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No vertical limit – Conceptual LBS design for climbers

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  • University of St.Gallen

Abstract and Figures

Johannes Schöning In this paper we present a novel conceptual design for a location-based service (LBS) for climbers. We focus on ideas for LBS in the vertical domain, combing concepts from augmented reality, mobile social applications and multimodal integration. We address problems such as merging paper maps and reality, hands-free interaction, communication in environments without infrastructures, and geosensor networks that provide information on weather and other relevant subjects.
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No vertical limit - Conceptual LBS
design for climbers
Abstract
Johannes Schöning
Institute for Geoinformatics
Robert Koch Str. 26-28
48149 Münster, Germany
j.schoening@uni-muenster.de
Ilija Panov
Institute for Geoinformatics
Robert Koch Str. 26-28
48149 Münster, Germany
i.panov@uni-muenster.de
Carsten Keßler
Institute for Geoinformatics
Robert Koch Str. 26-28
48149 Münster, Germany
carsten.kessler@uni-muenster.de
In this paper we present a novel conceptual design for
a location-based service (LBS) for climbers. We focus
on ideas for LBS in the vertical domain, combing
concepts from augmented reality, mobile social
applications and multimodal integration. We address
problems such as merging paper maps and reality,
hands-free interaction, communication in environments
without infrastructures, and geosensor networks that
provide information on weather and other relevant
subjects.
Keywords
LBS, conceptual design, climbing
ACM Classification Keywords
H.1.2 User/Machine Systems, H.5.1 Multimedia
Information Systems, H.5.2 User Interfaces
Motivation and related work
Today’s mobile devices easily outperform the desktop
computers of even a few years ago. The ongoing
miniaturization trend allows us to carry devices with us
in situations formerly hostile to technology. For
example, there are some existing location-based
applications, like the "Alps Ranger" [1] and the
"Paramount system" [2, 3], that make wilderness
experiences safer. These GPS-based LBS run on a PDA,
lead hikers through the mountains and can also help
Copyright is held by the author/owner(s).
CHI 2007, April 28 – May 3, 2007, San Jose, USA
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rescue teams to locate a stranded hiker. In addition, an
increasing number of sensors are integrated into such
devices. Camera, GPS, compass and similar sensors are
already somewhat standard [4]. Other sensors, e.g. for
surveillance of human vital functions, enable the
development of new applications.
In an informal focus group established around faculty
members and students from the Institute for
Geoinformatics, University of Münster, we have
developed a concept for a novel LBS for climbers. Both
mountain guides and members of the target group
the climbers themselves — were involved in the design
process to make sure that all aspects of a climbing
experience were considered. In this paper, we address
the four main issues raised by the group:
Navigation (i): For climbing, so called “climbing topo
maps” are often used (see figure 1). Focus group
members said these maps are often difficult to
understand. A “topo” is a guide for a crag or climbing
area. It contains details on the grade of each of the
climbs. It includes the lengths of the climbs and most
importantly it usually specifies which gear has to be
used. Communication (ii): Climbers normally work in
small groups of not more than three persons on one
single rope. As such, communication plays a big role in
the belaying process. Such communication may be very
difficult if it is windy or if the route is very narrow or
obscured. Weather forecasts (iii): In many climbing
situations the weather plays a big role — for example, a
thunderstorm is very dangerous in the mountains. So
the climbers need to be informed of the current and
upcoming weather. Climbing community (iv): A detailed
estimation of the degree of difficulty of a route and
knowledge about special challenges contribute to a
better-planned and safer climbing experience. Such
detailed knowledge is best exchanged among climbers,
an idea that can easily be realized through specialized
online portals. However, important characteristics of a
climbing trip are not supported by these services, e.g.
the sporty challenge, adventure and the thrill.
Smart Navigation — Augmented climbing
routes
From the perspective of supporting services, a climbing
day can be separated into three distinct segments:
planning the trip at home and going to the starting
point, the actual climbing experience, and finally going
back home and documenting the tour.
Figure 1: A photo augmented with a topo
The choice of the climbing trip is facilitated by an online
climbing portal, which provides information on length,
degree of difficulty and other characteristics of the
available routes. The climber, going by car, is first
routed to a parking lot near the starting point, and then
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guided to the rock face via pedestrian navigation [1, 4].
However, the most difficult part is often finding the
exact starting point of the climbing route at the foot of
the wall. As such, the mobile assistant is equipped with
augmented reality functionality to help the user to
solve this task. The image of the integrated camera is
overlaid with the topo to visualize the route on the wall,
as shown in figure 1. This functionality is available
throughout the tour and allows the alpinist to project
the topo upon the real-time image of the wall whenever
he needs support.
Smart communication between the climbers
Once the climbers have begun ascending the wall, they
are supported by enhanced functionalities of their gear.
Harnesses, ropes and sports watches are equipped with
sensors that allow the climber to retrieve information
on the next grip or stand. Moreover, the smart
equipment allows climbers to communicate and monitor
each other’s vital functions through non-obstructive
displays on the harnesses (see figure 2). This can be
critical during ascents where two climbers cannot see
each other because of a ledge. Belayers can watch for
increases in their climbers’ heart rates — a change that
usually indicates that a fall is imminent — and can use
the communication channel to clear up the situation. All
communication is transferred through the rope, which
acts as a data cable (see figure 3), since wireless
connections tend to be error-prone in the mountains.
For individual support, the climber's watch is equipped
with easy-to-read symbols that point in the direction of
the next crevice. Beyond that, the distance and the
type of nut previous climbers have used at this crevice
are shown. This information is stored on the digital
assistant and was downloaded from the climbing portal
when the route was planned. The system also
automatically stores the kind of nut the current climber
is using, so that the collected information can be
uploaded to the portal after the tour. This functionality
is enabled by geosensors integrated in the nuts and
carabineers, as shown in figure 3.
Figure 2: The smart harness - the harness provides information on
the climbing partner
Geosensor network provides weather
information
The fast changing weather conditions in the mountains
are a notorious problem for climbers. The conditions
can often change from sunshine into rain in a few
minutes. Moreover, it is very difficult for climbers to
perceive weather moving in from directions that are out
of sight, making it nearly impossible for them to react
appropriately. On the north wall of a mountain, for
instance, the climber cannot perceive the arriving storm
from the south. Information about incoming dangerous
weather enables the climber to leave the wall at an
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appropriate exit. As such, short-term weather forecasts
are essential to the safety-aware climber. The mobile
device delivers the necessary weather information. The
climber sees all appropriate information visualized on
the harness display (see figure 2). Since she is not able
to permanently observe the information on the display
of the mobile device during climbing, the system must
alert the climber via a voice signal when the weather
conditions are changing in a way that would force her
to stay in the wall, e.g. a hard storm. The sources for
the weather information are the hooks themselves.
Equipped with sensors and Internet connections, they
comprise a geosensor network [5] that collects and
distributes the necessary information (see figure 3).
Figure 3: The smart hooks built up a geosensor network to collect
and dispread information.
Support the community
Today´s online portals (e.g. DAV Felskataster [6])
support climbers in their decision making process by
delivering information such as the degree of difficulty of
a route. This information comes from independent
critics or other climbers from the community, who
present their personal experiences and impressions on
the web. However the personal preferences of a visiting
climber will be emphasized. Users will be able to create,
save and change their own profile. Fundamentals of the
profile are for instance personal abilities, desired
location and degree of difficulty. Additionally, the portal
will be able to compute a tour that matches the profiles
of all individuals in a group of climbers. Climbers can
also contribute to the community by transferring their
personal impressions and experiences of a past
climbing tour from the mobile device into the online
portal [7].
The challenge is to combine these different services in a
manner such that climbers can use their mobile device
to complete all of the aforementioned tasks. The goal
of our conceptual design is to provide an integrated
user experience through a consistently designed
interface.
Conclusion und future work
In this paper we present some basic ideas for a
climbers’ LBS. We are starting to implement the
Augmented Climbing Route Viewer based on our work
on mobile interaction with maps [8]. Beyond that, we
are developing a positioning system based on rope
length and air pressure to determine the vertical
position of the climbers, a task that GPS still performs
poorly [9]. All ideas mentioned are from a research
retreat in the Alps. We would like to thank the
participants for discussions on this topic, especially
Sebastian Südbeck, Oliver Paczkowski, Brent Hecht,
Krzysztof Janowicz, Hans Jörg Müller, Martin Raubal
and Antonio Krüger.
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References
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Region vermittelt der digitale Wanderführer, (2006)
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PARAMOUNT- Public Safety & Commercial Info-Mobility
Applications & Services in the Mountains. In:
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of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation
ION GPS, (2001)
[3] Lohnert, E. Wireless in the Alps An LBS Prototype
for Mountain Hikers. GPS world, 15(3), (2004)
[4] Hightower, J., Borriello, G. Location Systems for
Ubiquitous Computing. In IEEE Computer, (2001)
[5] Stefanidis, A., Nittel, S. GeoSensor Networks. CRC
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[6] http://davfels.alta4gis.de/ajaxdav/ (visited
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[9] Longley, P., Goodchild,M., Maguire, D., Rhind, D.:
Geographic Information Systems and Science [Ch. 5].
Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, (2001)
... The research literature includes examples of potential advanced technologies that can support the activity of climbing. For example, early work by (Schöning, Panov and Kessler, 2007) presents design ideas based around Location Based Services to support climbing activities. Based on this concept (Daiber, Kosmalla, Wiehr and Krüger, 2016) envisioned an approach that consists of a wearable device and a personal drone to guide climbers and allow life-logging of their climbing experience. ...
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The idea of man’s ‘mastery over nature’ is ubiquitous in western philosophy and in western thinking. Technology has been widely used in support of this end. Given the growing interaction design opportunities for personal digital technologies in supporting outdoor and recreational nature activities such as mountaineering, it is timely to unpack the role that technology can play in such activities. In doing so, it is important to consider the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations at play for the individual and the accepted social norms or ‘rules’ that are associated with the activity through its community and passed on through its community of practice. Technologies that may be considered as a form of ‘cheating’ when first introduced (such as handheld GPS) can later become accepted through common practice, although the rules are often nuanced. For example, it is widely regarded that GPS should not replace the skill of map reading and navigation. In this chapter, we consider different forms of mastery over nature that technology can support and reflect on the design sensitivities that these provide.
... Mencarini et al. (2016) have shown the influence of emotions in the experience of learning to climb and suggested the design of a system that could bridge the communication between the players involved in order to address the psychological aspects of this sport as well. Another representative work is that of Schöning et al. (2007), who, by shifting the focus of research from the indoor to the outdoor practice, changed the purpose of wearable devices from performance improvement to context-related needs such as location finding, communication between partners, and awareness of the weather conditions. In order to address these needs, the authors proposed the design concept of a system that relies on Location-Based Systems and Augmented Reality and provides information embedded in the gear. ...
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This paper presents the co-design process of a wearable device for rock climbing, an extreme sport that requires high physical, emotional, and cognitive involvement. From the preliminary investigation of climbers’ needs, it emerged that their acceptance of wearables is mainly influenced by climbing sport-specific values like self-efficacy, trust, and adventure. Such values highlight the importance of the role technology should have beyond its functional purpose, i.e. how wearables should support climbers. Based on these insights, we designed and deployed a vibrotactile wearable device aimed at augmenting the communication between instructor and trainees and assessed its usefulness, usability, and pleasantness during an indoor climbing lesson. Finally, we conclude the paper discussing how the wearable we implemented meets the design criteria emerged from climbers’ values and reflecting on the importance to gain new perspectives on the design of wearables for sports in general.
... Similarly, Kosmalla et al. [12] designed a wrist-worn device capable of recognizing the routes climbed in a gym and thus allowing the comparison of training sessions between climbers. Looking at outdoor climbers, Schöning et al. [23] proposed a concept design based on Location-Based Systems and Augmented Reality embedded in the climbing gear addressing some of the main problems of mountaineering such as location finding, communicating with the climbing partner, and knowing weather conditions. ...
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In this paper, we present a field study on the learning of climbing aimed at defining the design space of wearable devices to support beginners. Three main findings have emerged from our study. First, climbing has a strong emotional impact on beginners; therefore, learning to climb requires mastering new motor patterns as well as negative emotions, such as stress and fear. Second, the feeling of danger that climbers often experience can be mitigated by trust in the climbing partner and the perception of her active presence. Finally, a big problem in climbing is the communication difficulty between the climbing partners and between climber and instructor. We conclude the paper presenting four design considerations for the design of wearable devices meant to support the learning of climbing by providing the actors involved with augmented communication. Such augmented communication should address both the physical and the emotional difficulties of this sport.
... Previous HCI research on climbing has focused mainly on supporting training by enhancing indoor walls [4,8] or tracking performance [5,6]. [12] has conceived a series of LBS services integrated with mixed reality for the outdoors, e.g. communication between climbing partners. ...
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This paper presents the results of 11 interviews to beginner climbers aimed at investigating the role of emotions in learning climbing. Climbing is an extreme sport becoming increasingly popular thanks to a higher safety and to the spread of indoor gyms. Although the evolution of this sport from alpinism to indoor practice has made it accessible to all, the emotional involvement that it entails has remained. Our findings suggest that there can be a space for the design of technologies that help managing negative emotions by augmenting the communication between climbing partners with haptic feedback.
... These GPS-based LBS run on a PDA, lead hikers through the mountains and can also help rescue teams to locate a stranded hiker. Schöning et al. propose with [12] a conceptual design for a LBS for climbers. ...
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In this paper, the potential role of a sport tracking application is examined in the context of supporting tracking outdoor sporting activities. A user study with 28 participants was conducted to study the usage habits and user experiences evoked. The application consists of a mobile tracking tool and a related web service. It collects and stores workout data such as the route, speed and time, and compiles a training diary that can be viewed in many ways during the exercise and afterwards. Data can be uploaded into a web service for further analysis or for sharing it with others. The results show high interest in tracking outdoor sports with a mobile phone application – the participants used the application during almost all exercise sessions and stated that they would continue using the application after the study. Sharing data was not perceived as valuable, although some usage scenarios for social sharing arose.
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One of the most important components of Location Based Services (LBS) is geodata. Lots of services providing information to the LBS users are based on this kind of data. For the content and LBS providers it is very important to deliver up-to-date, accurate and reliable information. However keeping a database for LBS that satisfies the just mentioned criteria all the time is a time consuming and consequently costly matter. In this paper an approach is presented to support the content and LBS providers in this task by involving the LBS users in the data acquisition and update process for attribute information as well as spatial data. Therefore an approach with two major steps, data gathering and data evaluation, is introduced. Within the data gathering process multiple information from lots of different users is collected. Using this data the evaluation process should contribute to preventing insertion of false information into the database. To achieve this the presented approach proposes a comparison of the multiple data gathered by different user to derive correct and reliable information by retrieving and rating corresponding information. Depending on the kind of data captured by the users different problems arise. Gathering textual information results mainly in semantic problems. The capturing of spatial data and the special challenges met here are discussed with respect to the presented approach on a LBS for hikers and mountaineers in which the users should be involved in the update process of the trail network (spatial data).
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Technical note Natur und Technik: Der Alpenranger -Wissenswertes über die Region vermittelt der digitale Wanderführer
  • Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Technical note. Natur und Technik: Der Alpenranger -Wissenswertes über die Region vermittelt der digitale Wanderführer, (2006)
PARAMOUNT-Public Safety & Commercial Info-Mobility Applications & Services in the Mountains
  • E Loehnert
  • E Wittmann
  • J Pielmeier
  • F Sayda
Loehnert, E., Wittmann, E., Pielmeier, J., Sayda, F. PARAMOUNT-Public Safety & Commercial Info-Mobility Applications & Services in the Mountains. In: Proceedings of the 14th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation ION GPS, (2001)
Wireless in the Alps An LBS Prototype for Mountain Hikers
  • E Lohnert
Lohnert, E. Wireless in the Alps An LBS Prototype for Mountain Hikers. GPS world, 15(3), (2004)
Interaction of mobile devices with maps
  • J Schöning
  • A Krüger
  • H J Müller
Schöning, J., Krüger, A.,Müller, H. J. Interaction of mobile devices with maps. In: Adjunct Proceeding of the 4 th International Conference on Pervasive Computing, (2006)
Natur und Technik: Der Alpenranger -Wissenswertes über die Region vermittelt der digitale Wanderführer
  • Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Technical note. Natur und Technik: Der Alpenranger -Wissenswertes über die Region vermittelt der digitale Wanderführer, (2006)