2015
author
Monika Sochacka (PL)
title
Tatra Mountains – A Tourist App for a Mobile Device
degree
M.A. project
e-mail
school
Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków
supervisor
Prof. Władysław Targosz
This smartphone app that receives GPS signals not only replaces a precise map of the Polish Tatra Mountains, but also contains a route list and search engine, a guide to mountain tourism, and provides weather forecasts and swift contact with TOPR emergency crews. The user fills in a simple survey and finds out if a given route is suitable to his/her skills and the equipment he/she possesses. Along the route, the app offers traditional map navigation or a simplified view, showing all the path intersections, obstacles, and dangers, as well as a vertical lay of the land. The icons, some of which seemed incomprehensible, did raise our doubts. But our questions about their aptness or the necessity of replacing them with others remain undecided. Although some members of the commission believed that this app kills the romance of a mountain hike, its planned functionality ultimately reconciled and convinced us. After a battery of tests, it would probably be suitable for use in other mountain ranges as well.