Dopřírody! :geoinformation mobile application

Abstract

Many people in Prague keep seeking a refuge in green areas within the city. Such a desire has inspired us to develop an app for cell phones that would be able to find natural areas in Prague. Users are navigated to the green spaces in real time and space. This article deals with the design and development of such app which has been aptly named DoPřírody! (To the Nature!). To create such an app requires a sound systemic design and also connection with a number of different components. Technically, it is a geoinformation community system composed of database, server, and mobile parts. First, it was necessary to define natural areas. Second, database of such areas containing exact position, description, type, photos, etc. was created. The server part includes application modules that secure users management, area search, routing, navigation, etc. The mobile part consists of user interface for cell phones. Special attention is given to the design and creation of algorithm that calculates the appropriate route within the road network which serves as a base for the navigation. DoPřírody! is also compared with competing projects like Googlemaps, Mapy.cz and OSM. Route length, time required, and computing time are the basic elements compared. DoPřírody! has all the features of a community system, i. e. logged-in users can contribute to further improvements. Anyone can update information on natural areas, upload more detailed descriptions, photographs, and comments. Thus, the whole system remains “live”. At the present time there are some 80 users that have downloaded the free installation app on Google Play.