Digital Graffiti is a research project developed in cooperation between the University of Linz,
Siemens Corporate Technology in Munich and the Ars Electronica Futurelab in Linz, which allows users
to place smart messages in public and private places using mobile devices (cell phones, PDAs, notebooks).
Background
Currently available mobile location-based communication services enable their users to consume
roughly categorized (and therefore often unmanageable) spatial information containing text, images,
sound or video. However, the potentials of location-based services are far beyond, considering e.g.
user-driven creation of information using sophisticated addressing and access concepts for avoiding
information overflow (spam), time-trigged and context-sensitive perception of information, and -
what we consider the most powerful enhancement for location-based services – automatically executing
content (smartness) by spatial proximity of approaching users.
In the course of a research project, the Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Siemens Corporate
Technology in Munich and the Ars Electronica Futurelab in Linz have developed a novel location-based
information and communication service (Digital Graffiti) for mobile devices which enables users to
arbitrarily post information in real locations for asynchronous one-to-many or one-to-any
communication having time-driven and contextual perceptibility; and it provides a framework
interface for extending the functional range of the service, especially for adding new smart
elements by third party vendors.
Applicability
The applicability of this innovative location-based service is currently being prepared for demonstration
in the course of a first reference implementation at the campus of the University of Linz, available for
students, academics and maintenance staff, regarded as the enabler for a manifold of further
potential customers from industry and the consumer market, adopting our service in their business fields.
As an example, the picture shows a variation of Digital Graffiti for the public transportation systems
revealing the position of connecting transfer vehicles while displaying location-based information along
the route.
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 Picture: © 2008 Siemens AG |
