Integrating GPS technology with a professional tour guide
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Categories: Mobile, Tourism, Location, Cities
Challenge
It is a good thing for everyone to go outdoors and enjoy the natural biodiversity of Taiwan. Silver Light Alley, which is located in Beitou, Taiwan, is hidden in an otherwise urban district, and surprisingly contains a considerably high number of rare and special plant species and scenery. However, it is difficult to enjoy this scenery without a professional tour guide. And hiring a tour guide requires at least 10 people to hire a tour guide; it is not possible for single tourist to admire the secret treasures of this road. Therefore, our objective was to use mobile devices to demonstrate the deliver professional tour guide services to all tourists.
Solution
1. Content：Develop rich, in depth content about the plants and flora growing in the Silver Light Alley. To do so, we interviewed professional tour guides and asked them to continue to the audio tour guide; this content was then scripted in an oral guide and is provided in English, Japanese and Chinese.
2. Location: Using the GPS camera, we conducted field research and geo-located each plant species.
3. Matching：Put the photos and oral narrative together through the software “Electronic Tour Guide” and download all the content into a smart phone with GPS application. And then, it is really for guiding you at Silver Light Alley.
4. Guiding：The photos and the oral narrative are made available on smart phones with GPS applications. The smart phone with “Electronic Tour Guide” reminds the users with a “bi” sound when specific plants are nearby, and provides the accompanying photos and content overview for users.
Results
The resulting GPS audio guide, is an individualized, content-rich walking guide which allows tourists to better explore their surrounding environment. Moreover, the audio guide serves as a local record, documenting the rich biodiversity of the area through oral narration and photos. You only need a smart phone with GPS, and you can enjoy all the beauty in Silver Light Alley through the map, introduction of plants and photos.
Target Markets
This is an interesting service for all outdoor resorts, especially with biologically rich environmental areas. With “Electronic Tour Guide”, creating outdoor tour guides is much easier.
Specific Interests In Meeting Partnering
We are working to expand the service rangeto include all of the Beitou District. And with this showcase, we hope to adopt this model for other resorts.