Programming Interactivity, 2nd Edition

Chapter 15. Movement and Location

Throughout this book we’ve examined the types of data that users can generate and ways to use that data to help users perform certain tasks. In this chapter, we’ll look at using movement and location as a dataset, creating what are often called locative applications, that is, applications that are location aware.

One way of doing this is by using GPS data. GPS stands for Global Positioning System, and it relies on a system of satellites to provide triangulated data about the location of a GPS device at a given time. Another way of doing this is through an Internet connection. The GPS devices that you’ll be learning about in this chapter are quite small, some no more than 2 inches square. This makes them appropriate for projects and devices that need to be embedded within another object or that need to be extremely small. There are other ways of getting location information than just using GPS. If a computer or browser-enabled device such as a mobile phone is connected to the Internet, we can determine with some reasonable accuracy the location of the computer. This becomes an easy way to work with the tools that a user already has and is familiar with.

Using Movement As and In Interaction

Our location is information—what does determining where someone is tell you?

We can look at how to use movement and location in interaction in two fundamental ways. The first is the notion of knowing where someone is. The ability to determine users’ positions allows ...