Albena Bulgaria Cartography and GIS Conference Paper

1. Immersive Technologies and GIS
Integrating the Physical and Virtual
David Wortley FRSA
Senior Research Fellow
Immersive Technology Strategies
Leicester, United Kingdom
david@davidwortley.com
Abstract—This paper describes the trends in GIS Innovation activity, there has been a remarkable transformation in the level
driven by the immersive technologies of video games, virtual of operator skill, intelligence and knowledge required to make
worlds and social networks and examines the potential impact of effective use of machines and technology. These are just a few
these innovations on society examples.
Keywords-component; immersive technologies, serious games, B. Transport Technologies
GIS , personalisation, knowledge
I. INTRODUCTION
Immersive Technologies such as serious games, virtual
worlds and social networks are a very influential driver for
innovation because of their success in engaging the
discretionary time, attention and income of their users. This
investment in time, attention and money translates itself into
the commercial value of research and development of devices
and applications which better engage technology users and/or
make products and services accessible to the widest possible
consumer market. These devices and applications are shaping
our use of technology in ways which are developing highly
personalised relationships between users and various digital
Dashboard of Fiat 500 with Sat Nav
devices such that the devices themselves provide a unique
interface experience to the user which increasingly requires Transport technologies are one example of how humankind
lower levels of skill and knowledge to access because the has sought to break down the barriers of time, space and state
domain knowledge is embedded in the device and/or to enable people to travel further and faster. Where once
application. humans harnessed the power of animals to achieve this goal,
with the industrial revolution and steam power, mankind could
These new types of relationships between humans and operate a machine to transport people and goods to new places
computers are maturing rapidly and in the process, they are at faster speeds. The early steam engines and motor cars
breaking down the barriers between the physical and virtual required a whole spectrum of human senses, intelligence and
experience to operate efficiently and the necessary skills and/or
world. This paper and presentation will illustrate by example
knowledge could take years of training and practice to acquire.
some of the recent innovations in immersive technologies
Without this skill, experience and knowledge the transport
which combine very natural, almost invisible interfaces with systems of yesteryear would not function at all.
artificial intelligence, image processing, sensor devices and
user profiling / personalisation tools. Today, most of this skill and intelligence has been
embedded in the vehicles themselves so that even budget cars
II. HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINES such as the Fiat 500 have Satellite Navigation and a range of
telemetry and sensor data which, coupled with the vastly
A. Historical Perspective
improved reliability of modern cars means that drivers can just
In the early days of any new machine or technology get into a vehicle, start it up and easily navigate to their
designed and built by humans, the operation of that machine to destination. These GIS related technologies in cars, lorries,
optimum performance required operator skill, experience, ships and planes substantially reduces the need for human skill
understanding and intelligence. To a large extent, the skill and and experience.
experience of the human operator compensated for deficiencies
in the man-machine interface. In almost every sphere of human

2. C. Computing Technologies
IBM 5120 Desktop Computer
The early computers used in businesses and homes were
little more than sophisticated calculators and offered a “one
size fits all” solution with no sense or intelligence of their own
to be able to offer personalized services based on the location
of the computer and/or the needs/characteristics of the user.
Today, tablet computers like the iPad with 64GB of solid
state memory and smart phones all have incorporated
technology that gives the devices the ability to recognize their
location and also respond to the users’ behaviour.
These kinds of capabilities, when linked to cloud The Apollo mission in Second Life
computing and sophisticated search and analysis functionality, The increasing fidelity of 3D visualization used in video
mean that highly mobile devices have the ability to almost games and virtual worlds means that we can replicate real-
become an extension of the user, reflecting their interests, world physical spaces from the present, past and future in an
needs and desires to deliver a range of customized location immersive virtual environment that our avatar representations
based services. can freely navigate under our control and, in the future, will be
III THE ROLE OF VIDEO GAMES AND INTERFACE able to live and act autonomously through the use of artificial
TECHNOLOGIES intelligence.
The global video games market size was estimated to be IV IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES, PERSONALISATION
$60.4 billion in 2009 and is forecast to rise to over $70 billion AND GIS
by 2015. Video games generate more revenue than either the In parallel with the innovations in video games and virtual
movie industry or the music industry and because of their worlds, social networking applications have also been driving
commercial value, the market for video games is highly developments in GIS and location based services. The success
competitive and commands substantial investment in of the whole spectrum of immersive technologies evidenced
emerging technologies which provide competitive advantage by the number subscribers to social media sites like Facebook,
to the developers. MySpace, Twitter and Youtube is in no small way attributable
It is this investment in the Research and Development to the ability of these applications to be personalised by the
necessary to find ever more engaging ways to immerse the user. This personalisation gives the user control of how they
user sufficiently that has led to the development of are represented in these virtual spaces either through their
technologies and applications which address some of the most personal profile or the design of the avatar alter ego.
basic human needs. Human beings, uniquely of all living Personal Relationships with computing technologies are a
creatures have the desire and the ability to break the natural fast growing development area for location based applications.
barriers of time, space and state that our physical make up Computing in the areas of video games, virtual worlds and
constrains us to. We are motivated constantly to be able to social networking has a strong emphasis on technology
travel anywhere in time and space at will and instantly. Virtual developments which recognise the user and dynamically shape
worlds like Second Life allow us to do this. the interface to the user according to the individual’s
preferences, capabilities and interests. In this way, the
technology is learning to mimic the nature of human to human

3. relationships in which our behaviour evolves and modifies
over time as we get to know people.
Through devices like the Mirosoft Kinect with its voice
and facial recognition technologies, as well as other proactive
biometric security technologies, computing devices are getting
better at being able to identify an individual and therefore self-
configure according to the knowledge of that individual. In
addition, once a user is “recognised” and logged-on, other
background artificial intelligence technologies begin to
monitor the way the individual uses the technology in order to
shape the interface and content to the individual.
This phenomenon of personalisation and virtual
representation of the user in a social networking application is
now being successfully used in internet dating web sites and
also many commercial internal knowledge networks that
companies use to leverage their human resources. As these
technologies continue to develop and mature, it is very
conceivable that our avatars will use artificial intelligence to
navigate these “mirror” worlds and autonomously build
relationships with other virtual citizens that could deliver real-
world benefits to their “owner”.
V. CONCLUSION
Breaking down the barriers of time, space and state has
been a constant ambition since the dawn of time. Generations
of citizens of this planet have used their senses, intelligence
and skills to overcome the physical limitations of our bodies,
aided by technology that can transport us to new places and
new experiences in ever shorter timescales.
I believe that mankind has reached a “tipping point” at
which we have embedded human-like senses, intelligence and
judgement into the technologies that are becoming ubiquitous
and accessible to almost everyone. The next phase of
development, predicted in many ways by visionaries like Ray
Kurtzweil, would be for human beings and technologies to
increasingly merge in a combined physical/virtual
environment in which the borders between the real and virtual
ae almost invisible.