PocketMatrix

Hi everyone,

I need some Pocket PC software. A developer in the UK would help but it isn't essential.

The brief is an Ipaq Tour Guide which utilises wifi to determine it's location and receive the multimedia content.

Let me know if you are interested and I'll send you some more information.

If you have any previous software I could have a look at that would be great.

Thanks in advance,

Mark Hammill

MikeL: Yes, but there are still ways around that. For example, either have a dumb client, or have the client hold everything. From there, just have the WiFi APs with different names for each sections. Then you can stream the data from that AP to the iPaq, or have the iPaq load up the appropriate data depending on what the AP name was.

Combined with some stats, I'm sure you could get some pretty good demographics at where people like the most, and other ways to improve service.

[edit]Doh, fzammetti beat me to it. The triangulation method should work too, but be a bit more complex obviously.[/edit]

Thanks for all the input. Here is a bit more info on how I kind of thought it would work.

There was a similer system used in the Tate Modern in London a couple of years ago. The software used was provided by

The idea is to make a guide book that will run on a Pocket PC, presenting relevant multimedia content to you at each exhibit.

To make it user friendly it will run full screen and disable all buttons except for the joypad.

At the start of the tour, the user will be given a list of tour preferences i.e. age, sex or nationality etc to determine which tour would best suit the visitor.

They would then choose it using the joypad and action button. This would be the end of their input.

There will be a wifi network with probably four access points around the room, so the pda can locate itself using the various signal strengths.

The sever will store a database with the signal strengths for each access point at each of the different exhibits as well as the multimedia content in the form of a web type app.

This will allow the event organisers to amend the exhibition data and exhibit locations without having to edit the content of each pda.

For added value, other things to consider will be a:
Help function where the visitor can tap in a quick question and then someone at reception for example will be able to reply immediately.
Security system where the pda will sound an alarm if it leaves the exhibition and alert the server.

So here is a run through of how I think it would work:
1. User chooses tour type
2. App downloads location database
3. App checks signal strength’s and refers to the database
4. App loads relevant page from server
5. App monitors signal strength’s
6. Pocket PC leaves signal strength tolerances for that exhibit
7. App goes back to step 3.

For now I am after quotes for a ruff and ready prototype as proof of concept and a final polished app, including how long they would both take?

As I have to present this to the client before I can carry on.

As far as a low cost option goes, I was thinking of using a Pocket PC wih add on camera or maybe a Palm PC which has omne built in, and using to to capture barcodes.

I think it would be in your best interest to keep the cost of the devices people carry around as low as possible, which means something that you can walk into most retailers and buy off the shelf (ie any make or model Pocket PC with WiFi). The PDAs are what will be dropped and stolen, and would need to be replaced more often than any other component. The beacons (irDa) will last for a much longer period of time, plus there are a fixed number of them, so spending a little more on each of those (in place of a barcode) to keep the PDA costs down makes sense.

Plus irDa will work at a substantial range, while barcode reading would require up-close "scanning" of the beacon. Finally, with barcodes you have to buy that 3rd party software, and then try and integrate it into your main program. That type of interfacing will always decrease reliability because it is yet another thing to fail. For dedicated, single purpose software, it is always better to place all functionality directly in the application so it has full control over all aspects of the system.

Dan East