Omer Rashid

Extending cyberspace: location based games using cellular phones

In the current market many game developers and publishers treat the cellular phone as just another platform to which they can port a console game; they ignore the exciting new possibilities cellular phones provide via their inherent ability to maintain connectivity while on the move. One possibility is to extend the virtual world of traditional video games through location-based information, which allows users to play games that incorporate knowledge of their physical location and landscape, and then provides them with the ability to interact with both real and virtual objects within that space. However, if such games are to become pervasive and if developers want their efforts to escape the bounds of the research laboratory, they must address the nature of the cellular environment, the precision of the location-based technologies in their region, and the present and likely future capabilities of cellular handsets. To aid innovative game development we draw together many fragmented sources of information for an assessment of technologies, and implementations of cellular location-based games. Further, we discuss practical mechanisms for producing a finer degree of location granularity, both through future technology and our novel implementations of systems that augment location-sensing. The first mechanism uses Bluetooth, which is already a pervasive component of mobile phones feature sets, and can be implemented without the need for client side software. The second implements the use of a future pervasive technology, RFID tags, now that commercial cellular handsets that incorporate RFID readers have emerged.

PAC-LAN: mixed-reality gaming with RFID-enabled mobile phones

RFID (Radio frequency identification) is often seen as an enabling technology for mixed-reality experiences where all kinds of objects, even the most mundane and inanimate, can be equipped to provide interaction between the real and virtual worlds. These mixed-reality experiences could occur in all aspects of our lives, but one of the most easily envisaged is that of computer games. As the mobile phone has become the computer carried in the pockets of a third of the population of the planet, it would seem a natural platform for these mixed-reality games. Further, the emergence of mobile phones that incorporate RFID readers gives the opportunity for creating games in which players interact with real physical objects, in real locations, and provides enhanced gameplay and experience. In this article we present details of a novel location- and object-enhanced mixed-reality version of the Namco arcade classic, Pacman. In particular, the article presents a comparison of the game to other mixed-reality versions of Pacman; the rationale behind specific design choices made during game design and its subsequent implementation; and an analysis of the experiences of people who have played the game. Our system highlights the possibilities via use of physical objects and the combination of mobile phones and RFID of yielding new mixed-reality entertainment experiences.

Implementing location based information/advertising for existing mobile phone users in indoor/urban environments

In the emerging world of m-commerce potential users consistently cite location based services as a technology they would be interested in using. However, solutions to obtaining the specific location of the user predominately rely on the provision of additional hardware and/or software within the mobile phone or the system infrastructure. These techniques are often inappropriate for indoor and highly urban environments where the line of sight to the location measurement unit is often unavailable resulting in inaccurate and unreliable positional information. In this paper we present a system that can be used with any current mobile phone system to provide location based information/advertisements to any mobile phone, equipped with Bluetooth technology, without any necessity of installing client side software. The system can be used to provide systems such as location based information for tourist in cities or museums or location based advertisements.

Providing location based information/advertising for existing mobile phone users

In the emerging world of m-commerce potential users consistently cite location based information as one of the emergent services that they would most likely utilise. However, solutions for obtaining the specific location of a mobile user predominately rely on the provision of additional hardware and/or software within either the mobile phone or system infrastructure. Further, these techniques are often inappropriate for indoor and highly urban environments, where they are often most useful, as the line of sight to the location measurement unit is often obscured resulting in inaccurate and unreliable positional information. In this paper we present a system that can be used with any current mobile phone system to provide location based information/advertisements to any mobile phone, equipped with Bluetooth technology, without any necessity of installing client side software. The system is readily deployable and can be used to provide systems such as location based information for tourist in cities or museums or indeed location based advertisements.

Utilising RFID for mixed reality mobile games

RFID is often cited as the next big evolution in computing as it effectively enables everyday objects to be connected to the Internet. RFID readers are now available on mobile phones and in this paper we present an example of their use in a location based mobile game. Location based games are a new entertainment genre that allow users to play games in mixed reality in that they incorporate knowledge of their physical location and then provide them with the ability to interact with both real and virtual objects within that location. The game presented in this paper is the first of its kind and shows the potential for using RFID with mobile phones.

Mobile information systems providing estimated time of arrival for public transport users

Walking out of the house on cold and wet winter morning to catch the bus knowing with confidence that arrival is imminent would be a dream for many users of public transport. With one look at the mobile phone not only it is possible to see the exact time of arrival at a users stop but also the next departure from the central terminal and its estimated time of arrival. In this paper we present a public information system that can provide up to date and comprehensive information on metrobus services through a variety of means to the users mobile phone.

A comparative study of mobile application development in symbian and J2ME using example of a live football results service operating over GPRS

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PAC-LAN: the human arcade

PAC-LAN is a mixed reality game, which plays homage to the Namco classic Pacman, which utilises mobile phones equipped with in-built RFID readers. The game is played by 5 players around a suitable pedestrian area with their positions indicated on a graphical representation on their phone screen. Players use their mobile phone to interact with physical game pills (in the form of yellow plastic discs equipped with RFID tags and attached to lampposts) and opposing players (who have tags attached to their costumes). Whilst this is not the first game to play homage to Pacman the user experience shows that this technology is simple, easy to use, and allows the game to be played at very high speed over a large area with minimal setup. It is also the first that allows spectators to follow the action through an application running on any suitable Java enabled mobile phone. As current predictions estimate that half of mobile phones will be equipped with RFID capabilities by 2009 this project demonstrates an enormous potential for entertainment applications.

Mobile Games: Challenges and Opportunities

Mobile games are expected to play significant role in future mobile services by evolving beyond the largely single player titles that currently dominate the market to ones that take advantage expanding mobile phone functionality and the wide demographic of the mobile phone user. However, because of the fragmented nature of the mobile software development market, and the restrictions imposed by the mobile phone hardware, the skills required for games development are more akin to embedded software development and those used in the game development of the early 1980s, rather than those currently practiced amongst console and PC game developers. In the first half of this chapter we discuss the hardware restrictions and the different software environments encountered together with methodologies so that mobile game developers can produce effective designs. Having discussed the challenges in developing mobile games in the second half of the chapter we discuss the opportunities for innovation provided by the mobile phones through both their anywhere connectivity and the ever enhancing feature set. To this end we present examples using Cameras, RFID, Bluetooth, and GPS that illustrate how through careful design mobile games do not simply have to be cut down versions of console games but can provide uniquely mobile gaming experiences.

Implications of IMS and SIP on the Evolution of Mobile Applications

The emergence of IMS and SIP has major ramifications for the whole of mobile industry including network providers, end users and application developers. This paper focuses on the evolution of mobile entertainment applications towards the utilization of rich multimedia content coupled with presence and localization awareness and how Java, the dominant development platform for mobile phones, will cope with these new challenges