The aim of the application www.destinationpiraeus.com, which is available for smart phones via AppStore and Google Play, is to promote and advertise the cultural and historical product of Piraeus. A city that, apart from being the largest port in the Mediterranean, is also a unique destination with hundreds of historical, cultural and generally tourist points of interest.
Destinationpiraeus is a comprehensive guide that provides in-situ information for both visitors to the city and the citizens themselves. In terms of the mobile application, destinationpiraeus incorporates state-of-the-art augmented reality technologies of the first level, through which the user is automatically informed in real time about all points of interest nearby. While moving around the city, the user receives continuous push notifications informing him/her about the location of the various points of interest, with messages such as: “Visit now the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus. It is located just a hundred meters away, in the first alley on the right. Open now. Ticket 12 euros”. Each push notification is dynamic and when clicked, detailed information and rich photographic material about the respective point of interest are displayed, while a “take me there…” option is also available, using an integrated dynamic map with directions.
At the same time, the points of interest are mapped on a digital map, which is available for mobile devices using an open cartographic background (google map). During the user’s movement, the map moves dynamically, displaying the pins of the points of interest that enter the user’s access radius and, accordingly, retracting the points of interest that are removed. Each pin is active and by selecting it all the information of the point of interest is displayed, and again the option “take me there…” is available.
Moreover, given the difficulty that exists in applications of this kind regarding the import and management of content, destinationpiraeus has adopted an innovative method of mapping and documenting points, using the CityPoints application. CityPoints is integrated in the backend of destinationpiraeus and gives the option of on-site or remote mapping of points of interest, offering the possibility of importing metadata of all formats (e.g. text, photos, videos, etc.) for each point. The initialisation is easily done, as the administrator can create a category of points of interest (e.g. Archaeological Sites) and assign it a specific icon to be displayed on the map. In addition, for this category, the administrator defines the parameters to be filled in per point of interest (e.g. Archaeological Period, Description, References, etc.), while choosing – for each of these parameters – whether they will be filled in by the executive performing the field mapping or by the office executive. A special app for mobile devices is available for performing field impressions of points of interest, and it is also possible to import data from a desktop computer. The use of CityPoints eliminates the possibility of errors in data entry, while overcoming weaknesses such as lack of human resources.
In the context of destinationpiraeus, particular emphasis has been placed on the promotion of the routes of the municipal transport system. By using the CityRoutes application, the five public transport routes are displayed on a digital map, including the stops and their characteristics (stop name, stop infrastructure such as canopy, bench, ramp for the disabled, etc.).
At the same time, the application displays the traffic of the nine buses on the above routes in real time. Every interested person (citizen or visitor) has the possibility to view the routes on his/her smart device, to identify routes and nearby stops in relation to his/her location and to be informed about the arrival time of the bus of his/her interest from the bus stop nearest to him/her.
In addition, there is the possibility of defining stops or stops of interest on the routes, so that the application automatically informs in real time, using push notifications, about the imminent arrival of the respective bus, regardless of the location of the person concerned. The latter has the possibility to choose how to be notified (e.g. inform me ten minutes before the bus passes my stop or inform me when my bus is at the previous stop, etc.).
Just like in CityPoints, the administrator of the application on the side of the municipality has the possibility to enter buses and routes, as well as to monitor all the buses of the municipality in real time on the digital map.
18-11-2018