IM@GINE IT - Intelligent MobilityAgents, Advanced Positioning and Mapping Technologies, Integrated Interoperable multimodal location based services
Overview
Background & policy context:
While the end user ('passenger') perceives the transport network as infinite and seamless, neither the supply of physical transport services nor the provision of travel information services is in reality close to being so. For this reason the passenger is obliged to an intermodal chain of transport information, as per the physical movement itself.
The ITS industry supporting, or supposed to support, the intermodal transport, on the other hand, is quite segmented, as per geographic boundaries, transport mode (i.e. private vs. public), distribution of content, as well as communication means. Personal end user profiles, differences in culture/language and user interface preferences are rarely taken into consideration. Clearly, there is a need for intelligent and personalised infomobility services, covering the whole travel chain, that is Europe-wide and flexible: IM@GINE IT Project exactly met this need.
Main organisational and technical obstacles today hinder seamless multi-modal services. The most important is the distribution of the necessary partial information, as:
- private traffic databases with routers are clearly separated from Public Transport (PT) information systems;
- within the private traffic mode, dynamic routing plays an important role. However, this dynamic data is generated in separate sources, close to its origin;
- also within PT, timetable information is held in several databases of regional and national coverage or related to a local or nation-wide operator;
- flight information and booking facilities are also stored in separate databases due to the growing number of low cost airlines;
- long distance bus/coach as well as ferry services are not available in an overall database in the internet like trains and flights by now;
- pedestrian and bicycle routers are at least separate components.
This distributed landscape of relevant routing information probably remains existing and will become even more important with increasing availability of any kind of dynamic information. The distribution of the information sources leads to a:
- lack of integration: the high variety of different distributed data sources leads to a lack of format consistency and standards. The data sources are mostly owned and supported by different institutions, which until today focused on proprietary systems;
- different business models: there are different business models for generating the content
Objectives:
The main objective of IM@GINE IT was to provide one single access point through which the end user can obtain location-based, intermodal transport information (dynamic and static), mapping & routing, navigation and other related services everywhere in Europe, anytime, taking into account personal preferences. Thus, the key phrase behind IM@GINE IT is: facilitation of seamless travel inEurope.
Therefore, IM@GINE IT aimed to:
- cater for intermodality & seamlessness of travel. The mobility network is in reality seamless, thus IM@GINE IT should synthesise information of all modes, and of both urban and interurban environments. The constraints and specific requirements of all modes and environments involved should be taken into account;
- bridge the gap between in-vehicle and off-board information and navigation systems;
- bridge the gap between vehicle and pedestrian navigation method to provide a seamless intermodal navigation;
- be capable of collecting and managing data from different sources;
- cater for interchangeability & seamlessness of communication technologies (access everywhere). The back end (platform) as well as the front end (device) should be able to accommodate and/or switch to different communication networks according to the needs of the moment and place;
- be able to 'roam' between different media providers;
- be capable of always acknowledging the location of the end user wherever he/she is, thus switch between different positioning methods depending on the special requirements of the place or mode in which the end user is;
- be capable of navigating the end user at all levels (micro, within an airport for example, middle, within a city or area, and macro), and for the whole intermodal travel;
- provide other related location based or travel oriented services, such as booking/ticketing and emergency services;
- perform complex tasks on behalf of the user, and according to his/her preferences. These tasks may include: automatic selection of best travel plan, intelligent filtering & synthesis of information & services, automatic change of travel plans according to unexpected events, booking and ticketing.
- interface with external systems at the platform and/or the device point;
- provide an external data editor, which allows to an external content provider to update and enhance a central IM@GINE IT database;
- increase safety while driving by using IM@GINE IT
Methodology:
IM@GINE IT caters to the personal needs of the consumer in the following areas: 'Being', Knowing, Wanting, Acquiring, Enjoying.
Formally, IM@GINE IT catered for the needs of the consumer by providing information ('knowing') that permits a choice of services according to consumer preferences ('wanting'), arranging for the remote booking of those services ('acquiring'), facilitating trip planning according to user preferences ('wanting') through the provision of mobility information ('knowing'), on-line booking and ticketing ('acquiring'), in a way that ensures maximum comfort ('enjoying') and is customised to the consumer's profile ('being'). In essence this is a consumer value chain, i.e. the end user will identify value in a service to the extent that the service caters to his/her needs in at least one of the above areas.
The formulation of the users' objectives led to the cataloguing of a set of functional and non-functional requirements, per category, which by being clustered together, defined the scope and objectives of the IM@GINE IT system.
The overall architecture of IM@GINE IT is composed of the following main actors:
- the user;
- the service structure and the modality to access;
- the server side telematic platform, which manages content, services and user profiles;
- the device side application which hosts temporary users' preferences, interaction with other applications and user interface;
- the infrastructure on the field.
In summary, the IM@GINE IT system therefore is able to 'know':
- the geographic environment in which the end user is moving. Most important POIs are origin, destination of travel, and current location. The latter can be generated by GPS or by localisation via Wireless Network, Wireless Lan, logical localisation ('Koppelnavigation in car', using the time schedule of a train or plane…);
- all the transport network of the area in which it is active, including hubs, stops, PT routes and roads, of all involved modes;
- always where the end user is and how he/she is currently travelling. That means if he/she is on a transport vehicle of any mode, in a transport hub, in his/her car, on the road, off the road, pedestrian or not;
- what is the best way to communicate the services (network, on-line or off-line);
- where to find the information and/or service required (i.e. from which external system).
The IM@GINE IT system constitutes a pl
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