A mobile navigation services platform developed by 11 Taiwanese universities will allow travelers to travel light if they have a smartphone on hand, developers of the platform said on Friday, one year into the system’s development.
The platform combines a wireless Internet network, a Global Positioning System, an electronic map navigation system, a Web 2.0 interface and a multimedia data bank, allowing users to download data and information on a tourist attraction’s cultural and historic features and suggested itineraries.
With the new platform, developed through the cooperation of teachers and students in information engineering and cultural science departments around Taiwan, users will no longer need tour guides and maps, a professor who helped develop the system said.
“Are you planning to visit Fongtien Village [豐田] in Hualien County? You can download related data before setting off, or let the GPS take you there before downloading data that tells you about the history of the village,” National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) professor Huang Chung-ming (黃崇明) said.
Travelers can also see photos that show old and modern faces of the historic town that was colonized by the Japanese in the first half of the 20th century, Huang said.
However, the developers of the project would not say when the project would be completed and the device released on the market.
The project was initiated by the Ministry of Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, NCKU, National Dong Hwa University and National Chiayi University.
RSS