Smart Flashlight: Map Navigation Using a Bike-mounted Projector

Paper in proceeding, 2014

While mobile phones affect our behavior and tend to separate us from our physical environment, our environment could instead become a responsive part of the information domain. For navigation using a map while cycling in an urban environment, we studied two alternative solutions: smartphone display and projection on the road. This paper firstly demonstrates by proof-of-concept a GPS-based map navigation using a bike-mounted projector. Secondly, it implements a prototype using both a projector and a smartphone mounted on a bike, comparing them for use in a navigation system for nighttime cycling. Thirdly, it examines how visuo-spatial factors influence navigation. Our findings will be useful for designing navigation systems for bikes and even for cars, helping cyclists and drivers be more attentive to their environment while navigating, providing useful information while moving.