BACKGROUND

Mobility and mobile applications are becoming essential, both in our private life and our pursuit of business. Especially travel and tourism are domains in which individuals and groups are mobile and visit cities, regions, and places that they like to discover and learn more about. With the availability of new and powerful mobile devices and evolving network infrastructures, mobile systems, and applications can accompany the mobile user in order to support and inform them on their way. 

One of the central aspects of being mobile is the constantly changing position of the user and along with this a changing user situation. Consequently, a mobile application needs to meet these changing user requirements. If an application has access to the current position of the tourist, the mobile application can provide location-based information right on the spot and by this inform, help, or warn the user just at that position. This can be for example informative data that helps the user experience the spot and the surroundings, but also assistive, e. g., to become aware of interesting spots or be warned about upcoming obstacles on the way. What is important is that each individual tourist has individual needs, interests, and preferences that should be met.

APPLICATION SCENARIO – LOCATION-BASED AND CONTEXT-AWARE MULTIMODAL HIKING GUIDE

In our application scenario, a hiker can borrow a device from the local tourist office that is equipped with a Galileo receiver and the mobile hiking guide application. Before the beginning of the tour, the key preferences are entered for each single visitor or for a group of hikers. This includes among others, the preferred language, the age of the adults and children in the group, the hiking experience, and the familiarity with the area. Based on this initial information the system suggests a tour and presents a tour description, the sign-posts to be followed, and a map with the tour on the mobile device. Using the Galileo positioning system, the mobile device can always locate the hiker(s) and visualize the current position on a geo-referenced map on the mobile display. So, during the entire tour the hikers can see and confirm their own position on the map in relation to the tour. Whenever an interesting point in the tour is reached this is also indicated on the map. This can be for instance,  navigational information when the tourist reaches a branch of the trail, to indicate a turn and navigate the tourist in the right direction. In addition, small icons on the mobile device’s display show so-called points of interest (POIs). These can be shelters or Alpine Huts, or places where very rare plants grows. Depending on the hikers’ preferences they indicate the availability of additional information along the way about flora, fauna, and history – whatever seems to be suitable for the profile of the hikers. Using the Galileo positioning system, even in the remoteness of the mountain scenery our system can provide information right on the spot like a unique type of plant that grows here, a specific stone that can be found, or a funny story that happened here years ago with text and pictures on the device. Using the storage capacities of today’s mobile hardware the device stores all necessary information about the tour itself. While walking on the trail the mobile application selects the context-aware information on the base of the current location and the tourists preferences. In areas in which a connection of the mobile device over a wireless point-to-point network is possible, which is the case in most of the mountainous areas of the Montafon region, the tourist can additionally connect to a speech server to receive the most up-to-date information about the current spot.

As the hikers need their visual attention for looking on the way and to enjoy the landscape, the system adjusts its output modality to the context situation of the hiker.  With sounds the hikers can be navigated acoustically. Distinct sounds provide warning signals when the hikers wander away from the trail and also indicate that a branch is appearing and ant the next right turn should be taken. Depending on the hikers’ profile they can receive different sound signals if a spot of interest is approached and additional information is available. Again, this information can be presented with different modalities such as image and text but also by means of speech and music. Presenting acoustic information allows the hikers to look at whatever is interesting at the spot and at the same time listen to a description or music associated with it. For visually impaired people a speech output of the same information that is provided on the visual display allows them to share the same hiking experience, for example in a group of sighted and blind hikers.

With such context-aware and multimodal information provision the system gives the hikers their personal experience of the Montafon scenery.

REQUIREMENTS

For the development of a Location-Based and Context-Aware Mobile Multimodal Hiking Guide Application (Loccata) we find the following requirements for the software development and demonstration project:

•    Precise localization of the tourist: When walking around outdoors in mountainous areas every single meter can be of high importance, both for exactly locating the sightseeing spot of interest to the user but also for determining the branches of hiking trails in the mountains. Therefore, the mobile application needs to locate the user’s current position as precise as possible. Here, accuracy down to the meter range is needed to be able to present information to the user, which really meets the current user situation on the current position.

•    Reliable localization of the tourist: Especially in remote areas it is important that the tourist can trust the current position shown on the mobile device. Also the tourist needs to know if the position is up to date and the associated preciseness at the current moment. Only by this, it is possible to develop a mobile tourist guide in which hikers can trust with regard to the local context.
•    Visualization of the hiking trail: To give the mobile user a visual impression of the trail a geo-referenced map is needed. On this map, the tour information needs to be presented. This includes the trail, the branch connections and the estimated time the hiker needs to reach the end of the tour, together with the hiker’s current position.
•    Visualization of points of interest: Along with the trail information, the map needs to indicate interesting spots along the path. On the map, so-called point of interest (POIs) show where the next shelter or an Alpine hut can be found. According to the preference of the tourist different types of POIs are shown on the map to indicate different types of location-based information along the way such as the growing of a rare plant or a historic place.
•    Context-aware location-based information: To meet the specific tourists’ needs the location and the context need to be exploited to deliver the most targeted information. Therefore a simple user profile specifies the tourist’s general preferences and a tracking of the current user context such as place and time. The available content needs to be annotated and enhanced with metadata such that a context-aware information selection can be carried out and the tourist receives not only a localized but also individualized information according to the current context and preferences.
•    Multimodal information presentation: Hiking tourists typically need theirs hands and eyes free for the hiking task: they watch the track, enjoy the panorama, and also sometimes need hands to hold on to grips. Therefore visual information is not helpful at all times, rather acoustic signal and voice information to help, warn, and inform the tourist are in need.
•    Connected and unconnected mode: Even though the Montafon region enjoys a good infrastructure of cellular networks in the alpine regions, the system should be able to work both in a connected and an unconnected mode. In a connected mode the tourist can use a cellular network connection to retrieve and receive up do date location-based information for the tour. The basic trail information, however, should be available on the mobile device.

MAIN PROBLEMS

With regard to existing solutions and technology we find the following main problems:

•    Impreciseness and reliability of the American GPS system: Even though it is possible today to locate mobile tourist with the existing GPS system, the impreciseness of the position is an obstacle for providing reliable and precise location-based information for tourists walking outdoors. For example, due to GPS shadows a tourist could find himself/herself a few hundred meters away from the real position on the map shown on the mobile device. Consequently, and information provided at the current localized position, for example, a story about a mountain lake, for which the real world object can not even be seen by the tourist from his/her current position.
•    Mobile Systems today are not context-aware: Most of the mobile services we find today only exploit the user’s position to indicate the position on a geo-referenced map on the mobile device. These systems consider the position as the central but often as the only context element, delivering the same information to all users. This however, does not necessarily meet today’s individual tourists needs. The local position, however, is a central but not the only element out of the tourist’s current situation.  The time of the day in combination with the current location allows delivering an even more targeted service. With the additional context information such as the time and the current weather conditions (available from a weather service) the system can provide a context-aware mobile service to the tourist. Today’s systems, however, do not comprehensively use and exploit a user profile and local context to provide and context-aware information to the mobile tourists.
•    Mobile systems rely on visual information presentation: Mobile applications today often assume the use of a small portable mobile device with an integrated small graphical display. The information provision on the device is based on visual information shown by means of maps, points, links, small text, and images. However, this does not necessarily meet a mobile user’s situation, as he or she may currently needs his/her hands and eyes for other things than to hold on and look at the mobile device. Current systems only provide visual information and do not provide any auditive support.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

In the proposed software development and demonstration project we will exploit the precise and reliable localization information of Galileo and, based on this, develop an innovative mobile application that provides location-based context-aware information to tourists of mountainous regions. The proposed solution for the development of a Location-Based and Context-Aware Mobile Multimodal Hiking Guide Application (Loccata) comprises two main parts: (1) The development of a context-aware location-based mobile system platform and (2) Development of location-based and context-sensitive content for the mobile hiking tours. Based on the system platform the content developed can be used by the mobile tourist on his/her hiking tours.

DEVELOPMENT OF A LOCATION-BASED AND CONTEXT-AWARE MOBILE SYSTEM PLATFORM

The technical basis for the context-aware location-based mobile application forms a modular mobile application platform. This platform realizes the typical tasks of a location-based mobile application. The development will include modules for realizing the location sensing based on the available Galileo receivers, the connection to a server application over cellular networks, the visualization of the tourist’s location on a geo-referenced map, the visualization and presentation of points of interest on the map, and a multimedia presentation of the location-based information. The different system modules are integrated in one platform and form the software basis for the proposed mobile hiking guide.

Basic modules of the platform that has been developed by the contractor OFFIS will provide functionality for the specific requirements of mobile multimedia applications, such as location-aware mobile navigation and orientation support, multimodal user interface, and location-based information and services. For the developed mobile hiking guide, within the software development project, the platform is extended and applied in the specific application domain and targeted to mobile context-aware applications in the domain of tourism. The software development of the mobile system is based on the experience of the consortium in the field of mobile application development. Existing prototypes and concepts are input to the tender. The contractor OFFIS is part of a Center of Excellence for Mobile Applications (Niccimon) [Nic04]. Within the Niccimon research center the contractor OFFIS works in close cooperation with the Institute for Communications Technology in Brunswick, Germany, and the Institute of Communications Engineering in Hanover, Germany. The results of this research resulted in a design of a modular mobile system development platform [BBK+04]. The contractor has also expertise in geographic information system (GIS) from an earlier research project InterGIS. This experience of OFFIS includes also research in the field of personalized multimedia applications [Bo03a, Bo03b, BW03], context-aware and personalized mobile systems and applications [BBK+04a, KB04, SB04a] as well as multimodal user interfaces [DKG02, Kl03]. The contractor OFFIS has applied their research work in several prototypes and demonstrator applications [KKRB04, KKB04, SB04b].
Research results have been achieved also in the area of meeting the different mobile devices needs for hypermedia and multimedia presentations [SB05]. The project proposed in this tender continues and extends the mobile system platform and its modules and provides the opportunity to apply and transfer the technology meeting the individual tourists needs in the commercially promising Mountain Area of the Montafon.

The solutions proposed are:

•    Precise and reliable localization of the tourist: The mobile device is equipped with a receiver for the Galileo positioning system. This position information is encapsulated in an internal format and exploited by the other modules of the mobile client application. At the beginning of the development, the raw position information could also be supplied by a “of-the-shelf” GPS receiver and afterwards replaced by facilities provided by ESA. The localization is developed such that one gains an abstraction from the actual positioning system.
•    Visualization of the hiking trail:  For the visualization of the hiking trail a geo-reference map developed a mobile GIS module to provide support for orientation. In order to help the tourist to orientate himself or herself, the map is centered on the users position and the position of the user is displayed on the map itself.
•    Visualization of points of interest: The mobile application provides a management and visualization of the POIs along the trails. These POIs can be stored on the mobile device or dynamically loaded from a server. Each POI comprises the position information where the POI is located, an icon to represent the POI in the map, and a referrer to the POI’s content information. The presentation of the POI icons helps the mobile user to get an overview about interesting spots in his or her surrounding. POIs themselves are grouped along different topics, e. g., shelters, huts, branches, so that the user can select and view only certain topics of interest and thus avoid information overload.
•    Context-aware information presentation: Depending on the context, the information presented about the current spot is selected meeting the user’s profile and context. For the representation of the location-based information hypermedia documents are created. These documents are dynamically composed according to the user profile and current context.
•    Multimodal information user interface design: For the mobile hiking guide an additional auditory is provided. With an speech representation of the location-based content and a support for auditory signals, a seamless combination of visual and auditory elements within the user interface can be achieved. Objects of interest in the real life environment such as POIs are hence visually and auditory augmented. For the project, the user interface of the mobile hiking guide is designed such that the output modalities meet the actual tourists task when walking on the trail.
•    Connected and unconnected mode. The mobile hiking guide is equipped with an access to a cellular network such as GPRS over GSM. Over this mobile connection the tourist can reach a speech server which delivers up-to-date location-based information. In an unconnected mode the mobile device is loaded with sufficient information to support the tourist with information about the trail and the surroundings of the trail as well as some location-based information. Over the mobile connection more current or additional information can be retrieved.

DEVELOPMENT OF LOCATION-BASED AND CONTEXT-AWARE CONTENT FOR THE MOBILE HIKING TOURS

For the content development for the location-based hiking guide the contractors Schruns-Tschagguns Tourismus and Stand Montafon bring high expertise in the planning and production of content for the mobile hiking guide application into the project. The contractor Schruns-Tschagguns Tourismus is developing touristic attractions and is investing in infrastructure for tourism and is maintaining attractions like the “Aktivpark Montafon“, a concert hall, swimming pools and football grounds. The contractor is highly interested in the development and evolvement of new tourist concepts. Within the proposed project, the contractor Schruns-Tschagguns Tourismus provide their background in the professional development of concepts and their implementation for the mobile hiking guide system.

The Montafon Region is an excellent choice for the development of such an innovative application, as the GIS data for the large net of trails is to the most part already recorded. For the maintenance and planning of the forests in the Montafon almost 10 GIS are in use. The contractor Stand Montafon is already participating in the development of a comprehensive digital geo data basis for the Montafon Area that is continuously updated and extended. All geo data is collected by the communities and is centrally maintained and preprocessed by the contractor Stand Montafon. To use and exploit the geo data, the Stand Montafon has established a service center for the maintenance and usage of the geo data for the Montafon local authorities.

Also responsible persons for the tourist development of the Montafon region are standing strongly behind the proposed project. Based on the knowledge of the Montafon area and the existing content in the field of geo-reference maps, trail descriptions, and other information material of the area, the content of the projects can easily be composed to develop the content for selected hiking trails, points of interest providing a context-aware usage by the mobile tourist.

The solutions proposed are:

•    Development of selected hiking tours: From more than 500 km of sign-posted hiking trails in the Montafon´s mountain ranges, interesting tours are selected that would attract different types of tourists. The selected tours represent a well-chosen set which illustrates the variety of different trail types and levels in the area. The trails are selected and implemented such a way that the demonstrator of the mobile hiking guide shows the versatility of the system.
•    Development of geo-referenced information: For the selected tours a track of the Galileo positions on the way are recorded. Also the positions of the sights and spots of interest are recorded.  With these positions the information that is presented to the tourist along the way is associated such that the system can select and present the most suitable location-based information to the tourist. Based on the available GIS data of the region the geo data is selected and, where necessary, additional data is collected or enhanced.
•    Context-aware location-based information creation:  For the different trails with their many POIs on the way the corresponding location-based information like pictures and description, needs to be collected and edited. This part starts out from a detailed elaboration of a storyboard for the location-based and context-ware hiking trails. Here, as far as possible existing material from the contractors from Schruns-Tschaguns and Stand Montafon are used. Wherever needed, the material is systematically extended and enhanced. For the selected tours all context-ware information is prepared. Texts and images are selected from the existing tourism databases and extended by newly selected material. This information is processed in to geo-reference hypermedia documents for each of the selected trails.
•    Development of auditive information:  For selected points of interest, the location-based information is developed also in an auditive fashion. Selected material is prepared such that a speech representation complements the elaborated visual content which can be listened to during the trail.

The central innovations that the proposed application bears are:

•    Based on the Galileo GNSS the localization of a tourist outdoors in remote areas at different altitudes is possible. This provides the tourist with very precise and reliable navigation information and information about the trails and the different POIs along the trail.
•    Besides the location, the mobile hiking guide takes the user context into account when selecting and presenting POIs.
•    Mobile information systems often present their information in visual form. The multimodal user interface design of the proposed application takes the specific task of hikers, i. e, walking on small trails that also carry some risk to take the wrong way of unintentionally leave the path, into account.
•    A detailed elaboration and implementation of geo-referenced, location-based tourist information that allows tourist to access individualized information on the trail, depending on his/her personal context and profile while hiking in Montafon region.

ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED IN THE STATEMENT OF WORK

In the following, we first describe where the application development proposed in this tender meets the work activities of the proposed project with the Statement of Work. Below we also describe the feasibility of the project and the development risks.
WORK ACTIVITIES
The project in this tender meets the “Focus on stimulating technological innovation and the opening-up of novel market segments!” of the Statement of Work. The developed application will allow to “experiment with new tools and approaches”. Even though tourism is a big market segment in Austria, mobile application for tourists fall into the section “Niche Markets, scientific and innovative applications” of the Statement of Work. With the availability of the “Galileo application solution (GNSS)” the tender proposes a “Software development and demonstrator project” in the specific domain of hiking tourism. Part of the work will be an “Application scenario modeling” that allows to understand the specific application domain and also derive results and experience of the applicability of the developed concept for the applcition domain. With the location-based context-ware multimodal hiking guide, we develop an “Innovative solutions for tourism”.

SELECTION OF A PREFERRED CONCEPT
Modular system platform: When developing mobile applications, e.g., mobile games [BKW03, KKRB04] or tourist information systems [KBB04], one of the central discoveries is that different applications often share similar basic application requirements. In our developments at the Niccimon research centre, we identified different autonomous tasks and modules concerning location-sensing, location-visualisation, presentation of points of interest, etc. Based on these results, we developed a flexible, modular, mobile system platform [BBK+04]. Following the mediator-wrapper-architecture approach, the Niccimon platform provides a mediator module which is governing, the per se autonomous, different wrapped applications treating the above-mentioned topics. The integrated application modules cooperate with each other via distinguished interfaces provided by the mediator. The interfaces provide access to functionality such as live cycle control, visualisation, network communication, and inter-component communication. This concept enables us to be flexible and powerful at the same time. This prototype and the available prototypes applications [KKRB04, KKB04, SB04b] are the selected concept for the system implementation which is brought into the project.

Theme-based context-aware hiking tours: Preferred concept from the application perspective is to provide a support for the hiking tourist meeting the individual tourist’s needs and preferences. Here a previous project of theme base hiking trails has proven to be a good start for the project in the region. In this project “monta-phone” local tourist information can be retrieved over mobile phones. Based on these first experiences the concept is the selection of trails and POIs is used in the mobile hiking guide. The selection of a limited but interesting set of trails and POIs the content production for the proposed project will deliver an incisive content for the mobile hiking guide and consequently invite future partners for a commercial application of the system. With the development and successful demonstration of the system, the application lays the base for its transfer into commercial tourist offers in the Montafon region. The contractors Stand Montafon and Schruns-Tschagguns Tourismus are highly interested in the transfer of the project results into the local tourism domain.

FEASIBILITY OF THE PROJECT

The experience of the consortium in the development of mobile systems and applications as well as long term experience in touristic development of the Montafon area and managing of projects with touristic background forms a strong background with regard to the technology used and development and also with regard to the application domain and content production.

The system platform that is input to the project forms a basis for the software development of the mobile hiking guide in the specific application context. The prototypes of the contractor OFFIS that have been developed in earlier research projects show the feasibility of the concept itself and allows to expect the feasibility of the software development tasks ahead.

The content brought into the system is also well defined enough to work with. The high expertise in collecting, maintaining and using geo data, and developing touristic material and concepts by the contractors, allow to quickly start the content production and it is expected that the content production tasks will result in high quality content which is very valuable for the hiking guide and the touristic activities in the Montafon area. In previous projects the contractors Schruns-Tschagguns Tourismus and Stand Montafon as well as the coordinator telesis have already much experience in the planning and production of content for tourist applications. Consequently, the content implementation phase can profit from this experience and a successful implementation of the content concept and thus the feasibility of this part of the project can be expected.

DEVELOPMENT RISKS

One risk of the development is the unavailability of Galileo receivers: Even though the mobile hiking guide system can rely on the GPS receivers that can be bought on the market today an early availability of prototypical receiver devices by ESA would be helpful for the mobile system design and even minimize the project risk with regard to location preciseness and reliability as described below. As the existing GPS system also delivers position information, the system can intermediary run on existing GPS receiver hardware. The only risk left is that the demonstrator system can unfold its functionality only in the ranges of the GPS preciseness and reliability. However, due to the design on the application, a switch to the Galileo Hardware only means adjustment of the drivers that actually access the receiver hardware on the mobile device, which is a calculable effort.

Another risk of the project is that even though a detailed storyboard and content implementation plan has been developed, the content production may take too long: The detailed elaboration of a storyboard before the content production forms a means to determine the content that needs to collected, produced, and preprocessed for the system. As the project plan includes an early first prototype in the middle of the software and content production phase this risk can be reduced as experiences with the first demonstrator in the middle of the project allow for an adjustment of the software development and content implementation tasks. The coordinator telesis and the contractors Schruns-Tschagguns Tourismus and Stand Montafon bring in the experience from previous projects with regard to the content production for regional tourist applications in the Montafon region. Also the partners bring in some content for the project. Both the available geo data and tourist information as well as previous experience in planning, collecting, and maintaining tourist information reduce the risk of an unintended exceeded of the content production effort.

Finally, the software development process for the mobile hiking guide could take too long or does not deliver the expected system functionality: Here the existing know how of the previous prototypes is brought into the project by the contractor OFFIS. The modules of the basic platform and existing research prototypes give the project a good basis to be able to quickly start to develop the mobile system for the specific application and finish convincing demonstrators in time. The existing prototypes of the contractor OFFIS show that the basic functionality for map presentation, point of interest presentation, and localization are well applicable such that a successful application on these basic modules and their extension for the specific mobile hiking guide can be expected. This much reduces the software development risk.

STUDY PLAN

This study plan is organized in working packages along the three project phases of consolidation, implementation, and technology transfer. Figure 2.3-1 shows a flow chart of the study plan. It shows the single tasks of the project and their interdependencies. The numbering of the tasks and the expected deliverables during the course of the project corresponds to the number given in the list of deliverables, the detailed work breakdown structure, and planning in Section 3.5, 3.6, and 3.7. The arrows in the study plan show which results of the single tasks are input to other tasks in the project course. The numbering of task is the same that is used in the work breakdown structure and project planning which are presented later in this tender. In the following the study plan for the proposed project is elaborated in detail along the project phases.

CONSOLIDATION

The consolidation phase comprises one single task, the consolidation of the project. During this task the proposal of the project is refined. This includes a detailed refinement and consolidation of the project plan, the work packages, and single tasks. For the demonstrator also a demonstration plan is elaborated at the very beginning of the project such that the content and software implementation can deliver their results that are integrated into the demonstrator very targeted. The driving force for the software development and demonstration project is the application domain of tourism, in the consolidation phase also the application requirements from the domain of tourism will be reviewed and consolidated into a detailed elaboration of these application requirements.

The results of the consolidation work package are a refined work plan, detailed application requirements, and a demonstration plan in the deliverable of Task 1.1 of Work package 1. As Figure 1 illustrates, the results of this work package are input to the implementation phase of the proposed project.  In the following we describe the study plan in detail.

IMPLEMENTATION PHASE

In the implementation phase the software development of the mobile system as well as the creation, editing, and processing of the content for the mobile information systems in the application areas are developed. The software development for this system and the demonstrator is to be carried out in Work Package 2, the Software Implementation. The mobile hiking guide presents location-based information to the hiking tourists. This information is collected, produced, and elaborated in the Content Implementation Work Package. These two work packages are carried out in parallel with distinct matching between the two work packages during the project.
SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION
The development of location-based and context-aware multimodal system platform for the mobile hiking tours is developed in Work Package 2. The tasks of this work package realizes the software engineering process following standard practices. An important objective of the software implementation is to realize a demonstrator application that shows the feasibility of new technological concepts and the potential of the innovative concepts in the application domain.

Analysis and Design:

This task comprises the analysis and design of the software system. Based on the reviewed and refined application requirements and the demonstration plan determined in a deliverable from the consolidation phase a detailed software analysis is carried out. This includes “lower level” requirements such as hardware requirements or network connection but also requirement with regard to architecture and user interface. The experience of the contractor OFFIS in the field of mobile systems and platforms will support the design. This task will result in a detailed specification of a modular system, the single modules and interfaces, as well as the specification of the location-based context-aware multimodal hiking guide application. The system design will provide for the specification of modules that realizes the basic functionality needed for the system: localization, map visualization, POI management and visualization, profile management, context-aware content selection and presentation, multimodal user interface. Here, the existing system platform design of the contractor OFFIS forms the input to the analysis and design task.

To keep the software implementation and the content implementation “in line” one person from each contractor and the coordinator meet after Tasks 2.1 and Task 2.2 to bring their results together and synchronize their work before in Work package 2 and 3 the implementation of the first software implementation and the content production start.

•    First implementation: In this task a first implementation of the mobile system is developed. Existing modules are used and extended to meet the specific application requirements. Challenges are the context-awareness of the system and the task oriented multimodal user interface. For the implementation the existing basic modules of the platform are employed and extended to meet the application requirements and the system design. These modules are a Location Module, a GIS Module, a POI Module, a Multimedia Module, and Auditory Support Module. These modules provide basic functionality for location-based mobile components; the specific requirements of context-aware systems and multimodality for this specific application are developed as new or extended modules. The development of the basic functionality of the mobile guide application can then be achieved by reusing existing components and newly developed components and implementing the application specific tasks on top of these.

The result of the first software implementation is input to the first demonstrator in plan. In this demonstrator the content production and the software implementation are integrated and tested for the first time. This first demonstration will give substantial input to the refinement of the software and content implementation.

•    Refined design & implementation: In this task the first design and implementation is refined. One important input for this refinement is the first demonstrator in place. Also the mid term meeting reviews the first project results and gives directions for adjustments of design and realization. This input and common practices in software engineering in reviewing and refining a system architecture, modules, and interfaces the first implementation is transformed into a stable and refined software implementation. For the refined implementation also sophisticated and enhanced functionality is added to the system modules. Now, the full system and application functionality is achieved. An important objective of the refined implementation is to achieve an implementation of the innovative aspects of the mobile application such that the demonstrator shows the feasibility of the new and innovative concepts in the application domain.

The result of the refined software implementation is input to the final demonstrator. In this demonstrator the content production and the refined software implementation are integrated and tested.

•    Test and finalization: In this task the different modules of the mobile system are tested in detail and finalized. This task runs in parallel with the final demonstrator. Finalized modules and functions from the software development are transferred into the final demonstrator.

CONTENT IMPLEMENTATION

In parallel to the analysis and design process in Task 3.1 the detailed design of the content production is elaborated. An important objective of the content implementation is the selection and production of content that best illustrates the power and the potential of the developed application.

•    Detailed content design: Here a storyboard for the trails and the points of interest are in the focus. The storyboard will elaborate the a content production plan for the trails, the collection of geo-referenced POIs, the collection of additional tourist information and the integration of existing geo data. Included in this work is the evaluation of the hiking route and the selection of those routes that are applicable to the application. In this task about 5 hiking tours with about 200 POIs are to be recorded for the hiking guide applications. Along with the routes a content structuring takes place in which a unified structure for the trails and the POIs is defined. The storyboard defines the selected routes and POIs, specifies which information is to be collected, integrated and recorded and gives detailed instructions about the collection, integration, recording, processing of the multimedia and geo-reference material. In addition to the storyboard, a user interface design is developed that meets the multimodality requirements of the hiking tourist. With regard to the context-awareness the detailed content design defines the context parameters that are relevant for the hiking applications and determines a reasonable context-awareness in the specific application context. As the content production is a time consuming task the storyboard and the selected information needs to be carefully determined.

To keep the software implementation and the content implementation “in line” one person from each contractor and the coordinator meet after Tasks 2.1 and Task 3.1 to bring their results together and synchronize their work the implementation of the first software implementation and the content production start (T 2.2, T 3.1).

•    Content Production: Following the detailed content design and storyboard developed in the first task of the content implementation the actual content collection and editing is carried out. One specific effort is the collection and editing of the data for the application and its preparation for the different user contexts as for example language, age, and type of hiker. The local experts in the field carry out this work.  The experience of the work in this section contributes to the dissemination of the project as the contractors from the Montafon region intend to continue the work and transform the system into a commercial product. Included is the multimedia content preparation of images and audio, which is time consuming and therefore limited according to the storyboard. With regard to the geo-reference information, fortunately the Montafon region has a very rich information base of hiking trails and spots of interest. Nevertheless, the location-based information forms a substantial part of the work is the recording of the POIs. For each of the POIs comprehensive information has to be collected, recorded, and integrated. For the geo referenced information and geo data the contractor Stand Montafon brings in the expertise of the local player that is familiar with the Montafon region. Again the targeted involvement of the participants with the specialized expertise not only contributes to the project success but also to the later dissemination of the project by these contractors.

The result of the content production is input to the final demonstrator. In this demonstrator the content production and the refined software implementation are finally integrated and tested.

•    Content finalization and polishing: In this task the content is finalized and polished. This means that the existing content and the compliance with the storyboard are checked and final changes and amendments to the content are made. This can include final edition and processing of media, text, and geo data, fine tuning of the content structures, organization of the digital media.

DEMONSTRATOR AND DISSEMINATION

A demonstrator and test evaluates concrete instances of the mobile system. Following good standards in software development process the project flow is set out such that an early prototype and demonstrator test gives feedback for the refinement of the specification and the implementation of the system. The central results of the project is a validated demonstrator that shows the innovation and the potential for tomorrow’s mobile tourist information systems. The demonstrator is ready to be transferred into the commercial tourism activities of the participating European regions.

•    The first demonstrator: shows and applies first project results at an early stage in the project to confirm the feasibility of the project’s objectives and to achieve substantial input for the refinement of content and software. The first demonstrator is stimulating the second phase of the project, which leads to the final demonstrator.

•    The final demonstrator and dissemination: integrates the final software system and final content. He forms the central goal of the project, the realization of a location-based context-aware multimodal hiking guide for tourists in the Montafon area. The demonstrator shows the proof of concepts that forms the basis for the technology transfer into the Montafon region as a commercial product for hiking tourists of the area. The final demonstrator forms an attractive application prototype that unfolds the innovative concepts and the potential for the establishing such a system in Montafon region. The final prototype will be presented in public information events in the Montafon area to raise interest in the system and the commercial potential for the touristic development in the Montafon region. Additionally, introduction of interested persons from the application domain into the system installation, demonstration, and evaluation allows for a broader visibility of the system and increases the potential of a transfer of the system into a product of the Montafon tourism activities.

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT OR RESEARCH AREA

The tender is placed in the area of mobile multimodal information systems. The technological development undertaken in this project are addressing mobile platform development, context-awareness, location-based information, multimodal user interfaces, positioning, and content personalization. From a content development aspect this tender proposes the integration of local tourist information and infrastructures with innovative mobile technology.

METHOD FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND ADDRESSED USER GROUP

The developed mobile hiking guide bases on the mobile platform developed by the project partner OFFIS in the context of research and development projects. In these projects OFFIS has elaborated and implemented a modular platform for the development of mobile applications. In the proposed software development and demonstration project this platform is applied in for tourism, specifically hiking, and elaborated and extended according to the specific application requirement. Consequently, the location-based mobile hiking guide application is transferred into a demonstrator application which can be continued into a commercial product of the regional project partners in the Montafon area in Austria. In the dissemination phase installation and demonstration guides are developed which can contribute to a dissemination and multiplication of the installed demonstrators. During the content production and demonstration phases the key personal of the contractors from Stand Montafon and Schrunz-Schagguns gain experience which helps after the project and to elaborate and extend the demonstrator of the hiking guide application. By this the possibility of a continuous and successful transfer into a commercial product in the Montafon tourist program is strongly increased.

The intended user groups are everyday tourists that visit the region. The Montafon region has about 250.000 guest per season. After the dissemination phase of the project the Schrunz-Schagguns Tourismus will carefully and continuously to selected tourists to gain experiences with the acceptance of the system. At the same time the contractors from the Montafon region will employ the demonstrator for the acquisition of additional commercial partners for a stable implementation of the system in the region.

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