UAE: An Emirati student at Khalifa University, Sharjah, developed an indoor navigation application. Buti Mohammad Al Delail developed ‘Context Aware Visual indoor Augmented Reality’ application (CAViAR App), which is compatible with and downloadable from Apple’s iTunes platform. The app uses state-of-the-art augmented reality (AR) technologies to provide the user with the blueprint of his/her location, 3D view of the vicinity and navigation based on image detection.
“Indoor Location Services (ILS) is one of the recent promising fields for mobile applications that are specialised in indoor localisation and navigation,” said Buti.
CAViAR app also features indoor maps, points the shortest path, places of interest, location sharing, locating the user friend’s location and voice commands. “CAViAR is now implemented at the Khalifa University’s Sharjah campus and uses the professor’s name and room number written on the doors to pinpoint the location,” explained Buti.
“It also uses voice recognition to recognise commands such as ‘Where is Dr Luis Weruaga?’ and shows you the direction to his office. It can also trace the user footsteps while walking in order to update the location,” he added.
CAViAR App is currently only available for use by Khalifa University students and downloadable at the iPhone AppStore.
“I haven’t mapped any other campus, but in time, this app could be applied to many locations around the world,” Buti stated.
CAViAR App is compatible with iPhone or iPad, BlackBerry and other android devices including Samsung, primarily for their good processor, image recognition, graphics, 3D and 3G connectivity. Internet connection is required to run the mobile application.
At the recently held Mobile Application Contest, participated by universities from across the country and hosted by Khalifa University, Buti was awarded fourth for CAViAR App.
Source: Khaleej Times
