Forbidden City Explorer: A Guide System that Gives Priority to Shared Images

There have been developed many guide systems using location information. But most systems have a one-way communication system. We have developed a prototype universal two-way communication guide system, which was named The Forbidden City Explorer. This system has real-time information sharing functions including image data, chatting, and mutual location information. It gives priority to shared images and chats, supporting a friendly user interface and simple operation methods, especially creating shared images to be used by general people. We applied the system twice to the Forbidden City in Beijing at the end of 2005. Users were Chinese. The results of the experiments are as follows: (1) The evaluation of the image data sharing function was timely. (2) With a simple operation, many shared images and chat messages were created and they helped make the users’ sightseeing more effective and interesting.