Home // International Journal On Advances in Intelligent Systems, volume 9, numbers 3 and 4, 2016 // View article
Authors:
Yuko Hiramatsu
Fumihiro Sato
Atsushi Ito
Hiroyuki Hatano
Mie Sato
Yu Watanabe
Akira Sasaki
Keywords: Location-Based Service; BLE Beacon; Local infor- mation; Smartphone Application; World Heritage; Zeigarnik effect
Abstract:
We have developed a new smartphone application for helping tourists using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons. The application not only provides a guide for a specific location but also explains the traditional customs and history of the area. There are several smartphone applications for sightseeing and are usually designed to provide extensive information through photos, detailed explanation and users ’ comments. Such applications are convenient. However, a large amount of information is not always appealing to tourists. If tourists feel that they have to know many things about an area, is the travel attractive anymore? The promise of the unexpected is one of the things that make traveling attractive. Our trials in Nikko, one of the world heritage sites in Japan, demonstrate the effectiveness of the BLE beacon for sightseeing, especially for foreign visitors and young Japanese people, who walk around the area on foot. The application displays information near each beacon. Beacons on the route to the main shrine provide information regarding the local tradition and history of that area. However, the exact location of the beacons is unknown to the tourists before they visit the area. It might be a surprise like an Easter eggs for tourists. Shop owners install beacons in their shops and provide information regarding their products and menus. The people living the area help the tourists engage in local cultural activities, enhancing the tourists ’ experience of a traditional cultural city. In addition, we have created a quiz function focused on specific landscapes. This application is aimed at becoming a gateway to understanding traditional culture. Through trials, it was proved that our service model using smartphone and BLE beacons were very useful to support sightseeing.
Pages: 442 to 451
Copyright: Copyright (c) to authors, 2016. Used with permission.
Publication date: December 31, 2016
Published in: journal
ISSN: 1942-2679