LoMAK: a framework for generating locative media apps from KML files

Abstract

In this paper, we present the LoMAK framework which enables non-programmers (e.g., people working in the Digital Humanities, History, Geography, Geology and Archaeology areas) to generate locative media mobile apps from KML files, a format that these non-programmers are familiar with. The framework has two primary components: a KML processor web application and an Android mobile 'player' app called LoMAK player. The KML processor parses KML files to: (1) extract points of interest (POI) and their associated media, (2) produce geo-fences for the POIs, and (3) render the PoIs and their geo-fences on a map. The framework also supports the editing of geo-fences, i.e., a new geo-fence can be drawn as a polygon. The POIs and their associated media and geo-fences are then saved as a sharc file on a server. The LoMAK player loads this sharc file to operate as a locative media application.