interests, location and current time. Information based on these contexts in the personal profile should be delivered to the user. Recommendations could be given based on the profile and user feedback.

Navigation should be supported on maps and location should be indicated on maps.

Tourism Context Challenges:

1. Concepts of Context

Characteristics of mobile device - storage and screen size

Network - bandwidth and peers

Application - requirements in storage, download capabilities and display capabilities

User - time, location, interests

Information Objects - location

The designers believe that the concept of context should be open and extensible to address different platforms and environments.

2. Context Management

The context should be considered through 4 tasks.

Model: Information should be available on objects that are of interest to the user based on their personal background, while keeping in mind time, location and direction which is continuously changing.

Observer: The context data of the user can be stored for future use.

Store: Data can be stored on the device as well as the server. Security issues will have to be addressed regarding personal information.

Access: Information has to be kept private, and the system has to be efficient.

3. Context Usage

The information should be presented in an effective way, with a good design of the interface. The system should be satisfactory to use, and the user should not be weakened by the transfer of data between the data and server.

'Context Awareness in Mobile Tourism Guides' by Schwinger et al. evaluates several context based tour devices and discusses the possibilities for ubiquitous computing (time and location awareness with possibility for personalised services), in the tourist industry this could be used for the personalised tourism information on points of interest.

Interesting Points

They found that most devices had poor CPU power was a limitation, and that memory in some devices could be reserved by having push based access. They found that social factors are important in tourism, especially with groups. Functionality should be high and text messaging could be a good feature for the devices.

'Cyberguide: A Mobile Context Aware Tour Guide' by Abowd et al. discusses Cyberguide, a project where they built a series of prototypes of a mobile context aware tour that knew the users current location and history of past locations. The long term goal of the project was to develop a device that would know where the tourist is, what he/she is looking at and predict and answer questions about the environment around them.

This paper is from 1997, the technology used is dated and many of the 'possible future' prospects have been developed since. The paper has many relevant points to Augmented Reality tour systems.

Device

A handheld device is seen as acceptable in this paper as a most tourists are happy to carry around a book for information. The ideal handheld device for the developers in this paper has:

• Screen and pen/finger interface
• Storage resources
• Access to input/output interface
• Video input/output

Design Process

The designers also used an iterative design process when developing the prototypes for this system, and got feedback through formal questionnaires, informal surveys, and informal user comments.

Interesting Points

The ideal personal guide would allow the tourist to see any exhibit in any order. The guide would locate the tourist through a navigation system (indoor beacons, GPS etc.) and objects marked with visual markers.

Real time communication could act as an agent, giving people the ability to book or make reservations from the device.

Enhance reality - give X-Ray vision (This could be in line with an Augmented Reality system)

The designers hoped to increase communication, improve the context awareness and have a modifiable information base.

Location Aware Mobile Interactive Guides: Usability Issues

I found this paper to be very useful in my background research. It discusses a handheld mobile guide, the design process and some important issues they came across when designing the guide.


'Location Aware Mobile Interactive Guides: Usability Issues' by Jonathan Broadbent and Patricia Marti
Overview
This paper deals with HIPS (Hyper Interaction within Physical Space) - a project funded by the European Commission, the aim of which is to develop a handheld electronic tour guide for cities/museums and the exploration of the physical environment. It hopes to support users in their everyday working/leisure activities 
Integration:

• Handheld Computing 
• Wireless Communications
• Positioning Technologies

System Guide - generate audio messages for finding items of interest and describing items with additional information, suggestions and alternate routes. Information will be generated based on maps, spatial direction. The system will integrate user requests, history of browsing and location.

The Design Process

When designing this system iteratively, the designers had four essential activities in mind to ensure understood and specified user needs:

• Context of use
• Effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction
• Prototypes
• Evaluation of prototypes 

User testing after installation of Museum of Santa Maria.
Tests: Time to complete a task, success rate, errors, satisfaction and fun
Collection of Data: Videotape; Questionnaire; Time and error measures
Diagnostic Evaluation: focus groups; heuristic evaluation; analytic evaluation; physical and cognitive operations and observational evaluation
Scenario Building: explore new forms of interaction; creation of real scenarios; share the experience; describe existing activities or envision new ones.
Scenarios were used for functional definitions, and to clarify thoughts on potential features.


Interesting Points

Location Aware mobile devices that permit the navigation of both a physical space and a related information space at the same time represents a new interaction paradigm.

It shows the important to decrease costs to produce for the mass market.

Robustness of device design depends on interactivity, the speed of response, how the information is to be presented, gradual degradation and effective feedback.

Design should be centred on user, instead of testing the validity of a data encryption algorithm. Human centred design ensures that the system is designed to suit their needs. The paper uses the iterative design process - Design, Test with Users, Redesign.

The designers hope to give a rich variety of options in an information space, rather than being bound to the physical constraints of the real world.

Information must be shown to the user in a way appropriate to the user and the context of use.
Testing of prototype must be done to eliminate sources of confusion and error and identify sources of enjoyment.

Networking aspect crucial. Contraints on storage (which may not apply to networked devices).
Centralising data will allow for greater simplification when downloading data. Updating can be done centrally in this way also.

Design Process

My design is going to be focused on the interaction of the user with the interface of the AR I develop. Over the next few months I will be studying the context in which the visitors of Bunratty Folkpark might use technologies provided for them. I have a great basis for this from the feasibility study carried out in the Folkpark before. I will be using this study and my own to come up with ideas on the requirements for my media.
I am planning a trip to Bunratty Folkpark, I will be talking to people about what they'd like to see or what they feel they would need from a 'context aware' mobile tour. I will organise a design workshop and interaction groups. I will also be coming up with scenarios and many storyboards throughout the design process.
The main design principles that are laid out in 'Designing Interactive Systems' that I will be keeping in mind when designing this are: 

• Visibility - make sure the functions are visible and it is clear what the system is doing.
• Consistency - conceptual and physical consistency are important for ease of use
• Familiarity - the system should be designed so it is familiar to the user, language and metaphors are examples of this.
• Affordance - designing objects so that it is clear what they are to be used for, keeping in mind the properties things have and how people use them.
• Navigation - provide support on how to get around the system
• Control - make it clear who/what is in control and allow the user to take control.
• Feedback - the information from the system needs to be rapid so the user know what effects their actions have.
• Recovery - enable recovery from actions 
• Contraints - provide constraints so user doesn't try to do things inappropriate that could lead to serious errors.

(Benyon et al., 2005)

Iterative Design Process
The design process I plan to use is an iterative process. This process is based on a cycle what begins with a prototyping, testing, analysing and redefined for the next cycle.
I hope to be able to go through two cycles of the iterative design, I'll have a better idea of if this is possible over the next couple of weeks.
Over the past few years I have learned that the iterative design process is highly regarded, as each time the cycle is repeated it is hoped that the usability will be improved and the designer will progressively develops solutions to the design.
The idea is that a prototype will be designed, a user will test it, the designer will fix the bugs/issues and the redefined prototype will be tested again.
Jakob Neilson has an good paper on iterative design, "Iterative User Interface Design". It discusses the iterative user interface design and some user tests, and measurements.


Scenarios
Throughout the design process I will be doing scenario building- coming up with stories about how visitors to Bunratty Folkpark will undertake activities in the Folkpark using the technology. 

Scenarios in the design process are recommended here because "descriptions of people using technology are essential in discussing and analyzing how
the technology is (or could be) used to reshape their activities. A secondary advantage is
that scenario descriptions can be created before a system is built and its impacts felt."
They are also useful for brainstorming and coming up with as many possibilities and solutions
in the design. They can give the designer a better understanding of the current situation and
any difficulties in the situation. (Benyon et al., 2005). 

User stories and their real world experiences will be a huge help in scenario building. This can be collected as videos, interviews, results from observations, pictures etc. 

Conceptual Scenarios are more abstract than user stories. Common elements are found in the user stories, stories are examined and combined. It is useful for generating ideas and for understanding requirements for the future system.

Concept Scenarios are useful for prototyping and envisioning the design ideas. These scenarios are specific elaborations from the user stories and observations that are linked to the original scenario.

Use Cases

I will be evaluating evaluating how users interact with my prototypes by making Use Cases. Use Cases describe the interaction between people and devices. It describes what the system does, how the system is used and what people do with the system.

Task and functions have to be allocated to the use and results should be recorded. Design issues can be noted here. (Benyon et al., 2005)

Update

Week 6 of college, I've begun to look at design and the steps necessary for good Human Centered design.
I was focusing a lot on the technical side so I'm backing up in to my design roots again, HCI and Interactive Design. Along with that over the past couple of weeks, I've been reading papers on Open Air Museums, Context Aware Devices in Museums/Open Air Museums. I plan on writing up some notes on the relevance of these on Sunday.


I have most of the presentation to show my progress so far and what I hope to achieve, I'm doing up a plan of action and a timeline with that. I will have this done by the beginning of next week. I must get the steps necessary and figure out what dates will  be good to head out to Bunratty Folkpark once I'm allowed head out. I'll be doing observing, and group work out there to start with. 


Downloaded 3 AR iPhone apps to my phone over the past week. It really has the potential to be a great technology if it's designed and implemented right. Looking forward to see what all the developers do with it in the future. Hopefully my media will be good enough too.