Related  Projects  

 The  projects  examples  listed  below  are  all  about  mobile  guides,  some  of  them  are  mobile  campus  guides  which  is  relevant  to  this  project,  some  of  them  are  more  about  mobile  guides  for  exhibitions   in  museums,  mobile  guides  for  the  walking  trails   in   a   certain   city…  however,  Most   of   these  projects   have   really   good  user  interface  design  and   focused  on  promoting  user   interaction  during   the  visiting,  although  not  all  of  them  have  similar  idea  as  this  project,  their  ideas  and  designs  all  inspired  this  project  –mobile  guides  on  campus.        Harvard  Guide    

                                                           

Figure  1  Harvard  University  App  Screenshot  1  

             University   of   Harvard   developed   this   application  Harvard  Guide   for   visitors   to  explore  this  university’s  long  history  and  beautiful  campus;  the  home  screen  was  designed  with   the   image  of   the  main   gate   of  Harvard  University.  And   a   simple  guide  to  explain  the  button  function,  the  starting  points  similar  to  other  guiding  apps,  shown  as  a  list  menu  enable  users  to  pick  up  by  themselves,  after  user  click  in,   the   following   screen   show   the   direction   on   the   map   and   a   half   scree   size  image  of  the  points  of  interest,  once  user  finished  the  point,  there  will  be  a  sign  on   the  map  shown   that  user  have  done   this  point.  And   the  arrow  button   leads  user  to  go  to  next  step,  more  detailed  information  showed  behind  this  place.    

                                                           

Figure  2  Harvard  University  App  Screenshot  2  

   

• The  info  button  shows  the  general  description  of  the  stop;    • The   inside   and   out   button   shows   an   insider’s   view  of  Harvard,   this   is   a  

really   good   feature   and   other   application   usually   do   not   this   function,  university   is   a   typical   place   that   some   of   the   area  may   not   open   to   the  public,  this  feature  is  very  useful  for  the  visitors  who  cannot  access  to  the  inside  area.  

• The   Fast   facts   button   documents   the   interesting   facts   and   trivia   once  happened  in  this  place,  many  of  them  have  an  interesting  image  to  explain  the  moment  as  well,  it  calls  back  alumni’s  memory  and  help  new  students  learn  better  about  the  place.  

• Innovation   also   for   documenting   big   events   once   happened   here,   help  user  to  understand  more  about  some  significance  place.  

• History  is  there  to  tell  visitors  highlights  and  stories.    

A   lot  of   videos  were  put   into   these   functions;  many  of   them  have  back  ground  music   help   users   to   have   a   nice   experience   of   the   certain  moment   and   certain  place.      Tree  Tour  in  Oregon  State  University    OSU  designed  and  developed   this   application   to  promote   the   awareness  of   the  variety  kind  of  trees  on  campus;  the  interface  is  clean  and  tidy  with  green,  white  and  grey  as  their  basic  three  colors,  very  close  to  nature  forest  color.    

                                                         

Figure  3  OSU  App  Screenshot  1  

 The  tour  consists  of  two  separate  tours:  the  longer  one  MU  Grand  Tour  takes  45  minute   and   the   MU   short   Tour   15   minutes.   Once   visitor   start   the   tour,   the  detailed   information   such   as   10   stops,   797   ft.   distance   will   be   shown   on   the  screen,  the  app  lead  visitors  step  by  step,  two  buttons  Tour  and  Map  enable  user  to  switch  between  direction  to  get  to  the  points  of  interest  and  the  description  of  the  tree.  The  map  shows  an  overview  position  of  trees  with  number  and  stops  to  help  visitors  find  the  place.        

                                                   

Figure  4  OSU  App  Screenshot  2  

 The  main  menu  consists  of  three  parts,  the  Tree  Tour  which  is  mentioned  above  and   the  open  map,  displayed  a   sidelight  map   for   campus  with   small   tree   icons  located  in  it,  each  small  icons  enable  visitor  to  click  and  learn  more  since  they  all  connected  to  the  information  page.    

Reference   enables   visitors   to   search   and   learn   the   common   name   and   the  botanical   name   of   these   trees,   detailed   information   include   the   leaf   type   the  flower  information  and  whether  native  to  Oregon  or  not.        Ennis  Walking  Trails      

                                                                                         

Figure  5Ennis  App  Screenshot  1  

   The   town  of  Ennis   is   full  of  marvelous  public  sculptures  and  works  of  art.  This  application   contains   large   amount   of   information   about   Ennis   to   help   visitors  learn  and  explore  this  town.    This  walking  trail  guide  consists  of  four  historical  walking,  and  categorized  into  different   colors,   each   of   them   has   an   introduction   about   the   history   and   story  information   behind,   as  well   as   the   distance   and   time   it  will   need   to   finish   the  walking  trail.        

                                                                                               

Figure  6  Ennis  App  Screenshot  2  

 Clicking  into  the  points  of  interest  may  be  able  to  see  the  number  of  interests  in  the  walking  trail,  users  can  choose  take  me  to  this  point  to  get  the  directions  to  the  place  through  GPS  map,  sharing  the  point  of  interest  to  friend  on  Facebook,  or  take  a  photo  to  send  by  email,  some  of  the  interest  have  audio  guide.          MIT  campus  tour    

                                                         

Figure  7  MIT  App  Screenshot  1  

 MIT   mobile   campus   guide   is   the   project   that   has   some   similar   ideas   to   this  project  especially  for  some  walking  trails  on  campus.  It  aims  to  let  visitors  have  a  nice   experience   and   learn   the   history   of   different   parts   on   MIT   campus;   the  information   includes  MIT’s  architecture,   artwork,   facilities  etc.   Self-­‐guided   tour  

and  guided  tours  are  both  provide  on  the  home  screen,  guided  tours  connected  to  the  home  page  of  MIT  website,  include  information  about  the  pickup  points  on  campus  and  tour  guide  meet  up  time.  Self-­‐guided   tour   enables   visitor   to   pick   up   starting   point,   the   app  will   include  some   recommend   points   to   show   visitors   and   step-­‐by-­‐step   guidance   to   guide  them.      

                                                       

Figure  8  MIT  App  Screenshot  2  

 Once  visitor  start  the  tour,  detail  information  will  be  shown  on  the  screen  step  by  step,  leading  visitors  the  direction  to  the  next  stop,  the  timeline  at  the  bottom  of  the  screen  shows  the  number  of  places  have  been  visited  and  there  is  a  button  in  the  middle  of   the  timeline  enable  user   to  switch  between  the  real  map  and  the  detailed  information.  Some  side  trips  are  also  shown  in  the  detailed  information,  visitors  can  have  their  own  flexible  walking  trails.  When  the  tour  ended,  the  last  screen   shows   visitor   the   campus   information,   enable   visitor   to   send   feedback  through  their  smart  phone,  and  also  help  visitors  to  find  a  place  to  eat.    Explorer    Tsai   and   Sung   (2012)   argues   in   their   article  Mobile   Applications   and  Museum  Visitation  that  way  finding  in  the  large  museum  is  a  particular  big  challenge  for  visitors,  many   visitors   these   years  have   the   tendency   to  plan   their   visit   before  they  arrive.    They  may  pick  up  some  points  if  those  POIs  really  attract  them,  but  the   problem   is   imagine   if   they   pick   up   two   points   and   they   are   not   sure   the  amount   of   time   they   will   spend   there,   and   the   way   they   will   get   from   one  exhibition  to  another  one,  what  can  they  do  except  ask  the  staffs  in  the  museum  or  find  the  way  by  themselves.    

They  gave  an  example  of  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  in  order  to  help  visitors   solve   this   problem:   they   developed   a  mobile   application   explorer,   and  add  the  feature  “My  Tour”.    

                                                                                           

Figure  9  Explorer  Screenshot  1  

The   interface   above   is   the   application   Explorer;   the   first   screen   contains   four  parts  of  information:  find  exhibition,  museum  tours,  food  &  shops  and  restroom  &  exit.  The  list  menus  under  the  popular  category  list  all  the  popular  exhibitions.  They  all  contain  the  feature  of  locating  current  place  and  then  sharing  to  friends,  add  the  bookmark  and  mark  as  visited.    

The  interface  list  below  is  the  map  function.  All  the  exhibition  information  shows  by  different   floors,   the   infographic   tells  visitors   the  overview   location  of   in   the  museum.  

                                                                                       

Figure  10  Explorer  Screenshot  2  

The   following   interface   shows   the   feature   “My   Tour”,   the   add   Exhibit   button  enables   visitors   to   add   their   preferred   exhibit   from   all   the   exhibits   in   the  museum,  in  this  way  visitors  build  up  their  personal  tour.  

This   feature   uses   location-­‐aware   mobile   technologies   to   provide   turn-­‐by-­‐turn  instructions  between  two  points  within  the  museum,  allowing  visitors  to  design  their  own  visitation  routes.  Tsai  and  Sung  (2012)  

 

                                                                                     

Figure  11  Explorer  Screenshot  3  

                                                                                                           Although  the  Explorer  was  designed   for   the  museum,  many  of   the  design   ideas  still  inspired  this  project,  for  instance:  how  they  allocate  their  information  on  the  home   screen   to   meet   the   users’   requirement   is   quite   important,   they   add   a  category  named   ‘popular’   to   list   all   the  popular   exhibits   enable   visitors   to   find  them   easily,   they   promoted   user   interaction   very   well   because   they   enable  visitors  to  build  their  own  tours.