English
These interaction systems invite users such as visitors and citizens in the City to actively participate and get involved in the city development. For this purpose, Beacons and Physical Web over Bluetooth Low Energy are being used as a new medium to interact, access to context-based content and collaborate through your Smart Phone.
This context-driven and opportunistic interaction between users and Smart POIs offer a unique opportunity to engage with citizens. As a difference with classical tourism Apps, installing anything in your phone is never required such as native Apps, you do not need to go through menu, submenus and multiple options to reach the information that you would like about the place that you have in front of you. Smart POIs are context-aware, your location is the driver and it not only provides the classical Wikipedia kind of content, as well an agile experience with tips, insights and the content that you need to enhance your experience.
In details, Smart POIs are supported by the advanced beacons developed by HOP Ubiquitous called Smart Spots. These physical resources are the technology which permits interaction with any Smart phone and multiple physical places. Simply, Smart Spot sends a notification to your Smart Phone inviting you to participate (as a typical SMS or WhatsApp notification). This notification grants you access to the Web App which enables interaction with the multimedia content.
HOP Ubiquitous has used these Smart Spots as a project of citizen co-creation, generating a platform which allows for projects validation and opening a suggestion box in Aarhus, Denmark (visit www.siidi.eu for more details).
Additionally, Smart Spots have multiple applications, such as local trade impulse, promotion of touristic points and infotainment. Smart Spots are also equipped with environmental monitoring capabilities such as temperature, gases emission, humidity, noise, ground-borne vibration and even city luminosity. These devices make easy the management and maintenance of the different energy sources of the city, and this contributes to the sustainability and resource optimization.
Smart Spots are integrated into the surroundings through design enclosures built with natural materials which have strength and durability. They are designed by HOP Ubiquitous, the design is oriented to optimize their lifetime to the maximum in outdoor conditions, at the same time as they offer a compact size and organic design for its seamless integration with the city.
Learn more and discover how this technology is helping to co-create in Aarhus, Denmark, where It will be available until 27th February in the coming post.