Journal articles on the topic 'Automobile navigation systems'

Predictive maintenance is to identify vehicle maintenance issues before they occur. By leveraging data from navigation locator and motion of vehicle, status and parts of the vehicle, requirement of service, warranty repairs with current vehicle sensor data would be difficult for a human to discover. Predictive data analytics can find meaningful correlations via Connected Vehicle which is a technological advancement in Automobile industry. Using Internet of Things IOT, various information like health information of a driving person and navigation of vehicle can be easily monitored. Connected vehicle deals with cars and other vehicles where we the data will be shared with the backed applications like micro services.

Vehicle navigation systems use various sensors and the global positioning system (GPS) to locate a vehicle. This location is then matched to a map database to provide navigation information. Between GPS updates, the vehicle's heading angle and forward speed are used to “dead reckon” its position. Heading angle is often measured by integrating the output of a rate gyroscope. For this measurement to be equal to the vehicle's heading angle, the vehicle should not experience any rotation about its roll or pitch axes. For an automobile, the roll and pitch angles are small and may be neglected for the purposes of navigation. This article demonstrates that this same assumption is not true for a motorcycle. Through simulation, it is shown that for a motorcycle, obtaining a meaningful heading angle from a single angular rate measurement requires accounting for the motorcycle's roll angle. Methods to estimate roll angle and heading angle from available navigation measurements are presented, and two possible sensor configurations are compared. A motorcycle navigation scheme based on these roll angle estimation methods is shown to produce exceptional results in a simulation environment.

Computer-based products require designers to make trade-offs between the product's initial and long term ease of use. The trade-off decisions are particularly important in the design of a computer-based automobile navigation system (ANS). An ANS designed for the mass market must serve the needs of both first time users, such as rental car drivers, and those who may purchase cars equipped with the device and use it on a daily basis. In our efforts to design the user interface to an ANS, we sought a means to protect new users from advanced functions that would frustrate the early learning experience. At the same time, we sought a smooth method for everyday users to access advanced functions. In this paper, we briefly explain automobile navigation systems, and then discuss our design solution.

Accident detection and alert systems that can pinpoint the whereabouts of an accident are crucial to ensure the concerned authorities are informed instantaneously about the occurrence of an accident, in order for the deployment of emergency response to save lives in the least amount of time. A 3G incorporated accident detection system, known as Life Case is designed to discover the accidents between automobiles and, send the timestamp, and the actual position of an accident, to a developed android application built using Android Studio, via a cloud database. The alert message is presented using Google Maps which helps user to save plenty of time through easy navigation feature towards the accident location. Life Case measures the acceleration of an automobile during a collision using the Theory of Inelastic Collision.

This paper proposes a lane detection algorithm using a laser range finder (LRF) for the autonomous navigation of a mobile robot. There are many technologies for ensuring the safety of vehicles, such as airbags, ABS, and EPS. Further, lane detection is a fundamental requirement for an automobile system that utilizes the external environment information of automobiles. Representative methods of lane recognition are vision-based and LRF-based systems. In the case of a vision-based system, the recognition of the environment of a three-dimensional space becomes excellent only in good conditions for capturing images. However, there are so many unexpected barriers, such as bad illumination, occlusions, vibrations, and thick fog, that the vision-based method cannot be used for satisfying the abovementioned fundamental requirement. In this paper, a three-dimensional lane detection algorithm using LRF that is very robust against illumination is proposed. For the three-dimensional lane detection, the laser reflection difference between the asphalt and the lane according to color and distance has been utilized with the extraction of feature points. Further, a stable tracking algorithm is introduced empirically in this research. The performance of the proposed algorithm of lane detection and tracking has been experimentally verified.

SUMMARYBiomimetic applications play an important role in informing the field of robotics. One aspect is navigation – a skill automobile robots require to perform useful tasks. A sub-area of this is search strategies, e.g. for search and rescue, demining, exploring surfaces of other planets or as a default strategy when other navigation mechanisms fail. Despite that, only a few approaches have been made to transfer biological knowledge of search mechanisms on surfaces along the ground into biomimetic applications. To provide insight for robot navigation strategies, this study describes the paths a crayfish used to explore terrain. We tracked movement when different sets of sensory input were available. We then tested this algorithm with a computer model crayfish and concluded that the movement of C. destructor has a specialised walking strategy that could provide a suitable baseline algorithm for autonomous mobile robots during navigation.

Accompanied with the release of ARM Cortex micro controller unit (MCU), the development and application of embedded systems in the field of automobile electronics have upgraded to a higher stage. Based on the market requirement for embedded MCU, the characteristics of Cortex-M3 MCU is analyzed and a design of auto GPS navigation system based on Cortex-M3 is given in this paper. The superior performance and implementation of Cortex-M3-based auto embedded system is analyzed and proved from the perspective of code density and program running time.

In this study, an experiment to establish a model for human-environment social systems, a multi-agent simulation model to deal with urban traffic congestion problems involving automobiles embedded with several strategies of car navigation systems (CNS), is presented. A shortest time route with route information sharing strategy (ST-RIS) is believed to be one of the solutions for a novel CNS based on bilateral information shared among automobile agents. We assume several strategies including ST-RIS for agents, which are defined differently in terms of their information-handling process. The question of which strategy is most appropriate for solving urban traffic congestion can be seen as a social dilemma, because social holistic utility may conflict with an agent's individual utility. The presented model shows that this social dilemma can be observed as a typical chicken-type dilemma, or as a typical minority game, where an agent who has adopted a minority strategy can earn more utility compared to when other strategies are used. Consequently, the model has illustrated that shortest time route with partial route information sharing strategy (ST-pRIS), which is an advanced strategic form of ST-RIS in which only partial information is shared among agents, has moderate potential to be diffused in a society from the viewpoint of the evolutionary game theory.

In recent years, the rate of the highway traffic accident remains high, with rear-end collisions accounted for more than 75%. In order to effectively reduce the incidence of rear-end collisions, this paper proposes a safety warning algorithm based on relative speeds among vehicles approaching an intersection from different directions. This algorithm relies on the GPS navigation system to obtain vehicles position and speed information, calculates the relative angle information between vehicles, and uses the information to calculate the safety distance between vehicles to determine the relationship between the safe distance and the time to collision, and to choose a proper alert system. The safety warning algorithm was implemented, simulated and verified under Matlab environment with the considerations of the influences of all kinds of road environment added to the system. The method and the algorithm proposed in this research has the advantages of broader applications in many V2V communication network systems for automobile or pilotless automobile and robot systems, and less and more efficient computation. The developed system based on the proposed research is more adaptive, safer with better fault tolerance compared with other systems.

The Automobile Association, Ordnance Survey, Philips BV and Robert Bosch GmbH are collaborating in a project to create and test a prototype navigation database. The project, (PANDORA–Prototyping A Navigation Database Of Road-network Attributes) which is being managed by consultants MVA Systematica, is supported by the European Community's DRIVE initiative.The data requirements of future vehicle navigation systems such as CARIN from Philips, Travelpilot/EVA from Bosch and the Autoguide scheme for London have been examined. Digital street networks have been extracted mainly from Ordnance Survey's large-scale digital mapping, and the necessary road and traffic attributes have been collected by the AA. These data have been integrated into a specially-designed prototype database for parts of London and Birmingham and the major interconnecting roads. Data have been abstracted from the database and supplied to Bosch and Philips using the Geographic Data Files (GDF) standard developed in the DEMETER project. This dataset is being tested in field trials using prototype vehicle navigation systems. The dataset will also be provided to the DRIVE Project ‘Task Forc European Digital Road Map’ as benchmark test task number 12.This paper describes the project, dealing with its objectives and relationship to other European initiatives, the work undertaken, the standards utilized and developed, its results and conclusions, and the lessons learned with respect to provision of data for larger areas of Europe. A glossary of technical terms and abbreviations is also included.

Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) are in-vehicle computer systems that provide travel-related information (e.g., navigation assistance) to automobile drivers. ATIS has great potential to help drivers save time and money by leading them to their destination efficiently. However, there are great concerns that ATIS may interfere with driving performance. This study looked at the effects of ATIS use and the driver's age on driving performance in a high-fidelity driving simulator. The results indicate that ATIS use led to degraded driving performance in several measures. However, in some cases, the effects depended on age. Older drivers tended to be more cautious, while younger drivers tended to be more careless. These results suggest that ATIS systems and training materials may need to address the age-related differences in ATIS use and driving performance.

The paper investigates the impacts and barriers posed by connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) for pedestrians with visual impairment. This study uses a customized web-based survey of visually impaired people from Canada and abroad. Collected data are used to estimate econometric models to identify the critical factors that affect the level of trust in CAVs and the preference for using CAVs from the visually impaired individuals’ perspective. Separate models are estimated for Canadian and non-Canadian samples, as Canadian and non-Canadian participants show some differences in perception and positive attitude towards CAVs. The models reveal that the majority of the respondents prefer to get feedback and alerts from CAVs. Congenitally blind Canadians are less likely to trust CAVs, but non-Canadian congenital blinds tend to trust CAVs. The models also indicate that the respondents who experienced being near an accident with an electric vehicle (EV) are less likely to choose CAVs. Respondents who rely on mobile applications and technology-based devices for navigating purposes tend to trust CAVs. Blind people who rely on conventional navigation tools (e.g., white cane, guide dog, etc.) are less likely to be the users of CAVs. Gender effect is visible, as the female participants tend not to trust CAVs. In relation to policy recommendations, subsidies should be provided to various advocacy groups to offer orientation and mobility (O&M) training services, which are pivotal to educate how to use technology-based navigational services. Also, automobile manufacturers should be enforced to add acoustic vehicle alert systems (AVAS) to both EVs and CAVs.

Purpose This study aims to develop an optimized 3D laser point reconstruction using Descent Gradient algorithm. Precise and accurate reconstruction of 3D laser point cloud of the complex environment/object is a key solution for many industries such as construction, gaming, automobiles, aerial navigation, architecture and automation. A 2D laser scanner along with a servo motor/pan tilt/inertial measurement unit is used for generating 3D point cloud (either environment/object or both) by acquiring the real-time data from sensors. However, while generating the 3D laser point cloud, various problems related to time synchronization problem between laser and servomotor and torque variation in servomotors arise, which causes misalignment in stacking the 2D laser scan for generating the 3D point cloud of the environment. Because of the misalignment in stacking, the 2D laser scan corresponding to the erroneous angular and position information by the servomotor and the 3D laser point cloud become distorted in terms of inconsistency for measuring the dimension of the objects. Design/methodology/approach This paper addresses a modified 3D laser system assembled from a 2D laser scanner coupled with a servomotor (dynamixel motor) for developing an efficient 3D laser point cloud with the implementation of an optimization technique: descent gradient filter (DGT). The proposed approach reduces the cost function (error) in the angular and position coordinates of the servo motor caused because of torque variation and time synchronization, which resulted in enhancing the accuracy in 3D point cloud mapping for the accurate measurement of the object’s dimensions. Findings Various real-world experiments are performed with the proposed DGT filter linked with laser scanner and servomotor and an improvement of 6.5 per cent in measuring the accurate dimension of object is obtained while comparing with conventional approaches for generating a 3D laser point cloud. Originality/value This proposed technique may be applicable for various industrial applications that are based on robotics arms (such as painting, welding and cutting) in the automobile industry, the optimized measurement of object, efficient mobile robot navigation, precise 3D reconstruction of environment/object in construction, architecture applications, airborne applications and aerial navigation.

Navigation and guidance systems for most automobile as well as aerospace applications require a coupled chip setup known as Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) which, depending on the degree of freedoms, contains a Gyroscope (for maintaining orientation and angular velocity), Accelerometers (to determine acceleration in the respective direction) and a Magnetometer (to determine the respective magnetic fields). In the three-dimensional space, any required rotation analysis is limited to the coordinate systems and all subtended angles in either direction must be defined by a fixed axis to effectively estimate the stability and to define all the attitude estimates needed to compile different rotations and orientations. The Quaternions are mathematical notations used for defining rotations and orientation in three-dimensional space. The simplest terms Quaternions are impossible to visualize in a three-dimensional space; the first three terms will be identical to the coordinate system, but through Quaternions another vector quantity is added into the equations, which may in fact underline how we can account for all rotational quantities. The fundamental analysis of these components different applications for various fields is proposed.

A variety of in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) devices and services have been developed by many vehicle vendors and software companies, which include navigation systems, cameras, speakers, headrest displays, and heating seat. However, there has not been enough research on how to effectively control and manage numerous IVI resources (devices and contents), so as to provide users with more enhanced services. This paper proposes a framework of resource control for IVI services so as to efficiently manage the IVI resources within an automobile. Differently from conventional IVI systems, in the proposed scheme, the IVI-Master is newly introduced for overall control of IVI resources, and IVI users are divided into owner and users. In addition, the IVI resources are classified as personal resources and shared resources, which are managed by the IVI-Master using the Lightweight Machine-to-Machine (LWM2M) standard. The proposed IoT-based IVI resource control scheme was implemented and tested. The experimental results showed that the proposed scheme can be used to effectively manage IVI resources for users. Additionally, the proposed resource control scheme shows lower bandwidth usage than the existing scheme.

This study aims to understand how governance change is triggered by cybernetics issues, such as the development of automotive navigation systems in German, Japanese and US automotive industry. Six points are discussed for the central question which are 1) GDP Trends for Manufacturing Activities, 2) Organizational Structure for Supply Chain Management (SCM), 3) Viewpoint related to Internet of Things (IoT) usability, 4) National IoT planning, 5) Definition of IoT, 6) Developing Navigation Systems. At first, the trend in manufacturing activity reveals two different trends: a downward trend in Japan and the USA, and a stable trend in Germany. We see several possible reasons for this difference; first, the “smiling curve concept” is applied to visualize the difference. And the organizational structure of SCM is concerned such as “Keiretsu” in Japan, “Konzern” in Germany and the “Anglo-American” model. Then, this paper addresses how the unique organizational features of SCM might react to the technological developments in the automotive industry such as autonomous driving, which has shaken the core of the industry. For this gradual change, the IoT technology is necessary. IoT means the progress of certain embedded system, which adds a network function into it. The embedded system for automobile orientation on a map (hardware and software) has to be upgraded with the network function. These technological developments could influence their corporate governance system. Then, the discussion matrix is formed for the six points, which are discussed in this paper and reveal the boundaries between Japan, Germany and the US. According to Beer, the societary maps (the cybernetic maps) are required for this structural progress to find the right way to go. Finally, we think a dynamic industrial movement is ensured by keeping fair competition, which ensures diversity as well as technological development. It could be the last resort to protect our “Designing Freedom”.

Multi-modal transportation recommendation has a goal of recommending a travel plan which considers various transportation modes, such as walking, cycling, automobile, and public transit, and how to connect among these modes. The successful development of multi-modal transportation recommendation systems can help to satisfy the diversified needs of travelers and improve the efficiency of transport networks. However, existing transport recommender systems mainly focus on unimodal transport planning. To this end, in this paper, we propose a joint representation learning framework for multi-modal transportation recommendation based on a carefully-constructed multi-modal transportation graph. Specifically, we first extract a multi-modal transportation graph from large-scale map query data to describe the concurrency of users, Origin-Destination (OD) pairs, and transport modes. Then, we provide effective solutions for the optimization problem and develop an anchor embedding for transport modes to initialize the embeddings of transport modes. Moreover, we infer user relevance and OD pair relevance, and incorporate them to regularize the representation learning. Finally, we exploit the learned representations for online multimodal transportation recommendations. Indeed, our method has been deployed into one of the largest navigation Apps to serve hundreds of millions of users, and extensive experimental results with real-world map query data demonstrate the enhanced performance of the proposed method for multimodal transportation recommendations.

With the growth of Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology and the automobile industry, various In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) services have been developed, in which users can exploit a variety of IVI devices, such as navigation systems, cameras, speakers, headrest displays and heated seats. A typical IVI system is based on the peer-to-peer model, in which the user will directly control each device. This tends to induce a large overhead and inconvenience to the user. To overcome the drawbacks of the peer-to-peer model, the centralized IVI (C-IVI) scheme was recently proposed in which an IVI master is employed to provide IVI services between users and devices. However, the centralized model gives lower performance, as the number of users and devices gets larger. To improve the performance of IVI services, in this paper, we propose an agent-based IVI (A-IVI) scheme. In the proposed A-IVI scheme, a new entity called ‘agent’ is introduced, based on the C-IVI model. Each IVI agent will be used to manage a group of devices and also to perform the communication with the IVI master, on behalf of the concerned devices. The proposed scheme can be used to provide scalability and perform enhancement. The IVI agents are also helpful for supporting a variety of constrained IVI devices, such as speakers or cameras, which may usually have too low power to perform IoT communications. The proposed A-IVI scheme is implemented by using the IoT messaging protocols. For performance comparison with the existing schemes, we performed testbed experimentations. From the results, we see that the proposed A-IVI scheme can provide better performance than the existing IVI systems in terms of transmission delays, throughput and master’s loads. It is expected that the proposed scheme may be used effectively for IVI systems with a large number of users/devices, as seen in public transportation, such as public trains or airplanes.

Robust and centimeter-level Real-time Kinematic (RTK)-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning is of paramount importance for emerging GNSS applications, such as drones and automobile systems. However, the performance of conventional single-rover RTK degrades greatly in urban environments due to signal blockage and strong multipath. The increasing use of multiple-antenna/rover configurations for attitude determination in the above precise positioning applications, just as well, allows more information involved to improve RTK positioning performance in urban areas. This paper proposes a dual-antenna constraint RTK algorithm, which combines GNSS measurements of both antennas by making use of the geometric constraint between them. By doing this, the reception diversity between two antennas can be taken advantage of to improve the availability and geometric distribution of GNSS satellites, and what is more, the redundant measurements from a second antenna help to weaken the multipath effect on the first antenna. Particularly, an Ambiguity Dilution of Precision (ADOP)-based analysis is carried out to explore the intrinsic model strength for ambiguity resolution (AR) with different kinds of constraints. Based on the results, a Dual-Antenna with baseline VEctor Constraint algorithm (RTK) is developed. The primary advantages of the reported method include: 1) Improved availability and success rate of RTK, even if neither of the two single-antenna receivers can successfully solve the AR problem; and 2) reduced computational burden by adopting the concept of measurement projection. Simulated and real data experiments are performed to demonstrate robustness and precision of the algorithm in GNSS-challenged environments.

Today's automobiles serve not only as vehicles but also as mobile offices combining communication tools such as cellphones and car navigation systems providing online information services. The many switches are conventionally distributed on the dashboard. A move is under way, however, to combine them into a multifunctional touch panel. We propose a voice-supported active touch panel. Since information feedback to the operator is important in ensuring correct function selection, the panel we designed combines a vibrator and voice explanation. Touch sensors use PZT thin film sensors. The voice explanation uses a quick response system. This paper reports the features and configuration of the voice-supported active touch panel.

With the development of advanced driver assistance systems, the more reliable the autonomous driving technology is, the more the rest and entertainment times of the driver of the car increases. Hence, the importance of the entertainment function of automotive audio-video navigation (AVN) systems is increasing. Currently, the AVN system of automobiles has a monitoring function for fault diagnosis and a combination of functions. Applying these technologies is challenging for drivers who want to tune the audio quality to their musical taste. In this study, a method for upgrading the sound quality using a power supply noise filter without deforming the AVN system was developed. The low-pass attenuation that appeared as a side effect was solved by applying a filter using the loudness isotropic curve. In the installation method of the filter, the method of using a fuse holder minimized the inconvenience of AVN detachment and wiring. Based on the results obtained in this study, further research and improvement of the filter are required for audio tuning of various models.

The article reviewed the road transport sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan and found a significant role in ensuring road transport of freight and passengers. Shown needs to improve the work of transport-communication complex of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the basis of using the latest information and communication technologies. Described advantages of realization of several intellectual transport technologies. Presented modern level of using satellite navigational systems on the automobiles, in addition written some automation and informational aspects of controlling transport processes. Also presented measures to solve technological rearmament problem of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

AbstractSignificant advances in marine navigation have resulted in all major vessels being equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers today, capable of providing highly accurate positions worldwide as an input to ECS (Electronic Chart System) and ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System), a system that was approved by IMO (International Maritime Organization) for use on ships in 1989.Similarly, most major vehicle fleet operations and, in fact, most automobiles are now available with devices referred to as a “GPS,” although they consist of the same two distinct subsystems. One is essentially a GPS receiver that collects signals from a satellite constellation to calculate a position. Most importantly, it provides a latitude and longitude position, which is sent to the second subsystem consisting of a computer with a graphics display that shows this Lat/Lon position on a map or chart background.To manufacturers, GPS is primarily an enabling technology for electronic charts and mapping systems that provides the necessary position information so it can be displayed in relation to surrounding hazards. It does this without delay and often in combination with other important navigation sensor data on board. Without charts as a background, numbers or coordinates alone can't tell the mariner about his or her relationship to a reef or shoal up ahead.Without such systems, ships could not meet the suggested accuracies for “Harbor Entrance and Approach” in the United States. ECDIS has been recognized by many great leaders in the industry:“It will completely change the way we do business…. For the first time you will know where you are, not where you were.”—RADM J. Austin Yeager, NOAA Coast & Geodetic Survey (A New Way to Navigate)“ECDIS is the most significant improvement in navigation in the past 100 years.”—Captain Ed Rollinson, U.S. Coast Guard (ECDIS—A View From the Bridge, issued by The Canadian Hydrographic Service and Partners, U.S. Coast Guard R&D Center)“ECDIS…Potentially the most significant breakthrough in marine navigation that has occurred since the advent of radar almost 50 years ago”—Dr. Lee Alexander, Chairman of International Electrotechnical Commission Working Group (Leading the Way with ECPINS, issued by Offshore Systems Ltd. [OSL]/Offshore Systems International [OSI])Development and application of the first ECS is presented, together with subsequent advances to the level of ECDIS.

Automobile industry is one of the most important segment for a country’s growth. India facing its own challenges due to its huge and varied transport sector. These challenges may overwhelmed by using energy efficient advancements with the customer focused approach. The driver always driving the automobile with sophisticated technologies and should feel very comfortable. Automobile moving higher than the cruising speeds stability of the vehicle is the key factor. In four-wheel navigation system the tail wheels turning opposite to the forwardfacing wheels while vehicle moves at high speeds instability chances are more. To avoid this instability rear wheels follows the same track of the forward-facing wheels while tuning of the all-wheel steering system. This paper focusing light on to the difficulty faced when all wheel steering system taking a turn in a very confined space. By switching from two wheel steering to four wheel steering owing to this the driver on the way to make turns in small radius. It also laidback for parallel parking and maneuvering the vehicle quite with no trouble on highways. In command to succeed this, a mechanism established with the two bevel gears and intermediary shaft, which transfer 100% rotating force as well turns tail wheels in out of period. The spiraling radius of the automobile with two steering wheel system is 4400 mm after switching to four-wheel steering system radius is 2596mm only. Hence, radius reduced to 1804 mm.

MEMS(Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) Accelerometer is most popular and successful MEMS device for its versatile and multipurpose applications in different fields capable of measuring wide range of parameters ranging from vibration, acceleration, tilt and shock1 . Accelerometers, individually have their own operation and are also used in conjunction with other devices like gyroscopes, switches to make unique special devices like Inertial Measurement unit, widely used in consumer electronics, giving MEMS Accelerometers the giant share in the whole MEMS market. They have arrived as successful marketed devices in various designs and served many application in the fields of automobile , navigation, bio medical and space applications2 . These devices have diversified structural design and work on different principles, making them worth a study in terms of classification, selection for suitable application. Having the advantage of being cost effective and of little form factor, these devices have greater scope in various domains where the mechanical movements are needed to be analyzed. There is a huge unexplored area of BIO MEMS into which Accelerometers have to stretch their boundaries making Human body specific applications akin and par the present research. The present paper consolidates the existing accelerometers focusing on their applications while analyzing them in the light of their significance in each field of application. There is a great space for domain specific designing of the accelerometers trending into the usage in the current times.

SummaryNavigation systems have seen significant advancements in recent years. They now exist for desktop computers, automobiles, and mobile devices. They are able to adapt to many different situational contexts and now provide a solid foundation for a wide range of location based services. Mobile multi-modal interfaces have seen similar advancements over the past few years as technologies previously designed for powerful mainframe computers are gradually swept into the reach of mobile devices. This paper describes a multi-modal user interface that has been integrated into a pedestrian navigation service called the Personal Navigator, and a closely interleaved shopping assistant called the Mobile ShopAssist. We describe the wide range of input interaction and output presentation that we believe mobile systems should provide and describe the importance for context-aware systems to adapt their user interfaces to the surrounding environment.

Cities are shared spaces. As the massive worldwide Iraq war protests that began in 2002 indicate, the structure of the city allows for the presentation of social statements, where large groups can gather, share ideas or argue beliefs, and where media outlets can broadcast these activities. While cities enable these forms of interaction, digital technologies also allow for worldwide connections, both through communication and entertainment. What is the relationship between the shared, often contested spaces of the city and how they are represented in interactive media such as videogames? What statements are formed in the streets of Grand Theft Auto? In this paper I will discuss three popular games that reproduce urban spaces: the Grand Theft Auto series (1998-2006), Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (2004), and Getting Up: Contents under Pressure (2006). These games are of interest due to their popularity, as well as the forms of interaction reinforced by the urban game environment. Cities have always been spaces for interaction and competition, becoming the site for festivals, protests and games. Ancient forms of graffiti in Rome and Pompeii have been re-envisioned in a worldwide graffiti movement, transforming blighted areas into image-laden environments. Games of stickball, hockey and football transform streets into fields, as do modern marathons and bicycle races. The city street becomes a zone of interpretation, for adaptation and personalization. More recently, skateboarders have transformed cities into skateparks, forcing designers to develop such curiosities as handrail and planter augmentation meant to deter skating. Even more peculiar, a possible response to the anti-skating backlash is the sport known as ‘free-running’ or le parkeur, where participants use the existing infrastructure to express themselves, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, climbing concrete peaks and adding stylistic flourish with each step. These forms of urban gameplay may also be accompanied by dangerous activities as well. Jenkins suggests that discussions on the negative effects of increased gameplay might be addressed by looking at socioeconomic factors, such as the increasing numbers of young people living in urban or semi-urban areas who have fewer opportunities for activity that takes place out of doors, creating the prospect for increased interaction with videogames (“Complete Freedom”). The adaptability combined with the dangerous allure of the city street makes for problematic, intriguing representations in contemporary videogames that deal with urban spaces. I will first discuss a brief history of games that deal with urban spaces, before discussing three popular games and the manner in which they attempt to represent, and recreate the experiences in the city. Games and the City One of the earliest examples of the city represented in a videogame can be seen in Rampage, released by Bally/Midway in 1986. The game includes the city only as backdrop for demolition by hyperagressive mutant animals. SimCity, created by Will Wright and released in 1989, is considered a landmark in the history of videogames, as it is based in forms of cooperation rather than competition. It has spawned at least 21 varieties, including the highly anticipated Spore, a game that allows the player to control life on a microbiological level. Game developers also have explored the recreation of cities from the past. Games such as Civilization and Children of the Nile: Immortal Cities (2004) allow players to control events on a broad social scale, in the style of SimCity, with the addition of historical information that comes into play. As videogames have developed, an increase in processing power has allowed programmers to create spaces rendered in real-time, in three dimensions, allowing for immersive ‘first-person’ perspectives not possible in earlier game systems. This perspective has changed the way in which the city is engaged, from the simplistic destruction of Rampage to more nuanced ways of moving through game space. When discussing the perspective of the player in the urban game space, we should also discuss the perspective of the city inhabitant. As de Certeau describes it, the act of walking in the city represents a form of ownership, reading and creating ‘texts’ through movement. This perspective can shift, through travel in automobile or train, or by ascending in skyscrapers, changing the understanding of the text in the process. This process is inevitably collaborative, as the urban terrain that is monitored both by individuals and by groups: businesses, governments, police. As Flynn suggests, this notion of walking closely resembles the procedural nature of generating meaning in many videogames. Recent games such as the Grand Theft Auto series (1998-2006), Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (2004), and Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (2006) raise issues regarding the representation of the city, and the possibilities afforded the player. Of interest are the following questions: How is the urban environment represented? What options are provided to players for interaction within this environment? Are their implications for everyday practices that borrow from these game-based environments? Grand Theft Auto Grand Theft Auto (GTA) was first released in 1998, and has since expanded into a series of increasingly controversial games. Originally designed for top-down gameplay, a third person point of view was introduced in GTA II (2001). Along with this new point of view came the ability for players to interact with a highly detailed cityspace, deviating from the urban gangster storyline, and interacting with city inhabitants in any number of illicit ways. This interactivity was taken to an extreme in GTA: San Andreas (2004). GTA: San Andreas is set in a state that is a fictional blend of California and Nevada. It continued the gangster storyline of the previous games, becoming notorious for including an encoded, hidden level that allowed players to take part in explicit sex scenes. It featured a style of nonlinear gameplay that allowed players to entertain themselves, exploring the urban landscape free from rigid game requirements. It also limited interactions with city dwellers, limiting narrative elements to ‘cut scenes’ that allow for uninhibited gameplay. As Frasca suggests, the later Grand Theft Auto games are really about moving through space, typically seen as a mundane activity, in an interesting way. However, that which makes the movement interesting typically involves killing and maiming and destroying that which stands in the way of the main character. Without getting into a discussion of morals and videogames, the GTA series certainly has pushed the boundaries of video game acceptability, as well as engaging gameplay, allowing players to drift through the urban environment. The Situationist International (SI) sought to engage with the city, opening up possibilities for new forms of engagement and interaction through drifts, or derivé. Through various forms of derivé they engaged with the psychogeographic space of the city, walking through varied areas, and reorganizing these experiences as though in a dream state, or, perhaps, game (Sadler). Surely any video game can be experienced in a similar manner. I suggest that the GTA series, through interactive openness, allows players to reread the text of this virtual city, while at the same time contributing to the ‘society of the spectacle’ that situationist Guy Debord so maligned (Debord). As a successful yet problematic blend of simulation and quest, the rules in GTA: San Andreas are not made explicit; we are familiar with the urban spaces depicted in GTA, at least through the stereotypes portrayed in the media. Players therefore know the rules implicit to these spaces, and what happens when we break them; thus, the allure of the simulated urban environment. The text created is one that combines lived experience, mediated images, and interaction with the fictional urban space. What happens when this environment is made specific, when the game depicts a real city? Tony Hawk Pro Skater The Tony Hawk Pro Skater (THPS) series became very popular after its release in 1999, capitalizing on the marketing of ‘extreme sports’ as seen in events such as ESPN X Games, which debuted in 1995. While not the first skateboarding game on the market, THPS captured the imagination of the game buying audience, allowing players to skate as Tony Hawk, or any number of pro skaters. The latest installment of the series is Tony Hawk American Wasteland (THAW), which promotes the seamless connections between levels that are detailed reproductions of Los Angeles. While the GTA series allows for, and in many cases encourages, activities that would be deemed illegal, THAW extends the possibility that the player could actually perform these acts in the place depicted in the game. Does this allow for greater immersion, which then inspires players to ‘take it to the street?’ Or, does the gameplay reinforce the argument against such activities in the actual urban space, affirming their ‘destructive’ nature? Although skaters can be a nuisance, particularly in crowded downtown areas, the appropriation of utilitarian infrastructure can also be seen as improvisational art, adapting existing urban features in the process of skating. The SI notion of detournement can be seen in the actions of many skaters, as the process of skating brings new meanings to the urban landscape. Whether the Pro Skater series adds to the possibilities for detournement, or further limits the actual skating that happens in the city, is only relevant to those who skate and those who attempt to prevent this sport from taking place. As you skate through the city, writing the text of your experience through railslides and grinds, you are also given the ability to ‘tag’ the walls of Los Angeles, literally inscribing your place in the environment. The control of urban spaces, and the possibilities for rewriting these spaces—for detournement—brings me to my third example. Getting Up Marc Ecko, clothing designer and hip-hop aficionado, released Getting Up: Contents under Pressure in 2006. Players assume the identity of ‘Trane,’ a young graffiti artists desparate to learn the ropes in the city of ‘New Radius.’ New Radius is currently under the draconian control of ‘Mayor Sung,’ who has promised to rid the city of the scourge of graffiti. As Trane, you make your way through New Radius, battling foes and meeting graffiti legends, who teach you new skills along the way. Getting Up is unique from the games previously mentioned, as you have the ability to interact with the urban environment in a manner that is not incessantly violent or overtly destructive. In fact, the game is marketed as a way to get the thrill of ‘tagging’ without actually taking part in illegal activity. It is also a unique experience, as Trane walks through the entire environment. This slows down the gameplay, and allows the character to take in the highly detailed environments. It a very literal way, the player in Getting Up is writing the city, as de Certeau describes it, though this writing is typically underappreciated as creative activity, much less art. Conclusion The games that I have described present the city in very different ways, and offer players diverse options for interacting and thinking about the city. While, the impact of these games remains to be seen, and may never register beyond the world of the gamer, these games present urban environments as active spaces for engagement, even if it is the thuggishness reinforced in Grand Theft Auto. I would hope that the creativity shown in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater would lead to the creation of not only more skateparks in suburban spaces, but the acknowledgement of the need for detournement in public urban spaces such as Philadelphia’s Love Park, a favorite East Coast US skate spot that has been the center of much controversy as a result of its popularity. If Pro Skater brings the issue of street skating to a national audience, it is doing good, both as entertainment and social force. Similarly, Marc Ecko’s Getting Up has the potential to not only memorialize the birth of graffiti and hip hop in 1970’s New York; it can also instruct on the flourishing worldwide graffiti scene, allowing those who deserve (and desire) attention to have it. Recent projects such as pacmanhattan have inverted the relationships between gaming and the urban environment that I have described. Taking the game to the city, players engage in interpretations of the video game classic Pac Man in the streets of Manhattan, utilizing a variety of locative media devices. While these games do not change the physicality of the city, they surely change our psycheographical interpretation of that space, in a way that folds together the freedom of gameplay with the control of the street. Jenkins suggests that designers should pay more attention to the work of architects and urban planners as they create interactive worlds (“Game Design”). I would also suggest that the opposite take place. Urban designers might learn from the urban spaces created in games such as American Wasteland and Getting Up, as they present options for the detournement of fixed spaces evident in the graffiti and skate cultures. Increased control will result in diverse responses that subvert this control. Cities should remain spaces for walking, for drifting, for protesting: for games. References Bureau of Public Secrets. Situationist International Anthology. Ed. K. Knabb. Berkeley, Calif.: Bureau of Public Secrets, 1981. Debord, Guy. Society of the Spectacle. New York: Zone Books, 1991. De Certeau, Michel. The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1984. Flynn, B. Languages of Navigation within Computer Games. Paper presentation, Digital Art and Culture, Melbourne, Australia, 2003. April 2006 http://hypertext.rmit.edu.au/dac/papers/Flynn.pdf>. Jenkins, Henry. “Complete Freedom of Movement: Videogames as Gendered Play Spaces.” In The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. Eds. K. Salen and E. Zimmerman. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2006. Jenkins, Henry. “Game Design as Narrative Architecture.” In The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. Eds. K. Salen and E. Zimmerman. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2006. Frasca, G. Sim Sin City: Some Thoughts on Grand Theft Auto. Game Studies 2003. April 2006 http://www.gamestudies.org/0302/frasca/>. Sadler, S. The Situationist City. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Sweeny, Robert. "Code of the Streets: Videogames and the City." M/C Journal 9.3 (2006). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0607/07-sweeny.php>. APA Style Sweeny, R. (Jul. 2006) "Code of the Streets: Videogames and the City," M/C Journal, 9(3). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0607/07-sweeny.php>.