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My idea is to use 'I know a Great Little Place...’ to help immerse the user into London life. Using hand held devices such as smart phones and PDA’s such as the IPAD I would like to create a navigational tool that can navigate the user to a place that they may not ordinarily visit (this is done on a social recommendation basis using ‘I know a great little place...’).

I wish the technology to be as immersive and user friendly as possible. For this reason I have chosen the following technologies to enable as interactive user experience as possible; - GPS navigation to plot these places of interest on a map and help navigate the consumer to these places using Google mapping and satellite navigation – Augmented reality for a more local navigation so users can see visually through the camera on their smart phones where to go and where the place is they are going is. It will also enable the user to see feedback from other users on the attraction in question. This more local navigation will allow the users to be completely immersed in what is around them and brings a truly interactive dimension to navigation around the city.  

The application (like the website) will be able to organise the places of interest into different categories, for example bars, restaurants, theatres, beauty spots etc. I think it is also important to identify that London is an incredible vast are. For this reason i think it is important to allow users to choose in which are in London they would like to visit. This will be done by postal code using Google Maps and will plot the places users may want to visit on the map for them to choose. To navigate to these places the user will be able to select the place they would like to go to on the map and then be navigated using GPS from the point they are at to the place of interest.

Prior to this users will have a chance to read up about the places of interest and read reviews posted by the website or on the social recommendation sites for example ‘I Know a Great Little Place...’ twitter feed that can be subscribed to direct to the users phone or PDA.

I believe this technology will be innovative for many reasons. Social recommendation applications for hospitality and tourism attractions do exist in the form of sites like Trip Advisor and also have mobile phone applications for users to browse place on a recommendation basis whilst on the go. The reason that my technology idea is innovative is that it recognises niche market areas as key attraction for consumers. Many consumers are driven to find places that they feel may not often be explored by the layman and find the sense of adventure an attractive prospect. It is for this reason also I have opted to use an immersive form of navigation system in the form of augmented reality so that the users feel completely integrated within the journey to their destination. It enables freedom of user choice, filters places they do not wish to go to and incorporates a vast array of industry sectors. Prior to visiting a place or if the consumer wishes to make their own recommendations the user is then able to upload there feedback to the ‘I Know a Great Little Place...’ website or twitter feed. Therefore the user can be involved in every aspect of the cycle; pre-trip, at the destination and post trip. 

I Know a Great Little Place...

'I Know a Great Little Place..' is a social recommendation website where people recommend the more niche places in a city that they believe deserve some credit or a visit. It is a great tool for finding new and exciting places in a city away from the tourist/mainstream and trying something new that you may not under ordinary circumstances. Types of attractions on offer are pretty vast ranging from bars and cafes, to parks and beauty spots. http://www.greatlittleplace.com/. The website also offers a twitter page that constantly updates and can be used as a place for people to make their own recommendations. http://twitter.com/#!/glpLondon

Technology types - Mash Ups

A mash up is and application that combines and makes data more presentable or useful for the customer. There are two key types of Mash Up:

·         Consumer mash ups combine different types of data from multiple sources and organises it simply on the user’s hardware screen, whether that be smart phone, PDA or computer.

·         Data mash ups combine similar types of media and information many sources into one visual representation.

Data may be combined in any way meaning that combinations are limitless and can be made personal to the user

Technology types - GPS

GPS is a satellite based global positioning device (satellite device) that can track people and places and plot points on maps.  It can be used as a navigational tool to help plot directions to a coordinate specified by geographical location.

GPS on mobile phones is a combination of two technologies. The mobile phone is now capable of hosting all sorts of software and is compatible with all sorts of hardware also. Most new phones and certainly new smart phones contain GPS readers. This means that whilst this reader is turned on your position can be constantly logged and a destination also can be specified. A web based tool such as Google maps can be used harmonise these positions and create directions available visually in the palm of your hand.    

Technology types - Location Based Services (LBS)

Location based services are primarily used to accesses information and entertainment and is primarily available through mobile phones on a mobile network. It can be used to find people, places and things in a location. On many smart phones users now have the ability to ‘check in’ at places and it can then be published across mobile phone networks and on social networking websites.

Location based services can be used to navigate a person to a pre specified spot or to a person that has checked in at a place already. Currently location based services is also commonly used in a cars GPS system to navigate users to a destination.

In a pioneering experiment location based services was used to navigate first time users around a library. The recommended reading was flagged up and users could tailor there needs depending on what they were looking for. This could be applied in many different scenarios on a local or farther field basis. 

Technology types - Mobile Phone Applications

The platform for this service would be smart phones with GPS capabilities and personal devices such as IPADS. Applications are downloadable for a small fee to cover costs but are also often free to download for the user. As many smart phones and PDA’s now have capabilities to connect to a high speed internet connection it is now possible to link these applications straight to internet services such as Google and also social network sights such as Facebook. With mobile internet it is possible to access all sights on the internet and many websites.  

Mobile phone applications can now be tailored to almost any information or entertainment need. There are many ways that mobile phone applications are now used in the tourism industry and many different technologies that are compatible with these devices. Examples of uses for mobile phone applications include guided tours using augmented realities, restaurant recommendations in conjunction with companies such as trip advisor and navigational tools powered by engines such as Google maps and using technologies such as GPS.