EXTRAMS: Exploiting Traditional Map Signage with Mobile Devices

There is an interesting contrast between mobile maps, e.g. Google maps, Nokia maps, etc. and traditional You-Are-Here (YAH) maps - the kind that appear situated at particular places, e.g. a trailhead for walkers, a town centre or a university campus and explicitly indicate the position of the map reader. One difference between the two is that YAH maps are very much designed for the anticipated task that is likely to occur at the place where they are situated. For example, the map at a trailhead will typically not be simply a reproduction of an Ordinance Survey map of the local area but a representation that increases the salience of the trails and landmarks that may be more relevant to the walker. The YAH map is still likely to be 'Northed' but may be more sketch-like or 'low fidelity' in its design and certain liberties may have been taken with the map's scale. Indeed, even the choice of what area to cover on the YAH map is something that will have been considered by its designer based on the anticipated requirements of the map reader at the site of the map's location.It is not difficult to imagine scenarios in which a hiker arrives at a YAH map at a trailhead, and attempts to make a mental sketch of the map or even a physical sketch. Of course, the walker may or may not be carrying the relevant OS map (and one would certainly hope so if a serious walk was being considered) or have access to a separate GPS device or even a mobile maps application running on her personal GPS-enabled mobile phone. But the image on the YAH map will still be a useful one for the walker to carry away to assist her navigation.One way in which the hiker can 'walk away' with this YAH map is to 'capture' the YAH map by taking a photo of it with her camera phone and then refer to this image en route, the map image effectively remaining as a static artefact. Another approach, however, would be to utilise the context of the capture (i.e. the latitude and longitude coordinates of the location of the YAH map obtained from the mobile phone's built-in GPS) in order to transform the image into a georeferened image. This would effectively produce a mobile map but one based on the YAH map design and so perhaps more useful for the hiker's task at hand than the generic map that would appear if the hiker performed a download using Google or Nokia maps.The central aim of this research is to explore this new paradigm, to understand the way in which mobile phones can provide a useful and usable facility by supporting the capture, georeferencing and display of traditional YAH map signage and the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) issues associated with this interaction.