RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE DESIGN OF MLBS APPLICATIONS

References: 14th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2014, www.sgem.org, SGEM2014 Conference Proceedings, ISBN 978-619-7105-12-4 / ISSN 1314-2704, June 19-25, 2014, Book 2, Vol. 3, 807-814 pp

ABSTRACT
Despite the continuing improvements of handheld devices and wireless networks for mLBS applications, their capabilities will never truly compare to those of desktop computers and wired networks in terms of technology, specifically - their display (e.g. smaller screens), interaction (e.g. slower input controls) and performance (e.g. lower transmission rates). Therefore, the main question would be how to improve the usefulness of handheld devices through which mLBS applications communicate by using geovisualization. This research has multiple objectives: to compare and evaluate alternative types of cartographic representation, presentation and interaction techniques for the mLBS medium, to compare the usefulness of modern navigation software, to trial and assess the effectiveness of the UCD methodology in improving the usefulness of mLBS applications, and to make general recommendations for creating useful mLBS applications. Geospatial information nowadays involve the delivery of highly functional and interactive digital cartographic products and its associated content to mobile users in an easily portable format by using current technologies still growing more advanced, and wireless cartographic services, which utilize the mobile Internet, along with the location of handheld devices. All that in order to deliver personalized applications to users, which would exploit pertinent geospatial information about a user’s surrounding environment, their proximity to other entities in space (e.g. people, places), and/or distant entities (e.g. future destinations), in real-time.

Keywords: navigation, mLBS, presentation, visualization, usage