350 likes | 481 Views
The GUIDE System (and what the tourists thought). Keith Cheverst Distributed Multimedia Research Group Lancaster University kc@comp.lancs.ac.uk http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/staff/kc/keiths_research.html. Background…. What ‘useful’ interactive system could we build using…
E N D
The GUIDE System(and what the tourists thought) Keith Cheverst Distributed Multimedia Research Group Lancaster University kc@comp.lancs.ac.uk http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/staff/kc/keiths_research.html
Background… • What ‘useful’ interactive system could we build using… • Mobile Computing / Wireless connectivity • Access to dynamic information • Remote services • Context-Awareness • Personal • Environment • Device
The GUIDE Project… • Investigate issues re. the development of mobile context-aware systems • Developed to overcome limitations of traditional information/navigation tools • Group-based guides • Inherently inflexible, fixed start-times durations etc • Satisfy interests of the majority rather than the specific interests of individuals • Guide books • Can contain out of date information etc
GUIDE Requirements… • Requirements Capture (Lancaster TIC) • Observing information needs of visitors • Semi-structured one-to-one interviews with TIC staff • Four main requirements • Flexibility • Present Tailored Information • Support for dynamic information • Support for interactive services
The Information Model… • Represents various information types • Geographic, hypertext and active components
Implications of Disconnection… • GUIDE units can loose network connectivity • Certain functionality becomes unavailable • Location Information, Messaging Service etc • Trust/reliability of information is an issue • No reception of dynamic information • No access to those parts of the information model that are not currently cached • e.g. remote web pages • Information can become out-of-date
Mobile Awareness… • Encourage an understanding for the role of connectivity • Reduce apparent anomalies in behaviour that could affect a visitor’s trust • Utilises understanding of the mobile phone • Bars of connectivity metaphor • Awareness rather than intrusive • What about visitor’s location…
Evaluation • Expert walkthrough • 1st pass at usability • Resolved a number of User Interface issues • Highlighted need to avoid over-determining the user • Field Trial • What the public actually think • Ascertain quality of visitor’s experience • Determine the implications of our approach • Would users trust the system? • Granularity of location information? • What about the role connectivity?
Age Profile Number Gender Web Experience Male Female 10-20 6 4 2 6 20-35 15 7 8 7 35-55 26 17 14 8 55-70 13 6 7 1 Field Trial… • Sixty visitors over 5 weeks • Usage period between 10 minutes and 1 hour • Concern not to impinge on visitor’s holiday!
Key Findings …. • In general, visitors enjoyed using the system… • Visitors appreciated location-awareness • Found location-aware navigation reassuring • Information Retrieval (when not over constrained) • Visitors trust of the system was dynamic • Level increased when shown detailed and accurate descriptions e.g. ‘watch the step when leaving the path’ • Level decreased when information could not be retrieved or appeared inaccurate/incorrect
Key Findings Continued… • Majority of visitors appreciated system’s flexibility • However, some were of the opinion ‘Less is More’ • 45/60 accepted the portable end-system • Interactive Services… • Less enthusiastic than expected • 48/60 visitors wanted conformation of bookings • Visitors in 10-20 age group… • Revelled in the technology • Explored twice as many links per minute as other groups • Visitor’s awareness… • Appreciated role of connectivity • Accepted the mobile phone analogy
The Role of Context… • Maximising the limited User Interface bandwidth between the device and the user • Enabling the simplification/reduction of the user’s task specification • What locations are nearby? • Creating a suitable/tailored tour • Need to be careful of not overly constraining the information available to the visitor • The trade-off between prescription and freedom
The Role of Context Continued… • Tailoring/Adapting Presented Information • Ordering of lists, e.g. nearby attractions • Constraining content, e.g. based on proximity • Tailoring descriptions • Information(1) • Lancaster Priory built in 1434 A.D. and the architect was Donald Samson. • Information(2) • Lancaster Priory built in 1434 A.D. and the architect was Donald Samson. This architect also designed the extension to York Cathedral which you visited on 12th January 1998. • Issues of predictability
Future for GUIDE (1) • Supplement communications infrastructure with micro-cellular system, e.g. bluetooth • Communication within buildings • Finer granularity of positioning info • Reduced power consumption • Integration of GPS • Could obtain location based on… • Based on querying user • Based on reception of location updates • Based on (D)GPS
Future for GUIDE (2) • Extend the range of context-sensitive interactive services for city residents • Automatically ordering a taxi • Requesting the location of nearest cash point • Support for ad hoc meetings • Utilise personal end-systems, • Users personal WAP phone or PDA • Persistence of user’s profile • Constant learning/building of user’s profile
Concluding Remarks… • Is context (e.g. position) used to good effect in GUIDE ? • Context used to reduce the complexity of a user’s task specification • Context also increased the the quality/relevance of information presented to the user • The users interaction is affected by… • UI, context and infrastructure • Designers need to carefully consider • Appropriate styles of interaction (metaphors, feedback, etc.) • How to avoid over-determining the user based on context
Contact Information… {kc,keith.mitchell,nigel}@comp.lancs.ac.uk http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/staff/kc.html http://www.guide.lancs.ac.uk Recent GUIDE Papers: • Developing a Context-aware Electronic Tourist Guide: Some Issues and Experiences(CHI2000) • The Role of Connectivity in Supporting Context-Sensitive Applications(HUC’99) • The Design of an Object Model for a Context-Sensitive Tourist Guide (Computers & Graphics Journal Vol 23. No 6. Dec 1999)