Locative media

Key takeaways

Locative media belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Locative media to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Locative media from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Locative media or location-based media (LBM) is a virtual medium of communication functionally bound to a location. The physical implementation of locative media, however, is not bound to the same location to which the content refers. Location-based media delivers multimedia and other content directly to the user of a mobile device dependent upon their location. Location information determined by means such as mobile phone tracking and other emerging real-time locating system technologies like Wi-Fi or RFID can be used to customize media content presented on the device. Locative media are digital media applied to real places and thus triggering real social interactions. While mobile technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), laptop computers and mobile phones enable locative media, they are not the goal for the development of projects in this field.

Description Media content is managed and organized externally of the device on a standard desktop, laptop, server, or cloud computing system. The device then downloads this formatted content with GPS or other RTLS coordinate-based triggers applied to each media sequence. As the location-aware device enters the selected area, centralized services trigger the assigned media, designed to be of optimal relevance to the user and their surroundings. Use of locative technologies "includes a range of experimental uses of geo-technologies including location-based games, artistic critique of surveillance technologies, experiential mapping, and spatial annotation." Location based media allows for the enhancement of any given environment offering explanation, analysis and detailed commentary on what the user is looking at through a combination of video, audio, images and text. The location-aware device can deliver interpretation of cities, parklands, heritage sites, sporting events or any other environment where location based media is required. The content production and pre-production are integral to the overall experience that is created and must have been performed with ultimate consideration of the location and the users position within that location. The media offers a depth to the environment beyond that which is immediately apparent, allowing revelations about background, history and current topical feeds.

Locative, ubiquitous and pervasive computing The term 'locative media' was coined by Karlis Kalnins. Locative media is closely related to augmented reality (reality overlaid with virtual reality) and pervasive computing (computers everywhere, as in ubiquitous computing). Whereas augmented reality strives for technical solutions, and pervasive computing is interested in embedded computers, locative media concentrates on social interaction with a place and with technology. Many locative media projects have a social, critical or personal (memory) background. While strictly spoken, any kind of link to additional information set up in space (together with the information that a specific place supplies) would make up location-dependent media, the term locative media is strictly bound to technical projects. Locative media works on locations and yet many of its applications are still location-independent in a technical sense. As in the case of digital media, where the medium itself is not digital but the content is digital, in locative media the medium itself might not be location-oriented, whereas the content is location-oriented. Japanese mobile phone culture embraces location-dependent information and context-awareness. It is projected that in the near future locative media will develop to a significant factor in everyday life.

Enabling technologies Locative media projects use technology such as Global Positioning System (GPS), laptop computers, the mobile phone, Geographic Information System (GIS), and web map services such as Mapbox, OpenStreetMap, and Google Maps among others. Whereas GPS allows for the accurate detection of a specific location, mobile computers allow interactive media to be linked to this place. The GIS supplies arbitrary information about the geological, strategic or economic situation of a location. Web maps like Google Maps give a visual representation of a specific place. Another important new technology that links digital data to a specific place is radio-frequency identification (RFID), a successor to barcodes like Semacode. Research that contributes to the field of locative media happens in fields such as pervasive computing, context awareness and mobile technology. The technological background of locative media is sometimes referred to as "location-aware computing".

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Locative media

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Locative media claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Locative media before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Locative media ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Locative media

In research: Locative media appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Locative media in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Locative media is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Digital media, Geomarketing, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Locative media outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Locative media in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Locative media means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Locative media out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Locative media in simple terms?

Locative media or location-based media (LBM) is a virtual medium of communication functionally bound to a location. The physical implementation of locative media, however, is not bound to the same location to which the content refers.

Why does Locative media matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Locative media?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Locative media.