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Published in IET Intelligent Transport Systems Received on 27th August 2007 Revised on 22nd December 2007 doi: 10.1049/iet-its:20070032 ISSN 1751-956X Using immersive video to evaluate future traveller information systems A. Weihong-Guo 1 P. Blythe 1 P. Olivier 2 P. Singh 2 H. Nam Ha 2 1 Transport Operations Research Group, School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK 2 Culture Lab, School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: An immersive video system that has been developed for the purpose of evaluating future traveller information system (F-TIS), in particular, F-TIS scenarios that rely on a pervasive computing infrastructure is presented. Immersive video uses multiple video streams captured from a first person perspective at key locations in a scenario. By dynamically reconstructing a user’s visual and aural experiences, the immersive video system creates a lab-based framework that captures a number of contextual factors of real-world mobile information system use. Graphical user interfaces, displayed on a wearable display and a personal digital assistant, are used in the evaluation. Both the technical basis of the immersive video system and its application to the study of user perceptions and reactions to pervasive information services are presented. 1 Background and previous work The provision of traveller information, in the form of available travel options and other salient data, is generally acknowledged as having the potential to change traveller behaviour and mode choices. Such changes are expected to benefit the whole transport system, if the information provided is timely, reliable and appropriate to travellers’ needs [1–12]. Currently, traveller information, ranging from paper- based timetables and road atlases to web-based dynamic journey planners and in-vehicle navigation systems, is widely available. However, integrated multimodal personal navigation and information systems, which provide bespoke and tailored travel assistance anywhere and at any time, remain an aspiration. An underlying information infrastructure is yet to be established that will allow real-time integration across all transport services and options. Advances in information, computing and communication technology are ushering in the era of pervasive computing where computers will in essence disappear into the fabric of everyday life [13, 14]. As a result, everything and everyone will be connected through wireless networks. The whole environments will be sensitive, adaptive and responsive to individual capabilities, needs, habits, gestures and even emotions [15–17]. Accordingly, pervasive computing have the potential to change transport infrastructure radically, allowing real-time monitoring of transport networks and services, and providing travellers with timely, personalised and accurate information services [18]. The user will no longer need to search disparate sources of information for the most appropriate travel option, but instead will receive context-aware and personalised travel information and support. This vision of fully connected and pervasive information systems is a component of the future transport system envisaged by the recently published report by the Foresight Directorate of the UK governments’ Office of Science and Technology, Intelligent Infrastructure Systems study which explored in detail the implications of science and technology over the next 50 years [19, 20]. To / IET Intell. Transp. Syst., 2008, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 38–46 & The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2008 doi: 10.1049/iet-its:20070032 38 www.ietdl.org

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Published in IET Intelligent Transport SystemsReceived on 27th August 2007Revised on 22nd December 2007doi: 10.1049/iet-its:20070032

ISSN 1751-956X

Using immersive video to evaluate futuretraveller information systemsA. Weihong-Guo1 P. Blythe1 P. Olivier2 P. Singh2

H. Nam Ha21Transport Operations Research Group, School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle uponTyne NE1 7RU, UK2Culture Lab, School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKE-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: An immersive video system that has been developed for the purpose of evaluating future travellerinformation system (F-TIS), in particular, F-TIS scenarios that rely on a pervasive computing infrastructure ispresented. Immersive video uses multiple video streams captured from a first person perspective at keylocations in a scenario. By dynamically reconstructing a user’s visual and aural experiences, the immersivevideo system creates a lab-based framework that captures a number of contextual factors of real-worldmobile information system use. Graphical user interfaces, displayed on a wearable display and a personaldigital assistant, are used in the evaluation. Both the technical basis of the immersive video system and itsapplication to the study of user perceptions and reactions to pervasive information services are presented.

1 Background and previous workThe provision of traveller information, in the form ofavailable travel options and other salient data, isgenerally acknowledged as having the potential tochange traveller behaviour and mode choices. Suchchanges are expected to benefit the whole transportsystem, if the information provided is timely, reliableand appropriate to travellers’ needs [1–12].Currently, traveller information, ranging from paper-based timetables and road atlases to web-baseddynamic journey planners and in-vehicle navigationsystems, is widely available. However, integratedmultimodal personal navigation and informationsystems, which provide bespoke and tailored travelassistance anywhere and at any time, remain anaspiration. An underlying information infrastructure isyet to be established that will allow real-timeintegration across all transport services and options.

Advances in information, computing andcommunication technology are ushering in the era ofpervasive computing where computers will in essence

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disappear into the fabric of everyday life [13, 14]. As aresult, everything and everyone will be connectedthrough wireless networks. The whole environmentswill be sensitive, adaptive and responsive to individualcapabilities, needs, habits, gestures and even emotions[15–17]. Accordingly, pervasive computing have thepotential to change transport infrastructure radically,allowing real-time monitoring of transport networksand services, and providing travellers with timely,personalised and accurate information services [18].The user will no longer need to search disparatesources of information for the most appropriate traveloption, but instead will receive context-aware andpersonalised travel information and support.

This vision of fully connected and pervasiveinformation systems is a component of the futuretransport system envisaged by the recently publishedreport by the Foresight Directorate of the UKgovernments’ Office of Science and Technology,Intelligent Infrastructure Systems study whichexplored in detail the implications of science andtechnology over the next 50 years [19, 20]. To

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understand the potential impact of such future travellerinformation systems (F-TIS), we developed amethodology to investigate a number of key issuesthat need to be addressed and researched in an effortto better understand the effectiveness of futureinformation delivery. These include: user perception,user acceptance and the impact on the use of publictransport as an alternative to the car. Such issues arecore elements of an ongoing debate between policymakers, system developers and transport serviceproviders in relation to the benefits of investing infuture traveller information services [21].

2 Evaluation through userparticipationEvaluations of information systems can be conducted fora number of purposes: to explore the usability of asystem and its interface [22–27], or as in this case, toassess the potential impact of a system on userattitudes and reactions. Rossi et al. [28] describe aneffective evaluation as requiring an accuratedescription of the system performance and userparticipation as a means of assessing the potentialvalue of the system. Although tests can be conductedwith respect to defined specifications of systembehaviour, evaluation through user participationpermits the use of the system to be observed and userperceptions explored based on their actual experienceof and interaction with the system in context. Here,we use the term user experience to capture thespecific notions of knowledge and satisfaction gainedthrough the use of traveller information systems(TIS). The evaluation of our notion of user experiencerequires the consideration of a number of factors:current use of TIS, current mode choices with respectto journey types, perceptions of F-TIS, likely use ofF-TIS and potential impact of F-TIS on the use ofpublic transport.

2.1 Review of evaluation methodologies

Evaluation can be performed either in the relativelycontrolled environment of a development lab or in thefield [29].

2.1.1 Field studies: In a field study, a minimallyfunctioning prototype of the system needs to bedeployed in the target environment (or one verysimilar) [7, 22, 30–35]. The principal advantage offield studies is that they allow the use of the realtransport networks and direct observation of userswithin genuine travel scenarios. Hence, field studieshave the advantage of ecological validity, both in thefact that users are less conscious of their participationin the study (and the impact this has on theirbehaviour) and in the spatial and temporal constraintsto which they are subject. The term ecological validity

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indicates the degree of the closeness of the testenvironment to the actual environment in which thesystem is used. Hence, field studies emphasise theimportance of a high-fidelity user experience [12, 29]and admit the study of actual information needs,reactions to information provided and genuine journeychoices. The term high fidelity of user experiencerefers to a realistic representation of the factors thatimpact on user experience.

However, a consequence of ecological validity is thatrigorous field studies are problematic to conduct. Froma methodological perspective, because of the lack ofcontrol over certain elements of the study, significanteffort is required to distinguish the root causes ofjourney-making choices. In addition to characteristicsof the subjects and the journeys themselves, fieldstudies incorporate many additional environmental andcontextual factors (e.g. unexpected changes in weathercondition or incidental events such as receiving aphone call). Furthermore, the physical design of theinformation provided and a subject’s past experienceof travel information (and travel information systems)also influence the decision-making process. Althougheach of these factors could influence travellerbehaviour, resource constraints mean thatexperimenters must use their experience in judgingwhich need to be considered in detail [12, 29].Previously, even detailed studies of TIS took littleaccount of environmental and contextual factors in thedata collection and analysis [32].

In addition to direct observation, field studies usuallyemploy travel diaries in which participants self-reporttheir travel choices and TIS usage. By comparingbehaviour before and after the use, the impact of aproposed system can be isolated. However, the use oftravel diaries can give rise to factors that interferewith the ecological validity of a field study, in thatparticipants feel somewhat burdened by the reportingrequirements which in turn lead to depressed TIS useas participants attempt to reduce the lengths of entriesin their diaries [30].

In general, studies conducted in the field enable high-fidelity user experience and reliable and valid datacollection, but tend to be time consuming, complex,costly and labour intensive. Therefore alternativemethodologies for conducting studies under controlledlab-based evaluation have been developed.

2.1.2 Lab-based studies: In lab-based studies,participants are taken out of their normal livingenvironment to take part in controlled tests, often ina lab or simply a quiet room [29]. By standardisingand controlling the environment, lab-based studies aredeliberately designed to ensure that subjects areexposed to exactly the same experimental conditions

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[36]. In some situations, a lab-based study can bethe only option. For example, if real-worldimplementations of new generation TIS technologiesare impossible, or available resources are insufficient,this would limit the evaluation to be conducted in labenvironments.

In lab-based studies, the performance of systems isnormally demonstrated by either paper-based scenariosor computer-based simulations. These methods providea low cost but highly portable means by which to testspecific issues of behavioural concerns that are difficultto capture with conventional survey techniques, or thatcannot be adequately observed in the real world [37].However, paper-based scenarios provide little dynamiccontext within which the system is intended to be usedand thus there are few opportunities for subjects tointeract with the system. Therefore such methods areuseful for exploring conceptual designs or to explorethe impact of pre-trip information on travel choices [8],but they are not suitable for studies in which dynamiccontext and user interactions are important, such aswhen investigating the impact of en route, timely andcontext-based information delivery on travel choices.Computer-based simulations have been extensivelydeveloped to provide viable alternatives to create theintended contexts and demonstrate improved systemperformance in laboratories during the past decade,which provides a highly portable and easily reproducedplatform to explore user experience [29, 37]. Aphysical visit to the target environment is no longernecessary for participants. However, the maindisadvantage of such methods is that they requiresignificant effort to generate content and high-levelprogramming support (for the simulation to be efficientand robust). When compared with field studies, lab-based studies are generally easier to control, quickerand less expensive to establish. However, they areartificial and are perceived as such by subjects [38].This may influence the way users behave. On balance,there is always a need to weigh the costs and benefitsof a field study and a lab-based study.

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The challenge of this research is to investigate userbehaviour and perceptions to a technology that doesnot yet exist on the street. Conducting a field studywith a fully implemented or even just a partiallyimplemented system would be extremely difficult,high priced and time consuming. Therefore a home-built future environment to evaluate F-TIS has beendeveloped and termed ‘immersive video’.

2.2 Methodology: immersive video

We have developed a system, namely immersive video,to facilitate all aspects of the evaluation required for thisresearch. Immersive video system consists of threecomponents: (1) an immersive display to recreate thesense of being in the target environment; (2) ademonstration of the F-TIS services and (3) a wizardsystem.

2.2.1 Immersive display: Using an immersive displayto provider viewers a sense of being at the site has beenproposed on a number of occasions as an alternativeform of presentations to traditional paper-basedscenarios and computer-based simulations [39–42]. Inour study, a scenario was firstly selected to becharacteristic of the intended use of F-TIS; thisincluded 16 decision-making points (key locations)along the route of a real public transport journey. Ateach of the key locations, three video cameras werelined up on a metal bracket to capture the actualscene and surrounding sounds from a first-personperspective (Fig. 1).

Then we replayed the 16 sets of footage captured ateach key location on the same number of screens setup in the lab. Each set of footage represented arealistic mock-up of one key location and gave thesubject a feeling of being surrounded by pedestrians,streets, vehicles, buildings, urban animals and ambientsounds (Fig. 2). This enabled a test subject in the labto experience the sights and sounds of the keylocations he or she was being taken to on his/her

Figure 1 Locating cameras

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virtual journey. Corresponding F-TIS were provided tothe subject on a personal device at the same time.

2.2.2 Demonstration of F-TIS: The correspondingF-TIS were pre-defined in the scenario and detailedfor each key location, which included: (A) journeyduration, (B) walking time, (C) in-vehicle time, (D)travel costs, (E) context-based travel alerts, (F)personal navigation, (G) image of the route and publictransport vehicles, (H) information on comfort, (I)information on convenience, (J) information on eventsand point of interests and (K) automatic journeyre-planning when change occurs. The changes in thesubject’s contexts were also pre-understood. Hence, itwas decided that, instead of physically implementingsensors to actually respond to the users’ requests inthe lab, the input and feedback mechanisms wereprepared beforehand. Graphical user interface (GUI)using text, pictures, graphics and icons were designedto represent F-TIS types of services at each of the 16key locations (Fig. 3 – the image on the right-handside is a video shot of the set of footage captured at13th key location, whereas the image on the left-handside is the GUI which represents the correspondingF-TIS for 13th key location).

Figure 2 A subject stands in the middle of the cave-basedimmersive display formed by three screens

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Traveller information services and personal travelsupport for the videoed scenarios were demonstratedto subjects through two personal devices: a wearabledisplay (WD) and a personal digital assistant (PDA)based on the availability of equipments (Figs. 4 and 5).A WD was used in the evaluation of travelinformation in a more ambient manner. Theinformation displayed on the mini-screen of the WDwas determined by a subject’s location (in the videosimulation) alone. By contrast, the PDA is not only aninformation source, but is a fully interactive tool thatallows the user to gain more information by using theonscreen prompts and clickable icons.

2.2.3 Wizard: Positional information was collectedusing sensors such as global positioning system (GPS)and Bluetooth tags to define each of the key locations,as well as the corresponding traveller information (i.e.the GUIs) at each location. Bluetooth values wereused for indoor locations (e.g. home and on-board).GPS values were used for outdoor locations. OneeXtensible Markup Language (XML) file was createdfor each location by specifying its unique sensorvalue(s) and the reachable locations from this state.

The 16 sets of video footage were arranged into thecorrect sequence as one undertook the journey in thereal world and were fed into a wizard system viaXML files. The subject’s location was controlled bythe experimenter through the use of a wizard controlpanel (Fig. 6) which changed the video being playedaccording to the notional location of the subject.Traveller information displayed on the PDA at eachlocation was synchronised with the video footagethrough the use of same sensor values for each location.

3 StudyTwenty-one local people were recruited as participants,8 males and 13 females. The participants included arepresentative mixture of ages and economic status(Fig. 7), with some qualifications: (1) there were

Figure 3 Immersive display and demonstration of F-TIS services at location 13

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Figure 4 Wearable display

more female participants than male in the study; (2)female participants were relative younger than maleand (3) female participants had higher level ofeducation than male participants.

3.1 Perceived usefulness of F-TIS types ofservices

Participants were presented with the list of servicesprovided by F-TIS. In the immersive video trials,participants used most of these services while makinga virtual journey. A face-to-face interview using a pre-designed questionnaire was carried out. Participantsexpressed their perceived usefulness of the informationservices immediately after their use of thedemonstrated F-TIS. All participants emphasised thatthe usefulness of the services mainly depended ontheir familiarity with the journey. Because of a smallsample size, we have to admit that differences amongvarious age groups, levels of education and economic

Figure 5 Personal digital assistant

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status are unlikely to be recognised. This will betestified in some additional trials in 2008. Genderdifferences emerged on the attitudes towards F-TISservices. Female participants expressed the need formore assistance in travelling or were more open tothe use of additional information than maleparticipants (Table 1).

Examples of services that are delivered in response toa user’s context include ‘automatic re-planning ofjourneys when changes occurs’, ‘personal navigationinformation based upon current location’ and ‘travelalerts’. Such services require a system to collectdetailed contextual information about a user, and as aresult there is a debate over the significance of privacyconcerns. In fact, a lively discussion with participantsarose in relation to the trade-off between privacy andthe level of bespoke services available to them.Participant broadly accepted that a system should beaware where they were, where they were heading,what the purpose of the journey was, and what theconstraints were in order to receive such timely andunprompted travel assistance.

Participants were positive about the automatic journeyre-planning capabilities, which simply requested the userto confirm his/her new destination. Indeed, this servicewas considered ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’ by allparticipants regardless of their familiarity with thejourney. Participants were further questioned aboutwhether they would like to receive information on‘delays and alternative departure times and mode/route

Figure 6 Wizard control panel

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choices’. All considered that information on ‘delays andalternative departure times’ was useful or very usefulbecause they allowed better time management. All butone stated that information on ‘delays and alternativemode/route choices’ was useful or very useful only ifthey were travelling by public transport, particularlythose who travelled by car most of the time. Moststressed that if they had started a journey with the car,they would prefer to stay with their car, and alternativemode choices would only be considered acceptable inthe event of severe delays and the alternative was‘extremely’ convenient.

All participants stated that personal navigation wasonly useful or very useful for travelling in unfamiliarareas, but not in familiar areas. However, its utilitywas clearly observed during the participants’ use ofthe system. For example, one travel option, which themajority of participants had never used in reality, wasthe QuayLink bus. As a result, there was a generaluncertainty about where to take the bus upon leavingone of the metro stations (Monument metro station).The route (from the Monument metro station to theTheatre Royal bus stop) and the locations (of the

Figure 7 Participants’ age and gender

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metro station and the bus stop) were clearly markedon the map and were used by all participants.

Participants were surprised by the timely andcontext-based ‘travel alerts’. All but two femaleparticipants considered it a useful service even fortravelling in familiar areas, particularly for publictransport journeys. Further discussions raised thepossibility that timely and targeted travel alerts couldallow participants to concentrate on non-travelactivities without the anxiety that they sometimessuffer at present (with regard to missing buses andtrains). Participants clearly recognised and welcomedthese advantages. Information on ‘journey duration’,‘walking time’, ‘in-vehicle time’, ‘travel costs’ and‘real-time traffic conditions’ have already beenassessed for web-based TIS. However, in this scenario,such information was delivered to a mobile personaldevice and updated in real time. Most participantsthought that such information would be useful whenunexpected changes occur; although others questionedits basic utility since once a journey was embarkedupon it had to be completed regardless of the delay.

Over half the participants stated that they were notinterested in receiving ‘information on comfort’,‘images of the route/vehicle’ and ‘information on eventsand points of interest’ when deciding how to travel.They were more concerned about ‘information onconvenience’. Once again, this demonstrates that theease and efficiency of making the journey is a moreimportant factor in travel choice than issues such ascomfort, the weather and type of vehicle used.

3.2 Likely use of F-TIS

The participants reported that their use of F-TIS, ingeneral, would depend on two factors: journeyfamiliarity and journey constraints. They believed thatthey would be more likely to use the services for

Table 1 Mean value of participants’ perceived usefulness of the future TIS services

Sex Value A B C D E F G H I J K

M valid 8 8 8 8 7 8 8 8 8 8 7

missing 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

mean 3.14 3.00 2.71 3.00 3.43 2.86 2.14 2.29 2.86 2.71 3.57

std. dev. 1.07 1.00 1.25 0.577 0.55 0.690 1.21 0.951 0.378 0.756 0.516

F valid 13 13 13 13 12 13 13 13 13 12 12

mission 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1

mean 3.23 2.92 3.31 3.38 3.31 3.00 2.62 1.77 3.00 3.15 3.85

std. dev. 0.725 0.862 0.751 0.650 0.99 1.29 1.12 1.01 1.08 0.835 0.389

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undertaking an untypical journey in a familiar area, afamiliar journey with time constraint, or when travellingin an unfamiliar area. However, some informationservices were regarded as useful regardless of thefamiliarity and the constraints of the journey. Three offourteen participants claimed that they would use thesystem for commuting to work, one of seven for goingto school/college, seven of eighteen for personalbusiness trips, seven of twenty for visiting friends andfamily and eight of twenty for travelling to a leisure orentertainment event.

Of those participants who were in employment, allstated that they would use the system for work-related business trips. One female participant believedthat she would use the system for every journeyand the use of such a system while travelling couldbecome a habit. However, one male participantthought that he would not use the system for journeysat a national scale (because of his personal familiaritywith the national transport networks). Another maleparticipant claimed that he would only use the systemfor work-related business trips. The majority ofparticipants believed that they would use the systemfor going on holiday and going on a day trip becausevery likely they would not be familiar with the area.Most participants also believed that they would usethe system for travelling to public transport terminalsbecause of the time constraints or a better timemanagement.

3.3 Potential impacts on the use of publictransport

The trials have established a framework for evaluatinguser perceptions of future traveller information byestablishing a synthetic environment in which F-TIScan be tested before full prototype systems are built.From the evaluations, it can be seen that about half ofthe participants believed that the services provided bythe F-TIS, as illustrated in the immersive videoenvironment, would be likely to encourage them tomake more use of public transport locally. Most of theother half of the participants stated that they did usepublic transport regularly. However, the majority ofparticipants considered that F-TIS would certainlyencourage them to make more use of public transportwhen travelling in unfamiliar areas. Furthermore, thefollowing benefits of F-TIS were recognised byparticipants: (1) enhance their confidence in usingpublic transport; (2) make public transport journeyeasier and less stressful and (3) always allow them tobe aware of the relevant public transport options.Nevertheless, participants pointed out that if they hadstarted their journey with their car, they would preferto finish the journey with the car, particularly for achained journey combined with a number of purposesor intermediate stops before arriving at the final

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destination. They would switch to public transportchoices only when information on delays orcongestions could be received before they got into thetraffic jam and if the alternative options wereextremely convenient.

4 ConclusionsThe Transport Operation Research Group at NewcastleUniversity is developing a significant number oftechnologies and scenarios to investigate how andwhat future ITS technologies could have a significantimpact on our next generation transport systemsand networks. In developing a new approach toprototyping such systems for pervasive informationdelivery in a way that the user is immersed in thejourney, while in the lab a new potentially powerfultool for rapidly texting new ICT technologies andtheir transport applications has been presented here.Our experience has shown that many useful insightscan be gained both from user feedback about futuretraveller information services and the immersive videosystem. In the reported trial, 21 participants weretaken through the immersive video experience of apublic transport journey using a hypothetical F-TISscenario. Significant advantages were apparent in themanner that the immersive video contextualisedthe tasks (as confirmed in reports by the participants)and the design of GUIs sufficiently demonstrated theperformance of F-TIS services (without the need todeploy a sensor infrastructure in the lab). The use ofthe information system to support personal travel hasbeen achieved. Subjects reported their opinions,attitudes and likely use of F-TIS based on their ownexperience, whereas the experimenters directlyobserved user reactions towards the system. Ourexperience has shown that immersive video has thepotential to become a promising evaluation and designtool for future systems.

The results indicate that, in general, F-TIS wasperceived as a useful system and the demand for F-TIStypes of services could be high – willingness to paywill be tested in a future round of evaluation. Some ofthe functionalities of F-TIS were appealing to amajority of participants. Moreover, it has beenrecognised that F-TIS has the potential to successfullysell public transport services since it would enhancethe confidence in using public transport, easetravelling with public transport and enable people tobe aware of the relevant and viable public transportoptions all the time. The results also suggest thatF-TIS need to cooperate with traffic managementpolicies and local transport plans, such as road usecharge, parking restriction, public transport priority,e-ticketing via smart card or better facilities on publictransport vehicles and terminals to be more effective.Obviously, one limitation of this research is that we

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provided the triallists with our vision of what pervasivefuture traveller information could incorporate. As weunderstand the power and potential for embedded,pervasive and personal computing devices, the visionof what a F-ITS scenario could be will alter, however,the framework for the evaluation of this using rapidprototyping and immersive video ensures we have atool to evaluate these diverging futures.

5 AcknowledgmentsThe authors wish to thank the School of CivilEngineering and Geosciences (CEG) in NewcastleUniversity which funded this research, and gratefullyacknowledge the support and contribution from PhilHeslop, Alasdair Sherit, Daniel Jackson, RickFairchild, Paul Dunphy, Liangliang Shi, John Shearer,David Green, Phil James, Hannah Bryan, SimonEdwards, Corinne Mulley and Stephen Scott.

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