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USC Map Navigation System

Team: 42

Rohit Philip Eddy 4096 Campus

Vijay Gopalakrishnan Campus

Vadim S. Klochko 8956 DEN

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Description

A navigation system local to the USC University park campus which could become scalable to any other regions

The navigation system displays the image of the map of the University Park Campus of and accepts user input of the locations that the user wishes to get routing information for.

On receiving the inputs the system will display the routes between the two locations. The back end spatial database is used to calculate the shortest path and other routing information.

The system also displays pictures of the starting and ending locations which serve as useful visual recognition tools.

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System Requirements

The system shall display the map of the USC campus in the display Viewport. The system navigate the map via the arrow buttons on the side of the display

Viewport. The system shall accept start and end points of the location from the user. The system shall provide the user with the most efficient route from the starting

point to the ending point. The system shall display a picture of the start and end points that the user selects. The system shall give listings of buildings in alphabetical order.

The system shall provide the user with a reset button.

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Navigation Map

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Navigation Map Explained

Get Directions - Validates the user input resulting in all and any relative information

or an error message if the user input is not valid.

Help - Brings up a pop up which contains links to a tutorial or a list of

FAQ.

Reset - Restores the system to its default state.

A-M / N-Z - Scrolls the list to the first entry that starts with the respective letter

Thumbnails - Brings up an enlarged version of the thumbnail image.

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User Analysis

Users:Our users are typically University students and professors. The users arewell educated English speakers. Most users are quite knowledgeable about computer and have used similar systems like Mapquest and Yahoo Maps. However there are a small percentage of users such as freshman students or friends/relatives of students who have little or no experience with computers.

User Workload:The user may perform tasks such as map navigation, selecting locations for which the route is needed, building acquisition.

User Environment: The system shall be accessed from any computer from any location which has the

system installed.

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User Analysis

User Characteristics

User Psychology- Neutral Attitude- Moderate Motivation

Knowledge and Experience- High Typing Skills- Moderate Computer Literacy- One Similar System

Job and Task Characteristics- Low Frequency of use- High turnover rate- Moderate task structure

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Task Analysis

Diagram

Start Location Info

Location

End location Location and Route Info

Display

Validation andRoute lookup

Validation

User

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User Analysis

Dialog Styles: In order to make the interaction easy and convenient for all types of users and for all types of tasks we have chosen 3 dialog styles.

Menus:

Suitable for the novice users who have little computer experience. Suitable for new users who are not familiar with building names. The breadth and depth of the menu was chosen carefully to ensure minimum scrolling.

Fill in Forms:

Suitable for the more advanced users who already know the building names and symbols and want the solution as quickly as possible. These may include senior students and/or professors.

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User Analysis

Direct Manipulation:

It is really the only convenient way to scroll through the map Viewport. Also may be used rarely to select the inputs. Increases speed of operation and user convenience. Will be used by most users and requires no training and there is very little chance of error.

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Input/Output Devices

Input Devices:

For the input devices we have chosen the mouse and the keyboard which are the most popular and easiest to use devices for input.

Output Devices:

A standard computer monitor is used to display the output. The system also supports output to a printer.

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Visual Design

Style Guide The general look-and-feel is that of the standard Sun JAVA application look-and-

feel. The Map Display Viewport shall occupy the centre of the application. The Map Display Viewport shall be surrounded by 4 navigation arrow buttons. Below the Map Display Viewport lies the Zoom Control Slider. The Starting/Ending Location Text Fields shall reside at the top of the application. The List of Locations shall occupy the lower left corner of the application. The Information Text Box shall occupy the lower right corner of the application. The Get Directions and the Reset buttons shall reside one below the other on the

left side of the application directly above the Landmark List Scroll. The File menu and the Help button shall reside in the menu bar of the application. The USC Navigation System label shall reside at the top left corner of the

application. The text color used is black used on a white background.

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Visual Design

Icons:

The only major icon used is a magnifying glass with a “+” or a “-” sign to denote zooming in and out. This is a standard for a zoom icon and should cause no confusion to users. A crosshair icon is used to denote selected locations on the map Viewport.

Color:

All colors used are of the standard Java API. This ensures a consistent look and feel across various platforms. These colors are standard colors that are available in lower resolution monitors and hence there will be no confusion caused on these machines. A further advantage is that users may already be familiar with these color combinations and will feel at ease.

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Homepage Design

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Homepage Design

As per Fitt's law in order to minimize movement during input, we have grouped the input components together. Hence the starting/ending location text fields, the input buttons and all menu options are placed close together.

The map Viewport occupies the center of the screen and the maximum real estate on the screen. It is the main focus of the application and commands the user’s attention. It also supports direct manipulation which encourages the user to interact with it. The zoom is placed in a standard position below the Viewport.

One challenge was to maximize the usage of real estate. The page breakup chart shows that content of interest occupies the most space in the application. Another way to maximize screen real estate was achieved by using pop up boxes for tasks like the help menu.

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Homepage Design

5%

84%

10%1%

Unused Content of Interest Navigation Site Identity

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Walkthrough

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Walkthrough

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Walkthrough

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Walkthrough

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Walkthrough

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Tools used

Java J2SE 5.0 Adobe Photoshop CS

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Future Plans

Development/improvement of initially proposed features/requirements. Traffic/Hazard avoidance/info feature. Device Scalability (On-campus information stand, hand-held devices). Regional Scalability (extended to work with maps of other regions).

Download our entire presentation online at

http://www-scf.usc.edu/~rohitedd/USCMap.ppt