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gmb45
10th July, 2009, 03:31 AM
Getting lost in a big city city is a familiar experience to tourists and locals alike. Now a mobile application can help pedestrians find their way to their nearest station using their phone, by overlaying computer-generated information on top of real-life video.

Using an inbuilt video camera and GPS sensors, the prototype software for the new iPhone 3GS displays the exact location of nearby Tube stations in the capital.
Enlarge iPhone3GS

The iPhone3GS software can find the nearest Tube station using GPS and the video camera

If you tilt the phone upwards you will see stations further away, and images move in real time as you walk. It can even reveal which Underground lines are running under your feet.

Chetan Damani, spokesman for acrossair, which developed the software, said: 'The one problem every Londoner has faced at one time or another is finding their way to the nearest Tube.

'However, traditional maps can be tough to follow as they are in 2D. What we wanted to create was something which was based on real life. By using the sensors inside the iPhone we were able to superimpose Tube map locations on to the display,' he told The Evening Standard.

HOW IT WORKS

* Using GPS, it takes a feed from satellites to find the phone's location.
* Then a compass in the phone checks which direction the user is facing.
* Next an accelerometer - similar to those found in Nintendo's Wii controller - checks whether the phone is facing up or down.
* The software then uses a database of Tube stations and overlays the details on to a live video display from the device's camera.

Mr Damani said the firm hoped to add a feature which would show users live Tube data from TfL's countdown boards.

It is also considering adding bus routes and extending the application to other cities.

The app is expected to go on sale next week for ?1.19, although it is still awaiting approval from Apple.

The software is believed to be the first commercially available on a mobile phone to use 'augmented' reality, a system which superimposes information on to live pictures.

Developers of the software say it could lead to the ultimate travel guide, where pointing a camera at a landmark shows information about it.

The travel and leisure website lastminute.com is due to launch its own augmented reality application for the iPhone 3GS in the next couple of weeks.
Albert Memorial

The nearest stations to the Albert Memorial in Kensington are indicated

It will allow people to find bars, restaurants and cinemas from their phone's location, according to technology website Pocket-lint.

Phone firms such as Nokia have already trialled systems, although they are not yet widely available.

Experts believe it could be a big step forward for gadget enthusiasts. Tom
Dunmore from Stuff magazine said: 'This is a huge advance for consumer technology as it blends the virtual world with the real one. It's an amazing use of technology, and I think we are going to see a lot more people using augmented reality.