AbstractsComputer Science

Google and Apple have provided precise navigation and locating service in outdoor environment. Tourists in New Zealand are able to identify their current location on a map and use navigation services provided by smartphones with Global Positioning Systems (GPS). However Google Map and IOS Map cannot provide navigation and locating service in indoor environments as the GPS signal is blocked within building interior. This thesis proposes a system to provide convenient and efficient tour navigation service to smartphone users no matter they are indoors or outdoors. In order to provide this service, this thesis implements back-end server on the Cloud Computing platform Google App Engine to calculate the navigation path for mobile users when indoors. Elastic cloud computing platform makes the system efficient at handling considerable number of requests while maintenance costs of the system are affordable. In addition, the mobile application Tour Navigation is developed as the interface between users and cloud service. By the clever use of QR codes with Tour Navigation, users are able to know their current location and query the shortest path to destination by sending requests to the cloud server. This thesis presents the NZ Tour Navigation System which is an affordable and easily-implemented technical solution for indoor navigation. What is more, it proves that the cloud computing platform is able to be the robust server for mobile applications, capable of handling complicated computing tasks.