Macau Tower Tour Guide System

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Macau TowerTour Guide System

• Sam Sze
• January 15, 2003

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Content

• Introduction to Macau Tower
• Tour Guide System Demo
• Discussion

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Project Introduction

• Macau Tower Management assigned University of
  Macau locally and AD Promotion Limited (an
  advertisement agent) from Hong Kong to propose
  and implement a tour guide system in Macau Tower.
• AD Promotion sources systems from 6 company and
  university departments in Hong Kong. They
  selected 3 organization in their first proposal
• VIEW Technologies
• A MP3 Device Maker
• GXC?? (The maker of Instant-Dict ???)
• After the selection by the Macau Tower
  Management, the final candidates are
• VIEW Technologies Using PDA Approach
• Macau University Also using PDA Approach
• The MP3 Device Maker

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Whats Macau Tower

• An integrated facilitates for
• Entertainment
• Concert
• International Conference
• Ceremony (e.g. 2003 New Year Count Down)
• Government Official Activities
• Eating
• Theatre
• Tower Visit
• Like a new town center of Macau

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Owner of the Tower

• Funded by the Macau Entertainment Limited chaired
  by Dr. Stanley Ho.
• Managed by the daughter of Stanley Ho.

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Location
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The Building

• Exhibition center
• Restaurants
• Conference rooms
• Open area
• Tower

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Exhibition Centre
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Open Area
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The Tower

• The Tower is 338m high at its highest point.
• The main observation level is 223m above ground.
• It is the 10th tallest free-standing tower in the
  world, 8th tallest in Asia.
• From the highest viewing deck it is possible to
  see 55km away.
• The Tower can withstand winds of up to 400km/h.
• The steel mast on top of the Tower is 90m tall.
• The Tower was designed principally by Gordon
  Moller of CCMBECA, New Zealand.

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The Tower
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Entering the Tower
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Ticket Office (HKD 75 per Adult)
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Take the Escalator
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Observation Decks 57-58/F
58/F Observation Lounge As the Tower's main
viewing deck, the Observation Lounge is a
spacious area to relax in. Gaze out over Taipa
and Coloane. Look for Macau's landmarks and
historical sites. Or try to spot Hong Kong's
outlying islands. 57/F Skywalk 1 Could you bear
being outside the Tower with only a hand rail to
cling to, a metal grid to walk on? Could you
stand being in the open a harrowing 216 m above
ground? Take in the Tower's awesome height with a
rush of adrenaline on the thrilling Skywalk
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Observation Decks 59-60/F
60/F 360 Café A great place to meet friends,
celebrate an occasion or have a romantic dinner,
the 360 Café boasts a vast buffet and one of the
best backdrops in Macau. Admire every angle of
the view as it passes by your table at the
revolving restaurant. 59/F 180 Lounge Cafe by
day and bar by night, the 180 Lounge is a
laid-back venue for sundowners and admiring
Macau's lights. Live music complements the
relaxed atmosphere making this a great
alternative to Macau's other night spots.
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Observation Decks 61/F
60/F Outdoor Observation Deck Skywalk 2 Admire
the highest possible view of Macau at the Outdoor
Observation Deck while enjoying snacks from the
Sky Cafe. Then challenge yourself with Skywalk 2
and walk outside the Tower on the upper deck, 61
floors above ground in the open air.
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Observation Lounge
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Glass Floor

• Watch out! Sections of the lounge are fitted with
  glass floor letting you see the ground beneath
  your feet - 223m away! Step on them if you're
  brave enough and feel like you're walking on air.

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Outdoor Observation Deck
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Comparison
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Problem

• Lack of scenic information.
• The Kiosk only provide general Macau traveling
  information.
• The Macau Tower management looks for a tour guide
  system. With key words Handheld, Audio,
  Pictures, Video, Attract Tourist

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Solution I

• Upgrade the Kiosk to support more scenic
  information.
• Pros The cheapest solution.
• Cons Need to work with the Portuguese company
  that installed the Kiosk. Non-personalized.

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Solution II

• MP3 Tour Guide System
• The user select corresponding audio tracks to
  describe the scene.
• Pros Low Price
• Cons Personalized. But limited to audio only.

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Solution III

• Handheld PDA Device Tour Guide
• Pros Support video and rich interactive content.
  Potential to support location sensitive automatic
  guidance.
• Cons Expensive!

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Demo

• Prototype
• Pocket PC
• Headphone
• 128MB SD Card
• Leather Case

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Challenges

• Cost of PDA Peripherals.
• Power consumption (backup and re-charging
  scheme). The peak time has 300 visitors.
• Protect from incorrect usage. (How to turn a
  general-purpose PDA into a specific tour guide
  system?)
• Limited memory to support multiple languages-
  Audio and picture compression.
• Check in/out procedure.
• Content editing.
• Staff training.

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Location Sensitive Tour GuideUseful or Not?

• Location sensitive measure can be achieved by
  using Bluetooth to detect nearest fixed location
  device.
• We expect the area can basically partitioned into
  4 areas (NSWE) only.
• There will be grey area between partitions.
• Cannot easily create a comfortable user
  experience. The user is not in full attention to
  the tour guide system. The user action is more
  clear if the user has full control of the system.

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Conclusion

• According to AD Promotion, The Macau Tower
  Management is impressed by the demonstration.
• The key factor is the tradeoff between
  attractiveness and cost.
• For final decision making by the management, AD
  Promotion will design a Macau Tower Cartoon Image
  for including in the demo.

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The End