POINTS OF INTEREST

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Illustration

Destinator 2.0 [1] provides an extensive list of points of interest

Context

…you want to provide versatile and easy to use functions to support users in entering DEPARTURE AND DESTINATION as well as INTERSTATIONS.

The function can also help users that are unfamiliar with a city to find special places.

Problem statement

How can users find locations of special interest and include them into route planning easily?

Problem description with forces

There are users who do not know a city very well and who are searching for special points of interest (POI) like the nearest parking lot, a gas station or a theatre.

These users have a need for a function that tells them where the next point of interest is located, how far it is and how they can get there the fastest way.

Examples

As shown in the opening picture, Destinator 2.0 includes many locations in different categories that can be selected for route planning. Users have to select such a category in the "POI-Typ" window. When clicking on "POI-Liste" a list of all locations of this category is displayed, including the distance to the different locations. The locations can be displayed in the map or be included into navigation with a single button press.

Falk City Guide [2] is an application specially designed for guiding people in unknown cities. For that reason points of interest are one main feature of the application. They can be selected through the "Guide" menu and are divided into categories like shopping, hotels, entertainment etc.

After selecting a category the different locations are listed including the address and the distance from users' current location.

The POIs can be displayed in the map and selected as departure or destination for route planning.

Solution

Therefore:

Provide a list of points of interest. This list contains locations of different categories that might be interesting for users.

Offer detailed information for each location as well as the distance to the users' current location. Make navigating to the location easy as well as showing it in the interactive map.

Diagram

References

This is a basic pattern and has no further references in this pattern language.

Literature and Links

1. Destinator Version 2.0.06Fx; http://www.destinator.de <LI>Falk City Guide CeBIT Hannover Edition, Version 1.0 (Build Mar 7 2003); http://www.falk.de </OL>