Virtual mobile city guide

Abstract

A person visiting a city might at different stages of his/her trip require different forms of guidance and assistance, whether or not the city is known to the person. The 'tools' which people normally use while navigating in a city are maps and guidebooks which are generally utilised in printed form. Another item which is attributed to tourists is the camera which people use to try to save the moment and share it later with their friends or relatives back home. Tourists or visitors of cities usually also ask other fellow perambulators about different attractions or places of interest or perhaps suggestions about which attraction is in reality nicer or more recommended to visit. The Virtual Mobile City Guide (VMCG) is a mobile application which tries to bring all the above mentioned means of assistance in one place. Using Android technology, the VMCG is a mash up of different APls which together with an information infrastructure provides the user with information about different attractions and guidance around the said attractions. While providing the user with the traditional map view by making use of the Google maps API, the VMCG also employs the Wikitude API to provide the user with an innovative approach to navigating through cities. This view uses augmented reality to indicate the location of attractions and displays information in the same augmented reality. The VMCG also offers the possibility of suggesting different attractions depending on the likings of the user. For the sake of practicality, the VMCG also allows the user to use the mobile device as a camera and organise the photographs taken while using the application in a dedicated directory.