There are many other application examples that use the ubiquitous location information infrastructure aside from the ones already introduced in earlier sections. There is also an important trend among local governments to prepare a common framework so that they can offer services based on the infrastructure jointly. Here, we introduce the latest topics related to the ubiquitous location information infrastructure and some examples that you can try for yourself.
Information Grand Voyage "Puratto Plat"
In the Information Grand Voyage Project "Field-Testing of Next Generation Information Retrieval/Analysis," the space with highly added value, called "e-Space" is built using ucode, ucR (ucode Relation), and other technologies. The feasibility study of a system that offers mobile-environment support information "only for now, only for here, and only for you" and triggers action of visitors is performed by building a real pilot system, e-Space service "Puratto Plat." This project develops a database called "e-Space repository" to store and manage information about space and its related information (content) in a unified manner. Using this repository, we will perform feasibility studies in three distinctive areas (Jiyugaoka, Fukuoka, and Matsuyama) by handling the special features and issues of the regions appropriately.
Furusato Foundation
As part of the "e-Regional Resource Utilization Project," Japan Foundation For Regional Vitalization (commonly called Furusato Foundation) consolidates information (content) that each local government or tourist area has. The Foundation also promotes the establishment of the "Ubiquitous Common Platform" to share and publish information on common themes such as literature, history, and hot springs, cooperating with the local community. This fiscal year, we plan to disseminate tourist information in eight regions using this platform. We plan to further expand other application services after the next fiscal year.
Ubiquitous Art Tour®, Tokyo Midtown
Ubiquitous Art Tour, a service to guide visitors to more than 20 works of arts and design on the premises of Tokyo Midtown. About five hundred infrared and radio ubiquitous markers are placed indoors and outdoors on the premises. Ubiquitous Communicator (UC) terminal held by the visitor receives ucode emitted by these markers and guides the visitor to the works of arts, and supply the content such as the explanation, how the work was created, and the interview of the creators. There are seven tour courses and visitors are guided to the works of arts in the selected course one by one. The supplied contents are available in five languages, Chinese, English, French, Japanese and Korean. If you have a chance to visit Tokyo Midtown, please try the tour.
- Fees
¥1,000 (¥500 for a rental fee and ¥500 for a deposit*)
- It is a reimbursable deposit and paid back when a terminal is returned. For a deposit, we accept only cash, and no payments by credit cards are accepted.
Please show your ID card(s) (driver's license, passport, health insurance card or student identification card) when renting a terminal ("Ubiquitous Communicator"). A guest without ID card(s) may not be able to rent a terminal.
- Recommended age
Junior high school students or older.
- Elementally school students or youngers should be accompanied by their parent(s).
- Check-in counter
Tokyo Midtown Tour Counter located within "Tokyo Midtown Design Shop" on 3F of Galleria
- Rental hours
Up to 2 hours
- Batteries will exhaust after approximately two hours, the longest assumable tour hours.
- Operating hours
11:00-18:00
- Guests can rent a terminal until 18:00 and should be returned to the Tour Counter by 20:00.
Aomori Museum of Art : Art Museum Ubiquitous Guide System
"Art Museum Ubiquitous Guide System" service is being provided at Aomori Museum of Art. This system is an integration of infrared indoor location management system SmartLocator® by NEC and NEC Engineering Corporation and Ubiquitous Communicator (UC) terminal. The visitors carry UC rent by the museum to receive ucode transmitted from SmartLocator installed at approximately 70 locations in the museum ceiling to be automatically guided on the route, and to view the contents such as explanation of artworks, authors and museum information.
Isetan
I Garden on the roof of Isetan headquarters in Shinjuku provides a ubiquitous guide for children. UC is lent to general visitors to acquire the information on the environment and plants by attaching it to the IC tag installed throughout the garden. Quizes on plants and the environment are particularly popular among children.
Ueno Onshi Zoological Garden
Ueno Onshi Zoological Garden introduces the guide system for general visitors. Various types of information on animals are being provided with radio wave markers installed in sixteen locations and IC tags installed in hundred-forty locations around the premises. Descriptions by General Director Komiya and video of rarely seen animal behavior are popular.
The Kyoto Botanical Garden
The Kyoto Botanical Garden carried out a feasibility study of the guide system that provides information on valuable flowers, plants and trees, facilities, and events in the garden targeting general visitors in the last fiscal year. Plant contents related to the famous novel, "The Tale of Genji", were added and the system was partially improved this fiscal year with trial operation from October through December. Since the botanical garden guide includes the history and inside story of the botanical garden and detailed description on plants by General Director Matsutani, it is very popular and a wide variety of people from children to seniors use the guide.
Tsuwano Sightseeing Navigation
In Tsuwano, the service to provide sightseeing information or useful tips to tourists is being offered.
Association for Ubiquitous Space Infrastructure Promotion/Feasibility Study in Kobe
The Association for Ubiquitous Space Infrastructure Promotion has engaged in activities aiming to establish infrastructure which can be widely used by companies and consumers by linking information on various "spaces" to various attribute information on the spaces as infrastructure for ubiquitous networking society since FY 2006. A study with Kobe City as the testing site was performed to confirm the usability of the 'u-delivery' model for two weeks from February 4, 2008 as a tangible feasibility study in FY 2007. A feature of this study is that it is possible to specify delivery conditions and locations in detail such as the floor, room, and place within a company by defining a space code that is more detailed than the current ZIP code and address for the delivered item so that we can deliver the item to a specific place rather than just delivering the item to the reception desk of the specified company in the specified building.
In addition, the feasibility study of "Tebura Kanko (Sightseeing Without Luggage)" is scheduled to be implemented in FY 2008. Three major features of "Tebura Kanko" are: 1) It is possible to deliver items purchased by tourists staying one or more nights in Kobe City to their hotels in Kobe without using delivery slips, 2) It is possible to easily specify the delivery location and conditions in the delivery instructions to the hotel such as "I would like to eat this item tonight so I would like it to be placed in the refrigerator in my room.", 3) It is possible to conceal personal information from delivery companies and maintain privacy in 1) and 2) with the cooperation of major hotels, delivery companies, and local shopping areas, and by use of the space codes mentioned earlier.
The University of Tokyo: Universal Guidance System
The demonstration of "Universal Guidance System" was conducted in 2007 as part of 130th anniversary celebration of the University of Tokyo. With this as a start, "Universal Guidance System", which helps the visually-challenged in moving on the campus, was introduced. This system guides the visually-challenged with voice guidance by reading the IC tag embedded in guidance blocks using the sensor mounted at the tip of a white cane or by receiving radio waves from the wireless markers installed in the surrounding area. In addition to the route from the main gate of Hongo Campus to the Yasuda Auditorium, which had been prepared for the anniversary celebration in 2007, the route to Koshiba Hall and Sanjyo conference Hall was newly prepared in 2008. The University of Tokyo is planning to expand the area as part of planned enhancement of barrier-free premises.
Togoshi-Ginza
"The 11th Togoshi-Ginza Ubiquitous Event (Organizer: Masami Kobayashi Laboratory, Meiji University)" was held over two days on August 30th and 31st, 2008. This event was held as a feasibility study in order to verify the ideal way for providing information with ucodes and the effect on visitors from the viewpoint of ubiquitous computing technology use in city planning. In detail, ucodeQR was installed throughout the Togoshi-Ginza shopping area in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo. Points were given to shoppers for finding and reading the ucodeQR with their cellular phones and the shoppers received awards according to the amount points earned. The aim of the organizer was to provide feedback based on the results to public space planning, public facility planning, sign planning, and transportation planning, etc. in order to assist city planning. In addition, the organizer is investigating the implementation of a ubiquitous society feasibility study on disaster prevention and crime prevention at Togoshi-Ginza shopping area in the future.
