Touch2Query Enabled Mobile Devices: A Case Study Using OpenStreetMap and iPhone

This paper describes our mobile spatial interaction (MSI) prototype Touch2Query which presents the idea of using the touch screen on mobile devices to assist in performing ad-hoc spatial queries. This approach differs from conventional mobile LBS applications where the query shape (search space) is limited to either a bounding box or radius. Instead, we provide functionality that allows users to interactively draw any desired query shape overlaid on an area of interest directly on a mobile device with their finger by combining vector primitives such as circles, polygons, polylines, and points. With the help of location and orientation aware mobile devices, mobile maps, and real-time distance and area measurements, Touch2Query gives the users freedom to perform customised spatial queries on objects/areas of interest while realising a better contextual understanding of their spatial environment at the same time.