Bremerhaven is working on „Location Based Services“ in Info-Terminals.
For the installation of the bluetooth-hotspots as well as the services connected to them, the carrier medium of the „info-terminals“ must be accordingly prepared.

This entails aside from the installation of the bluetooth hardware also the identification of the info-terminals as a bluetooth-hotspot by means of a label, which can be seen from a distance, as well as the implementation of the „general user interface“ (GUI) for the bluetooth service.

Against this backdrop, the starting page of the info-terminals must be developed to integrate not only the general and already existing services but also the new bluetooth services. This service must be easy to access and user-friendly.

Thus we are talking about the buttons resp. action-areas on the starting page, which contain the respective selection and control elements for the bluetooth content and provide the interested user with a selection.
This functional process contains aside from the selection buttons on the start page, respective submenus for the selection of the bluetooth services at the location of the info-terminals (Location Based Services).

This means, bluetooth services, which orientate themselves to the specific environment (e.g. audio file for the location, etc.) combined with general information about the region or entertaining and informative services (pictures, music, etc.).
The existing content management system must be extensively expanded and revised for integration directly into the start and selection mask construction of the existing and new info-terminals in Bremerhaven and in the surrounding region. In this way we will be able to comply with the new requirements through the bluetooth services and should the situation later arise with the expansion of service scenarios.

The first step for this will be to give the starting page of the info-terminal a new layout and at the same time align it with the city website www.bremerhaven.de (relaunch July 2009) in order to present visitors with an unified website display.
The second step will be to reorganize the total structure of the terminal starting page. In addition to the selection menu on the left and the centrally located info and action areas, a central area for „e-services“ will be added on the right side of the starting page of the terminals. In this area the bluetooth services and other e-services (e-card, online-tickets, e-city map etc.) will be highlighted with a distinct and clear button structure. With this the meaning of the „e-services“ will be clearly accentuated for the terminal user as „location based services“.

The work related to realization of the new starting page layout, the complete overhaul of the content management system administration, including the necessary templates and implementations on the first prototype will probably be completed by mid July 2010.
Parallel to this a questionnaire is being developed on user and handling friendliness in order to test the implementation and if necessary to make modifications. Data collection and results of the survey will be available probably by the end of September.