Maps, GPS, and LBS

Roberto Peretta

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers

#08 .:. Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Università degli studi di Bergamo. Area didattica di Lingue e Letterature straniere

Progettazione e gestione dei sistemi turistici / Planning and Management of Tourism Systems

Centro Studi per il Turismo e l’Interpretazione del Territorio (CeSTIT)

IfittItaly

Maps, GPS, and LBSWhat are we talking about, today?

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1. Georeference

2. GPS

3. Google Maps vs. Open Street Maps

4. Foursquare

5. LBS

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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According to Wikipedia, “to georeference something means to define its

existence in physical space.”

Georeference

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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According to Wikipedia, “a geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system

that enables every location on the Earth to be specified by a set of numbers or

letters.”

Longitude and latitude

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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Any place can be defined by its longitude and latitude.

A longitude and a latitude

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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Positions detected through satellites (again just coordinates: longitude and

latitude) are “read” by data systems where thousands of coordinates

of Points of Interest (POIs) have been previously stored – like for Google Maps

or Nokia (now Microsoft) phones.

POIs

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based global navigation

satellite system (GNSS) that provides location and time information in all

weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of

sight to four or more GPS satellites.

It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible by

anyone with a GPS receiver.

Current GPS-based devices include in car navigation systems (like Tom Tom)

and – increasingly – smartphones like the iPhone or Android-based mobile

phones.

There are more than one GNSS. For instance, Europe is developing the Galileo

GNSS, but practically all devices available on the market rely on the American

GPS.

The Global Positioning System

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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or GPS

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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Coordinates can be read, for instance on any browser through Google Maps

(though there are many coordinate systems: coordinates for a location differ in

different systems…)

Coordinates on Google Maps

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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Google Maps is currently the most diffused proprietary map system.

It relies on different providers of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

according to different countries, and is somehow opposed to

Open Street Map, an open source map system.

Google Maps, Open Street Map

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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Foursquare, a social network for mobile users.

Foursquare

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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Foursquare samples - 1

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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Foursquare samples - 2

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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Indeed, there are seamless connections among

locations – tourist locations, too! –

their geographical representation on the Web (on Google Maps, or on

Foursquare …)

and your customers’ smartphones.

This is very interesting from a tourist point of view.

1. Your website can use Google Maps to provide your customers with drive

directions to your business.

2. Destinations can provide location-based information on their heritage and

tourist services.

3. Destinations can provide such location-based info through mobile devices

like smartphones.

Location-Based Services

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014

Maps, GPS, and LBS

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There’s more to be considered.

Proximity. Tourists equipped with up-to-date smartphones can get relevant

information on the POIs they are physically approaching (museums, hotels, etc.),

by the very fact they are approaching them.

Language. Pieces of text designed to deliver information through smartphones

should be devised and written in order to be easily – perhaps automatically –

translatable under different cultures.

Speech. Due to ergonomic limits that are part and parcel with smartphones,

information is likely to be delivered less as readable text than as voice. In the

tourist information world, too, Text-to-Speech may become more popular than it

is today.

(Tablets, however, may be offering a solution to the question posed by

ergonomic limits.)

Proximity, Language, and Speech

UniBg 44111 2014-2015 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. December 3, 2014