Seoul u-Tour system trial
2008/07/15 22:33Back in March, the Seoul Metropolitan Government along with SK consortium launched a trial of the u-Tour system in Myeongdong. The trial has now been closed, but I was one of the first users of the system.
The Korea Times wrote an article at the start of the trial outlining the main part of the service with the u-Device:
Travelers can get travel information about Myeongdong, make their own trip plans, and make reservations for the rental of the cell-phone with the guide gadget software loaded before coming to Korea at www.utourseoul.com.
Arriving in Korea, they can get the specially designed cell phones with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips installed at promotion booths at Incheon International Airport and in Myeongdong. Through the mobile phones, they can see their plans, as well as search for more information.
About 100 hotels, shops, restaurants and spas will be included. If travelers hold their handset to RFID-installed tags attached on the designated shop doors, information about the shops and discount coupons will appear.
They can also send such information to their blogs and make a travel log.
The u-Hub consists of some LCD display panels showing user created content (UCC) and other information such as historical facts and the weather forecast. There was also an interactive display allowing tourists to take their photograph and send it as digital postcard by email.
Scanning an RFID tag with the mobile phone was a slow process and the tiny screen on the phone also limited the ability to display information. Even comparing it to a traditional guide book, it was hard to find how the u-Device improves the experience for a tourist.
While Seoul looks at expanding the system to other tourist areas in the city, they need to do a thorough review with actual tourists to see how the u-Tour system can make for a useful and easy to use experience.
Korea.net also posted an article about the u-Tour trial.
You can also find an interview with him on a Korean morning talk show program.
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