Web Based Device Independent Mobile Map Applications The
Web Based Device Independent Mobile Map Applications. The m-Chartis System J. Garofalakis T. Michail Computer Engineering & Informatics Dept. University of Patras A. Plessas Computer Technology Institute
Background (1) l l Mobile devices: mobile phones, smartphones, PDAs, Tablet PCs Recent years: important progress in mobile telecommunications and devices Users’ requirements: info anytime, anywhere Result → development of LBS and map applications
Background (2) l Most applications are not device independent: - Client side approach (downloading the application) - Special software needs to be installed - Java enabled or i-mode phones - PDA or mobile, but not both
Constraints of mobile devices l l l Screen size and resolution Number of colors, compared to desktop monitors Limited processing power and storage space Low data transfer rates and high cost Not functional interaction with the user Each limitation is not met in the same extent in all devices
Device independence – our approach l Our approach takes into consideration handhelds’ constraints and capabilities: - Web based approach (simple web pages) - XHTML Mobile Profile pages - No dependence on the connection service (WAP 2. 0, i-mode etc) - Pages designed to have the smallest possible size - Possibility to change the size and the zoom level of maps
Device independence – testing the application l In order to confirm that the application is running properly, it was tested with the following devices: - Samsung X 460 and D 500 (simple phone) - Qtek 8020 (smartphone) - HP i. PAQ hw 6510 (PDA)
The m-CHARTIS system - overview l l l Aim: management of information for cities that would be accessible through maps in mobile devices Two parts: administrator tool and mobile application Administrator tool: managing information Mobile application: accessing this information The system can serve many uses and function as a tourist or professional guide etc
Technical details l l PHP and GD library My. SQL XHTML Mobile Profile Geographic data in digital file format
Geographic data l l l Maps produced from the processing of digital spatial data Digital files with spatial coordinates, not images MIF (Mapinfo data interchange format) : text files for the description of digital data Easy processing of data Scaling and resizing without loss of information and quality
Administrator tool (1) l l Secondary web based tool that requires desktop computer Features: - Insert, delete and modify cities - Insert, delete and modify categories for points of interests. For example museums, restaurants, hotels etc - Insert delete and modify points of interests. For example the archeological museum or the Hilton hotel
Administrator tool (2) l Screenshot: The city’s index page
Mobile application (1) l l Specifically designed for mobile devices following special guidelines Features: - Select one of the available cities - View general information that the administrator has added for each city - Navigate through the map of the city. Navigation starts from pre-specified points. Map scaling and resizing available - Search for points of interest - Search for streets
Mobile application (2) l Screenshot: Navigation page
Mobile application (3) l Screenshot: Searching a point
Map Drawing l l A parser reads spatial data from the files and applies the appropriate mathematical transformations to the coordinates The map is generated with the use of functions of the GD library
Measurements (1) l l Usage scenario for bandwidth and time overhead measurements Script execution time (the overall time depends on the network) Total KBs received Use of the application with Samsung X 460 (mobile phone), Qtek 8020 (smartphone) and HP PDA
Measurements (2) l Largest page, maximum script execution time: ─ Mobile phone (128 x 160) : 7. 90 KBs , 0. 041 sec ─ Smartphone (176 x 220): 13. 4 KBs , 0. 06 sec ─ PDA (240 x 240): 19, 3 KBs, 0. 07
Conclusions l l m-CHARTIS system presentation: a mobile map application Aim: dissemination of location based information to mobile users Emphasis on device independence Exploitation of capabilities of each device for better interaction
Future work l l l Evaluation and user assessment of the application Improvements based on the conclusions of the evaluation Addition of new features such as finding the shortest path from one location of the map to another
End of presentation THANK YOU!!!
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