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1.4.4. Low interactivity

Automatic control

In many LBS applications users do not want to manually select information, but rather want the service to choose what information is relevant to them in given context. Different methods exist to decide when to inform an user about information and how to present the information in appropriate manners. Usually automated control is configured through specific events occurring. These include, changes in the user's location, changes in the location of an asset that a user is interested in, receipt of new information, or the discovery of information that might be relevant and interesting to an user.

Geofencing

Geofencing involves defining boundaries that are important to the user or service provider. When the user enters or leaves a boundary they are alerted.
The image shows a set of geofences marked on a city map that might be used to inform a user who is a tourist about the particular characteristics of the neighbourhoods they define.

Geofences are often used to define hazardous regions or restricted area. For example, an area with a risk of avalanches or an natural area that is especially sensitive to disturbance by people walking in it. A further use is for managing assets and people. A parent might define a geofence around themselves so that if their child move outside it they are alerted. A vehicle carrying hazardous materials might use geofences to avoid areas that would be the worst affected if they had an accident.

Geofencing is increasingly being used in workplaces to locations of employees, such as in warehouses and supply centers. On the one hand these can allow employees to be more effective, making their working lives easier and safer. For example, a geofence around a ship might alert the crew if someone is washed overboard. However, the technology can also be used to monitor staff in more sinister ways, for example recording how often they have been to the toilet or restricting their movement to a few designated zones. (Blakemore 2005) and (Dobson et al. 2003) provide informing discussions of such pitfalls of geofencing and its related technologies.

Automatated levels of detail

In location based service for car navigation the driver requires different views of information at different times. (Timpf et al. 2003) suggest there are 3 levels at which the task is carried out.

  • The planning level - planning a journey requires information about where the driver is and where they want to get to, what are the main places they will pass through and what are the main roads they with transit.
  • The instructional level - during the journey the driver needs information about the locations of decision points and the roads between these.
  • The driving level - At decision points the driver needs detailed information about the actions they must take, for example which exit to leave and which lane they need to be in.

Services can assist the driver in these tasks by selecting the most appropriate spatial scope and visualisation automatically according to the drivers location within their journey. At the planning stage a conventional north-up topographic map might be most appropriate. At the instructional stage a view taking in the perspective of the driver is often employed. This will highlight their remaining route and destination, and the major places and roads relevant to driver that are nearby. As well as being oriented in the direction the driver is headed the view might also be tilted planametrically to give a more intuitive feel of distances. Alternatively, instructions can be instead described through speech. Here, each description chunks information together along the journey legs. This has the advantage of the distraction to the driver.

At decision points, often highly schematised information is most appropriate, that describes simple the structure of the juntion and the manouver that needs to be made there. For example, a roundabout shown with arrows indicating the entry and exit points.



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