Design of Public Transportation Navigation System on Android Wear Device

The application of information technology in the field of navigation in public transportation and the popularity of the Android operating system on mobile devices led to a variety of mobile app that is aiming to facilitate users in navigating with their desired mode of transportation. Google Maps application, which is provided by Android-based mobile devices, is currently able to provide information and navigation on city's public transit although its availability is still limited to certain areas or towns. Its limitation brings up mobile device navigation applications to be built by local developers to provide information and navigation in using public transport in such area. When people are navigating on a public transit by using mobile application, they may experience difficulties in operating their mobile devices or are not allowed to use their smartphone during the trip. Finding stops or interchanges to take or how long they have to stay on the line before they have to get off or switch to another line becomes more difficult. This research proposed a design and evaluated a new input interaction method that utilizes Android Wear-based wearable devices in implementing an intuitive local public transport navigation system to overcome the problems. The proposed system is expected to provide step-by-step assistance in public transport navigation by utilizing Android Wear-based wearable devices such as an Android smartwatch and its embedded sensors. Experimental results show that the interface simplification of a step-by-step directions mobile application into a wearable device is feasible for future implementation, but they may have different usability level compared to a traditional mobile map application.