Navigating in three dimensions
The EU's Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme is always looking to catalyse new technologies, turning them into real-world products and services. The TELLMARIS project is a prime example. Gathering together competencies in the latest database, geopositioning and visualisation techniques, the TELLMARIS consortium constructed unique three-dimensional models of cities. The purpose of the 3-D models is to enhance navigation and information services for people on the go. The models embody a new type of location-based service. The 3-D maps are more user-friendly than typical 2-D maps currently available. Yet building these maps required the development of a new methodology. The maps are provided to users through mobile devices, such as PDAs and mobile phones. This imposed a limitation on the amount of detail allowable. On the other hand, the model features, buildings and so on, had to be as authentic as possible. This inherent trade-off between level of detail and recognisability was managed by trials with real users and a recursive design process based on their feedback. A 3-D city model for Turku, Finland was created through TELLMARIS. Models for other cities can be constructed based on the new methodology and guidelines. The 3-D models can be integrated into a variety of applications and have the advantage of being supported by a wide range of user platforms. TELLMARIS targeted a mobile-business, or m-business, application related to tourism, but the possibilities are endless. Chalk up another winner for the IST.
