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CHIMER: Children's Heritage Interactive Models for Evolving Repositories

By Daniel Weiss-November 2002

Daniel Weiss writes for us on the CHIMER Project which is aiming at establishing the European Cultural Heritage Archive on an open platform and retrieving local heritage from 6 partner countries.

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Introduction

CHIMER [1] aims to deliver fully multimedia information not only via Web portals but also via mobile portals offering location-based services. The project aims to establish the European Cultural Heritage Archive based on an open platform. The project will combine available Internet, GPS (Global Positioning System), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), WI-FI (Wireless Fidelity) and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technologies in order to develop interfacing and user access tools adapted to evolving 3G (Third Generation) networked multimedia technology for retrieving local heritage from 6 partner countries. CHIMER aims to offer a model which in the future can be replicated in other networks, not only in the area of cultural information but also, for example, for public sector information, health and cultural tourism, based on the use of digital vector cartography linked to multimedia databases.

The project combines not only partners from many different countries (Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Holland, Lithuania and Spain) but also partners with very different expertise. Hence we are now seeing co-operation, for example, between technical experts, researchers in museums and teachers in primary schools. The scientific and general information provided by museum experts and teachers will be complemented by the children's own interpretation. The CHIMER Project is supporting the natural creativity and curiosity of children by encouraging them to explore new tools for creating digital content.

CHIMER: The Concept

The Chimer Project is developing and implementing applications for Mobile Technologies in a cultural heritage environment based on a combination of GPS and GIS technologies. A GIS platform serving multimedia information to multiple hand-held devices is being implemented. Device Portability is a key point in the CHIMER Project.

The information can be retrieved through any Pocket Pc, Tablet PC and the new generation of Ericsson/Samsung/Nokia 60 series of Java-based mobile phones. Video, audio, photos, vector maps, routes for GPS or Arc Pad Pocket PC shape files, and satellite images can be retrieved.

Typical scenarios

Some standard scenarios could be:

• You are lost somewhere in the CHIMER territory, but you know your UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinates. So you send the coordinates to a GIS server and you retrieve through the Web, GPRS/3G or WI-FI, a map telling you where you are, plus an additional information menu of recommendations or opportunities in the area.
• You are in front of building, let's say a church or a modern building, but you do not know what it is, you take a picture with your mobile phone, introduce the coordinates you send a MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) to the information services created by the local municipality. On your mobile phone you receive precise information about the building plus a map showing routes to similar buildings just in case you want to tour the area.

  You also get a menu choice where services based in real time territorial analysis can provide you with further information on, for example, restaurants, hospitals or leisure areas.

The applications

This application focuses on Cultural Tourism as a sustainable development based on cultural heritage. It works with Pocket Pc applications where GPS software such Ozi-Explorer can be used, or you can download the map and the routes into other applications.

Hot Spots for WI-FI applications are being deployed in the CRA Nosa Sra do Faro School (Ponteceso-Spain) and at the Headquarter of Project Coordinator, Stiching Bedrijfsregio Kop van Noord-Holland (Den Helder Netherland) as a wireless testing point emulating 3G using a 2 Megs ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line). Routes for GPS are also available if you want to navigate through the territory. They can be downloaded from the GIS server or requested via MMS.

The series of vector maps are going to be used in a wide range of services and applications such as tourism, health and in an environmental context to indicate natural disasters, new routes or trekking trails. The vector maps are not raster images and therefore can be modified in real time when retrieved from the GIS server. Children and scientific museum experts are creating the information content. School Teachers from 5 countries involved in the project are developing a cognitive methodology for introducing mobile learning in their schools. A part of their school curriculum has been already adapted to incorporate mobile learning. 14 partners from 6 different countries are involved in this project.

Major challenges to be addressed

Detailed below are the major challenges that the project will seek to address.

Cognitive Methodology

For children and teachers the chief challenge is mobile cognitive issues; 5 schools around Europe are currently engaged in research. A multidisciplinary approach is being implemented. The five organisations involved are: Groene Poolster [2], CRA Nosa Sra do FARO [3] , Friderico Francisceum Gymnasium Bad Doberan [4], Elementary School in Chanovice [5]and Vilnius Minties Secondary School [6].

Open evolving digital heritage

Besides the map and the information is an open platform enhancing the competence of children in the use of leading technology and communication systems in order to create, search and modify networked information resources. They will also be able to share, explore and exploit their local cultural heritage with children from other European countries.

Location information-based services over wireless mobile technologies

There will be a need for:

• The creation of a mobile multimedia guide which can be easily replicable and used also for other than cultural purposes - the guide is available using new generation mobile phones, GPS devices and other mobile terminals
• Demonstrating the new application through the developed Heritage Information System, which consists of three main components: location based services, e-map and e-contents created by children and museum experts

The CHIMER Consortium

The partners are grouped by their expertise in Table 1 below. Partner information is available at the Project Website [1].

The CHIMER IT Architecture

The architecture has to integrate different layers of information and be workable through mutilple APIs & GUI in mobile devices where portability for delivering location based services to users with different profile is a key feature.

GIS Server for multiple Web-based and mobile clients

There is a GIS server in the background and that server is sending out information to the E-guide and M-guide based on requests (with UTM coordinates).

Figure 1: The CHIMER IT Architecture

Request and response communication to mobile devices

Both the clients, E-Guide (electronic guide) and M-Guide (mobile guide) will communicate with the server by sending a request.

Figure 2: Location Information-Based Services

A request could, for instance, might be: "Send me the video with id(512)". The server receives the request and starts processing it. When the server is done, it will send back the result of the processing as a Response. The client receives the Response and can provide the GUI with the result. The benefit of using a Request/Response protocol is that it is very easy to add or remove functionality. When a new feature needs to be added, a new Request and Response pair is all that is needed. The new pair will not interfere with existing functionality.

The communication between the E-Map application and the prototype uses a specially designed XML protocol. The protocol can easily be extended when new features are implemented.

The best way of providing reusable components is to divide the client code into a GUI layer and a business model layer. The GUI layer should only contain information and methods for presenting the data received from the business model. The business model, on the other hand, should only know about the data available and function independently of any GUI issues. When the layers are clearly defined according to these guidelines, all the work of the business model layer can be used by both the E-Guide and the M-Guide.

Conclusions

The CHIMER Project will deliver:

1. The M-guide (mobile guide) is the multilingual multimedia tool operating on a platform of the content stored in the Digital Heritage Archive linked to the E-map. It is a wireless, personal, multimedia system for accessing information services focused on geo-heritage and retrievable through mobile devices. M-guide is an application, which will provide different types of services to different types of users
2. The E-guide (electronic guide) is a multilingual multimedia tool operating on a platform of geo-heritage information retrieved from the content stored in the Digital Heritage Archive linked to the E-map
3. The e-Publication containing a complete description of the cognitive method which was used and formed during the project, a didactical model for implementation of a web based Geo-Heritage information system, manual on the use of the 3G mobile technology for retrieving the Heritage information anywhere at anytime by anyone.
4. The E-map which is based on a vector map in digital format. Children, teachers and museum experts will select places of interest, to be included in the project, and they will collect geographical data using a GPS device. At the same time as collecting the geographic information data, children will track and record all the waypoints along the route between places of interest. All this data will then be downloaded and merged with the vector map of the selected territory so that it can be retrieved by users of mobile devices.

Acknowledgements

Figure 1 Diagram kindly provided by: Stefan Hassinger of Zentrum für Graphische Datenverarbeitung e.V., Rostock, Germany.

Information for the section "Request and response communication to Mobile devices" was kindly provided by Svante Olofsson of IAMSR, ABO AKADEMI, Abo, Finland.

Photos provided by the Chimer Coordinator [7].

Information for completing this article was kindly provided by the Czech CHIMER partner Cross Czech-Romana Krizova.

References

1. CHIMER Websites, (Note: some of them are still under construction):
   Project Web site URL: <http://www.chimer.org/>
   Dutch Web site URL: <http://www.chimer.nl/>
   German Web site URL: <http://www.chimer.de/>
   Lithuanian Web site URL: <http://www.chimer.lt/>
   CHIMER is one of the Heritage for All projects from the Sixth Call
   funded by the European Commission's Information Society
   Technology R&D programme (see more at digicult search site,
   enter "CHIMER" at:
   URL: <http://dbs.cordis.lu/search/en/simple/EN_PROJ_simple.html >)
2. The 'Groene Poolster' (Green Poolstar) is an institute for environment and nature
   education and communications in the Den Helder region / Kop van Noord-Holland.
3. CRA is a network of Rural Schools researching in cognitive methodologies
   in the use and implementation of new technologies in rural areas.
   It is located in Galicia, Spain.
   URL: <http://www.craescuela.net/>
   URL: <http://www.craescuela.net/id_ing/index.htm>
4. The Friderico-Francesceum Gymnasium Bad Doberan is one of the biggest schools
   in Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania, Germany. The school is 130 years old.
5. Elementary School, Chanovice : located in Chanovice, Czech Republic, the
   school has 151 pupils in 8 classes and 11 teachers.
6. Vilnius Minties Secondary School was founded in 1974. With the highly
   qualified teaching staff the school has achieved significant results in
   different spheres. It is located in Vilnius, Lithuania.
7. The CHIMER Coordinator - Bedrijfsregio Kop van Noord-Holland.
   URL: <http://www.bedrijfsregio.nl/>

Author Details

Daniel Weiss
Director of Ciberespacio SL
Penarredonda 50
15170 A Coruña
Spain

URL: <http://kmi.open.ac.uk/people/paulm/>
Email: dweiss@chimer.org
Phone: +34 609 838 394

Daniel Weiss has been coordinating different European projects since 1990. These include ESF (Workshop of New Technologies, City of Madrid), Raphael (Blen Project) and RECITE II (The Networked City). He is Technical Coordinator for the CHIMER Project.

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For citation purposes:
Weiss, D. "CHIMER: Children's Heritage Interactive Models for Evolving Repositories", Cultivate Interactive, issue 8, 15 November 2002
URL: <http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue8/chimer/>

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