General Direction of Project

Concept Exploration

The proposed concepts will deal with a few technologies which will be underlined below. The following text will explain how technologies, primarily Global Positioning, are being used today, and how they can be used to develop a revolutionary product in the future.

Development of Global Positioning

One of the favorite devices of the Millennials is the Global Positioning System, a technology that allows users to identify where they are located in their environment at anytime possible. The GPS unit also gives information on restaurants and hotels along with attractions in the vicinity, as well as travel time, and a load of other pre-installed functions. Many manufacturers are also beginning to see the need to attract more buyers by adding features to their specific devices due to more attention being payed to smartphones with the same capabilities and more. The GPS manufacturers must now cater to the many other needs of Generation Y, such as the insatiable need for information and the conveniences of having entertainment on the go. Other aspects are also being added to these devices such as Bluetooth capability, and text to voice intelligence. This technology enables many of the users who buy both a cell phone and a GPS unit to collaborate them to perform specific tasks such as drive a car and talk on the phone without the use of a headset, or even read them their favorite eBook while on the go, the face of GPS technology is changing (Cha, 2008). 

The use of GPS has even allowed for better tourism rates for many cities, such as the city of Akko, in Israel, which received a surge in tourism due to the implementation of a GPS system to give information on areas of the city which were going unnoticed to tourists.(Shoval, 2008). It is evident that this is a technology that will inevitably stay with us for a fairly long period of time, but the question remains, are GPS and other locational services being used to their full extent? Probably not.

 

Integration of Wireless Technology

A GPS unit is very similar to a smartphone, they are both built similarly, a screen and usually an small array of buttons or a touch screen interface, all roughly the same size, small enough to fit in your pocket, however, this is probably where the similarities end. 

A GPS unit can give you the directions to a restaurant in the city you have never been to, and so can a Smartphone, however the smartphone probably has a review about that restaurant, and with that smartphone, you could probably call a friend in that city to see if you could stay for the night instead of trying to find a hotel on your GPS, and with your smartphone you could probably learn a little about the mysterious city you are entering rather than a latitude and longitude of your current location. 

So why buy both? Using a Smartphone to access maps and reviews and internet searches cannot be done all in one step, and can often take several, not to mention the need of a data plan, making the Smartphone the more versatile, but much more complicated and expensive solution. 

The GPS unit does its tasks with good accuracy and dependability, and this costs you no monthly fee, and is relatively reliable. The development of GPS units has not slowed, and the market seems to be growing, but this market seems to directed mainly to those who use the devices in their car to navigate from place to place (Cha, 2008). 

A need for GPS units for those who are often not in cars, or use public transportation is evident, allowing for a new market to be cornered.

There is a great opportunity to amalgamate the two technologies into one very powerful piece of equipment, whether an all-in-one, or an accessory that can be used with any phone, that takes into account location, networking and information to deliver a variety of experiences. This unity between both technologies may make 

The Use of Existing Technology

Bluetooth is a standard on almost every wireless device made today. The technology allows for a ‘handshake’ to be made between a device and an accessory, such as a wireless headset, or even connectivity with another phone(Bisdikian, 2000). This technology is already being used in conjunction with GPS units. This exchange of information through wireless means will allow for a variety of different combinations of products, giving a diverse range of experiences.

Digital compasses are also a new technology that enables people to find direction using a smartphone with technology such as magnetometers. Often when using a GPS, it is easy to find out where you are, but not what direction you are facing. The use of a digital compass, along with using wireless technology and GPS, will enable users to decipher locations and points of interest simply by looking at them or pointing at them.

The use of WiFi along with RFID and RSS feeds can allow for the simple transfer of information, from news stories to software updates, enabling the user to constantly keep updated on the world around them with out constantly checking and refreshing their webpage or e-mail. This technology will allow a GPS unit to receive information while connecting to the internet for free.

 

Proposed Concepts

Through the help of Research In Motion, this project will attempt to bring together several media and technologies, such as wireless data, GPS and Bluetooth, to deliver a product that accommodates for the needs of the Echo Boomer, while adding an element of fun and interactivity throughout physical and virtual space.

a) Developing a GPS unit that is a useful tool for the pedestrian market would allow for a new dimension for location based services. Through many technological advancements such as Bluetooth and digital compasses, a GPS unit and a smartphone will be able to work in unison to deliver the best of both worlds, the precise location detection of one, and the ability to tap into a wealth of knowledge about said location in the other. This combination could lead to magical experiences with the environments around you, from your hometown to a foreign land.

b) Moving away from a product that primarily uses a screen may be the best way to unite the smartphone and location based service. The use of an accessory, possibly a headset, or headphones, could allow for information to be delivered through audio, enabling the user to carryout their everyday tasks while being informed at the same time. 

Many headphones on the market today also aim to deliver a multitude of sensory pleasure by adding vibration along with sound, such as The Beatz by Dr. Dre developed by Monster(beatsbydre.com, 2009). This addition of physical stimulus is meant to give you a sensation while listening to music that could not be felt unless you were being shaken by the waves of sound themselves.

This use of a physical stimulus will add to the entire sensory experience when enjoying music, and interacting with the environment surrounding you.

c) The positioning system is a wonderful tool to add to the experience one can have with three dimensional space. Using positioning in collaboration with environment can deliver a breadth of ideas for exploration and learning with a multitude of social interactions dealing with points of interest and hot spots. 

A design that may also be applicable to this would be a heads-up display that could be placed on a set of glasses, getting rid of the common BlackBerry prayer. A heads up display would be able to deliver information in realtime while enabling the viewer to see the rest of the world around them. This sort of technology would also facilitate many other forms of entertainment such as socially interactive gaming, and various forms of information services like a personal tour guide.