I took out my classmates to Bunratty yesterday (It didn't rain once out there!). Before going there, I came up with questions for the visit relating to the information they received, the use of their mobile phone, and what they hoped to achieve on their visit. I asked them questions in the Folkpark and after. I recorded these, and plan to transcribe this over the weekend.
With this information, and information from another trip out to the Folkpark I will start working on scenarios of some visitors. I will also be designing a paper prototype soon.
I'm having problems with the ARToolkit. I updated to Snow Leopard and now the toolkit won't run on my laptop. I haven't found any solutions online yet. Marc recommended that I look at other Augmented Reality development tools. I'm investigating the Layar API, Wikitude and looking up other options. So far, I've found FLARToolkit. I haven't started working with any of these yet. I have to learn how to user Terminal properly, as well as the different development methods with the API's. This will take some time.
Right now, I am working on my Interim Report. The deadline is 21st December, but I hope to have it done by the end of this week so I can focus on studying for exams which start on the 14th December.
Goals of Your Visit
Understanding the Visitor
Well, it's been a few weeks since my last post! I've been working on a lot of projects and college work, and trying to get my head around the ARToolkit.
I went out to Bunratty last week giving interviews, and got a good idea on technology uses in the park and if people were happy with the amount of information they were being given.
I am planning on heading out to the Folkpark again twice this week. Tomorrow afternoon I will head out and try to get an idea of what to focus my design on. I will be taking a look at the buildings and trying to find a theme for my project, like buildings with a link or another theme to work on. I'll have an interview with people there and see how they interact with the theme that I choose, if I choose a set of buildings I'll ask them if there's enough information on items inside a building or if there know what an object is inside the building etc.
On Wednesday, I hope to bring out some of my classmates (if they'll withstand the rain for me) and give them pre and post-tour interview, and give them the same interview that I plan on giving the visitors tomorrow about the information within the Folkpark. I plan on asking them to think aloud as we wander through the buildings, I will take record what they say, hopefully this will give me some good information on their goals for the visit, and how they achieve these goals.
During the next two days that I am visiting the Folkpark, I hope to find out how skilled the visitors are at using mobile phones, as the usage if my design will be on a mobile phone. I hope to find out the goals of the visitors and what they do in the Folkpark. Once I get this information I will be forming scenarios of several visitors and what they might interact with within my 'theme'.
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.
Presentation
My final powerpoint for the presentation today. In it I give an overview of the FYP, what augmented reality is, some papers I read and think are very useful and my trip to Bunratty. I also give a rough plan for the future. I could add in a lot more especially about my research, but I only have 15 minutes to give it, plus 5 minutes of questions. Wish me luck!
Mobile Video Augmented Reality For Spatial Navigation
Mobile Video Augmented Reality For Spatial Navigation
Augmented Reality on Handheld Platforms
I have a lot of research done on designing for mobile platforms, and I've also taken a look at Augmented Reality and Context Awareness on these platforms.
'Mobile Augmented Reality' by Tobias H. Holler and Steven K. Feiner discusses Mobile Augmented Reality Systems (MARS) and how it can be implemented in many aspects of life. I will be taking the general overview and how they see it MARS influencing the tourism industry.
'Mobile Augmented Reality' by Tobias H. Holler and Steven K. Feiner discusses Mobile Augmented Reality Systems (MARS) and how it can be implemented in many aspects of life. I will be taking the general overview and how they see it MARS influencing the tourism industry.
World becomes a user interface.
What is AR? A layer of information over any environment. It is able to integrate virtual information into a persons physical space and perceive that information exists in the surroundings. It aims to supplement the real world by aligning virtual objects/information with real ones.
Device - MARS Components Needed:
- Computational platform - generate and manage the virtual material to be layered on top of the physical environment, to process the tracker information and AR display.
- Display
- Registration - tracking position and orientation
- Input & Interaction Technology
- Wireless Network
Computing Platform Factors: computing power, form factor, ruggedness, power consumption, graphics, multimedia capabilities, memory and storage space, upgrade ability, operating system and software, development environments, technical support, price.
Usability: The user should not have to concentrate on how to work a particular computing interface, especially as they will be busy focusing on real world tasks.
Properties of MARS User Interfaces:
Properties of MARS User Interfaces:
- User Control
- Consistency
- Need for embedded semantic information
- Scene Dynamic
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:
'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
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.
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.
Centralising data will allow for greater simplification when downloading data. Updating can be done centrally in this way also.
Bunratty Visit
Today, I went to Bunratty to observe and take photos. There was a Halloween celebration for the Bank Holiday Monday, it was very busy and had a lot of families wandering around the folk park.
I took a lot of pictures and took notes on the visitors of the folk park, one thing that I noticed about the people touring the grounds was that many people did not use the map they were given on entry, for the most part people wandered the grounds on their own accord. The children climbed on everything that was possible to climb on - old farming tools etc.
Byre Dwelling
Most people I saw were very interested in the houses (Weaver's Shed, Blacksmith's Forge etc.) dotted around the folk park, wandering in and out of each, looking in each of the rooms and at most of the objects. Although the houses are numbered for reference to the map there is no information present in front of the houses about them or in them, or about the objects in them. Many people seemed to enjoy the Village Street with the Doctor's House, Foster's Printery etc.
There were several events throughout the folk park for the Halloween event including snap apple, coin bobbing, story telling, and a competition for the best costume. There were opportunities to see snakes, lizards and spiders, and have a go on an electric bull, and a concert in the folk park. None of the events were sign posted in anyway. Visitors were left to discover the events themselves.
I have several ideas now for a rough tour, perhaps with an AR tour the events and different attractions could be mapped out. I plan on returning soon with interviews for visitors and more observation. I want to find out if the visitors usually wander around the folk park without the map, and how do they get their information, maybe the visitors today were mostly interested in a 'day out' for the children than a historical tour.
I took a lot of pictures and took notes on the visitors of the folk park, one thing that I noticed about the people touring the grounds was that many people did not use the map they were given on entry, for the most part people wandered the grounds on their own accord. The children climbed on everything that was possible to climb on - old farming tools etc.
Byre Dwelling
Most people I saw were very interested in the houses (Weaver's Shed, Blacksmith's Forge etc.) dotted around the folk park, wandering in and out of each, looking in each of the rooms and at most of the objects. Although the houses are numbered for reference to the map there is no information present in front of the houses about them or in them, or about the objects in them. Many people seemed to enjoy the Village Street with the Doctor's House, Foster's Printery etc.
The Village Street
I have several ideas now for a rough tour, perhaps with an AR tour the events and different attractions could be mapped out. I plan on returning soon with interviews for visitors and more observation. I want to find out if the visitors usually wander around the folk park without the map, and how do they get their information, maybe the visitors today were mostly interested in a 'day out' for the children than a historical tour.
Inside a cottage
Mill
