Development of new Openhanced Location Starter Kit (hosted), now named Location Based Content Management System

Posted in: Android, Augmented Reality, Blog, LBS, OH-LBCMS, Open Source by openhanced on April 30, 2010

After releasing the OHLSK (Openhanced Location Starter Kit) we got very positive feedback and some people asked me the following:

- will you support multiple Layars in one install;

- will there be a hosted version available;

- 2d/3d;

- etc.

First thing we decided is to change the name from OHLSK to OH-LBCMS. The end goal is to build a multi purpose Location Based Content Management System that could provide a location store (multimedia included) for applications like:

• Layar;
• Junaoi;
• Mixare;
• Barcode scanners for product searches (can be used by museum);
• Simple vehicle tracking;
• Any other location based application.

In essence many of these applications need the same functionality on the backend and we are planning to provide them. It is not our goal to provide a massive location solution like SimpleGEO does, if you need to store millions of POI’s please look around somewhere else. It is our aim to target for the power users that want to click together very hyper local location solutions (one city or even an attraction park).

One option that we are investigating is to use our system as a frontend to SimpleGEO, that would be a good option. SimpleGEO would handle the realtime retrieval of POI’s and the OH-LBCMS would be the frontend to manage all the POI’s.

Another idea we have is to hookup special mobile pages (based on the excellent jQTouch framework by David Kaneda) to for example Layar or Junaoi actions. Below you see a sample of something we have created before (in English, sorry):

These mobile pages are natively rendered to either iPhone or Android and can contain specific functionality. Most of this is done by HTMl5, jQuery and CSS.

Planning

We aim for having an online version up and running around end of May. This will probably not have the 2d/3d functionality but it will be capable of registering multiple data layers.

A Layar to show leisure/sports activities and an interview with GPSies.com owner

Posted in: Android, Augmented Reality, Blog, iPhone by openhanced on April 7, 2010

Besides building a freemium version of a Layar backend (to host your datapoints) we also joint forces with GPSies.com to bring you 300000 leisure/sports tracks from most countries in the world.

With the Layar you can find the start points of the tracks and advanced track, elevation and weather data.

Right now the database contains around 300000 + points and it is growing on a weekly basis. We will update our clone of the GPSies.com database once a week to bring you all the new tracks.

Interview with Klaus Bechtold of GPSies.com

What is your name and origin?
My name is Klaus Bechtold and I’m living in Berlin, Germany. I’m married and I do have two children. GPSies.com is just a hobby besides my job as a software developer at an internet agency in Berlin.

What is the goal of your company GPSies.com?
The goal of GPSies .com is to help everyone to plan and document their tracks. The focus is on the GPS technology and I tried to implement a simple user interface. So users without a GPS background can e.g. easy use the converter (automatically file detection) or the track creator.

Do you have a long history in sports activities and what is your favorite sport?
My first marathon was in 1998 – so I’m an enthusiastic runner. And I’m a cyclist in summer, when I’m riding from home to work. Sometimes I’m on trekking tour with my family – never without GPS

How did you come up with the idea of GPSies.com?
I bought my first running GPS device in 2006. The device was very expensive and my wife did not allow me to buy additional maps to document my running tracks. Exactly at this time Google launched the version 2 of Google Maps – so I started some experiments to plot a GPS track on the map. Because I made it public, I received many positive feedback from the community  – so, here we are!

How much visitors does your site attract on a monthly base?
GPSies.com has about 300.000 visitors with about 1.4 million page impressions. In summer 2010 I’m expecting about 2 million PIs. The community has now more than 50.000 registered users and it is growing very fast. All statistics (tracks, users, countries and so on) are public and are accessible by the footer navigation.

How much tracks are there in your database worldwide?
GPSies.com has about 340.000 tracks worldwide (March 2010, public and private tracks). Most of them are in Europe and especially Germany (170.000 tracks).
But GPSies.com has also tracks in USA (8.000), Russia (7.000) – see the statistics to get it all.

How do you see the future for the site?
My plans are to force the mobile accessabilities of GPSies.com. GPSies.com has already a mobile site (m.gpsies.com) and many devices (Andoid, iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and so on) are using the API to get tracks in an area or upload tracks to GPSies.com. I’ll open GPSies.com as a plattform for any mobile devices to let them store thier tracks.
GPSies.com is growing very fast. As you know, it is just my hobby site and I don’t earn my money by GPSies.com. My wife and my children are fighting for more time to spend with me. Ok, I’m getting a small income by the advertisement, but this is totally used to pay for the infrastructure (server, administrator, …). I don’t know what happens next – I try to  carry on

Do you foresee a great future for Augmented Reality?
Yes indeed! This is a great opportunity to get much information within an intuitive and easy to use interface. Smartphone software like Layar is just the beginning. Later we’ll have e.g.  glasses with GPS, compass and internet access like in some SF movies.

Is there anything else you want to add to this short interview?
Yes, I’d like to mention, that GPSies.com has also an Android version that let you view tracks by your search parameters. The app is free and available at the Google Market.
Last but not least, don’t forget to go outside and have fun with your outdoor exercises!

Preview of a complete POI/Layar backend, frontend and browser based mobile solution

Posted in: Android, Augmented Reality, Blog, Mobile, Open Source, iPhone by openhanced on March 8, 2010

Layar client

Last couple of weeks we have done some extensive development to get a complete working concept (some will be used at current projects) around POI’s, Layar and backend integration PLUS Jquery based clients for Android and iPhone.

After analyzing some of the solutions available I think there is a lot to improve and also ways to extend the experience. A lot of layar developers for example focus just on the Layar client (which is perfectly fine) but we took this approach and extended it into an approach where Layar actions (available in the specification) kick of Jquery clients (Android and iPhone) where you can even execute more location based services. Below is a sample screenshot of how this looks inside Android (in Dutch):

By linking these almost native clients (nothing to install) for example the Layar experience can heavily be extended. When people select an action in Layar above screens can be opened from within Layar:

POI/Layar backend

There are a few POI/Layar backends available but again we think they are not flexible enough. We think that one infrastructure can facilitate both Layar data but also any other location based information. On top of that we are working on:

• a commenting system for POI’s/Layar;
• location based advertising;
• invitations by SMS for location based surveys or ads;
• generating coupons and a way for users to claim a coupon (location based);
• a retailer interface where store owners can add ads;
• and may other interesting solutions…

Below some screenshots of the backend:

The backend is suitable for multiple users and user groups. Users that register as a retailer will have an option to create location based messages or coupons.

All above work is in development and some will be rolled over to a live environment. A freemium version will be available so that you can create your own Layar in an easy way. We plan to release this around April.

Openhanced is announcing the Layar (@layarmobile) starter kit

Posted in: Android, Augmented Reality, Blog, Open Source, iPhone by openhanced on February 23, 2010

In the last month we have been working on a complete starter kit for Layar, including: an Open Source backend (multi user level) with supporting database, a GEO spatial search routine and supporting mobile web pages that behave like native apps (Android and iPhone). We will launch this web starter kit in the first week of April and everyone will be able to download the starter kit and install it on a shared or dedicated host.

Now that Layar (@layarmobile) really gains momentum we really want everyone be able to play around with it in an easy way. Right now there are a few solutions out there that support the creation of layars but we wanted to create a full system that can be used by everyone with just a small understanding of PHP and MySQL.

It is just a solution to check out how Layar works and it will not support 3D objects.

Below you can see a few first screenshots of the solution:

backend

mobile web apps.

yes this is the Nexus One

We use the mobile web apps. for providing access to different API’s when executing a layar action, all these actions are related to a nearby selected point. You can think of things like: nearby station, –tweets, –shops etc.

The backend system that we use allows administrators to setup different users that all can add and maintain their own points from within the same database, however, users cannot edit other peoples points.

We will release the solution free of charge and you will have all freedom to install it on your own environment to try it out.

P.S. I want to thank Johannes (@jlapoutre) for his tip on the GEO spatial search.