Tourist information wherever you are
11 April 2008
Would you like instant access to information on the buildings and scenery you see on your travels? A novel mobile phone programme, able to provide information on what you see when you see it, was a regional winner in the 2008 European Satellite Navigation Competition, sponsored by ESA's Technology Transfer Programme.
This novel use of satellite technology, created by Ernst Pechtl and Hans Geiger, combines three of today's modern technologies: satellite navigation localisation services, advanced object recognition and relevant internet retrieved information.
How does it work? If you see something interesting while out walking for instance, you take a photograph with your mobile phone, select the item of interest with the cursor and in real time preprocessed information on the object selected is sent to your mobile phone.
"It could be a building, a mountain, a tree, plant or a special event such as a local festival,” explain Pechtl. “The amount of information you receive depends on you, if you want to know more you just click the 'more button' and you trigger a more detailed search responding to your profile of interest. Applications include tourism, education, remote healthcare, security, science, etc."
