An ambitious project for the 2006 FIFA World Cup is under way

Researchers are setting up a service portal for mobile terminals that will interlink local services. Servingo will provide infotainment and logistics on all aspects of the big event, regardless of the users location.

Soccer info any time, any place

Although its another year until kick-off, countdown began a long time ago for the organizers of the World Cup. They are expecting three million spectators, about a third of whom will come from abroad. To give these visitors a steady flow of information round the clock anywhere in Germany, a consortium of eleven companies and institutes is now developing the servingo service portal. The information will be transmitted via the GSM and UMTS mobile radio standards and via digital radio, allowing the service to be accessed from mobile terminals such as cell phones and handhelds, but also via the Internet. The Fraunhofer Institutes for Computer Graphics Research IGD and for Material Flow and Logistics IML are members of the consortium. Four million euros in funds for the ambitious project are being provided by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor alone.

The motto The world is visiting its friends describes very well what our portal is meant to do, says Daniel Holweg of the IGD. It guides visitors through cities like a friend who knows his way around, providing useful tips. The platform is not a new database, but a means of access to various existing services. These might include public transport timetables, hotel and restaurant guides, other events at the soccer match venues and related information. If a visitor is at the train station, wanting to know how to get to the stadium or the nearest wide-screen transmission and where to get something to eat beforehand, Holweg explains, they dont need to query a whole series of services they can get all the information they need in any city where the matches are being played. The entertainment offered on the portal includes a facility for watching soccer scenes in 3D and interactively controlling them. Or you can keep a diary of your travels and share it with your friends as an automatically generated digital story. The service is not only intended for spectators, however: IML researchers are working on a non-public aspect of the platform, designed to support the World Cup organizers with the logistics of the vehicle fleet for teams, trainers and VIPs.

Initially, the cooperation partners will present the first working components of the new portal to an invited audience at the current FIFA Confederations Cup. Between now and the beginning of next year, we will gradually add all the other services and interlink their content, declares project manager Dirk Balfanz of the Computer Graphics Center (ZGDV). Servingo will become available to the general public in the spring of 2006.

Contact:
Dipl.-Ing. Daniel Holweg
Phone: +49 6151 155-412
Fax: +49 6151 155-444
daniel.holweg@
igd.fraunhofer.de
Fraunhofer-Institut für Graphische Datenverarbeitung
IGD
Fraunhoferstraße 5
64283 Darmstadt
www.igd.fraunhofer.de

Dr.-Ing. Christoph Vornholt
Phone: +49 231 9743-135
christoph.vornholt@
iml.fraunhofer.de
Fraunhofer-Institut für Materialfluß und Logistik
IML
Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str. 2-4
44227 Dortmund

Dr. Dirk Balfanz
Phone: 0 61 51 / 1 55-2 31
Fax: 0 61 51 / 1 55-4 51
dirk.balfanz@zgdv.de
ZGDV

Further Information:
Servingo

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	An ambitious project for the 2006 FIFA World Cup is under way Researchers are setting up a service portal for mobile terminals that will interlink local services. Servingo will provide infotainment and logistics on all aspects of the big event, regardless of the users location. Soccer info any time, any place Although its another year until kick-off, countdown began a long time ago for the organizers of the World Cup. They are expecting three million spectators, about a third of whom will come from abroad. To give these visitors a steady flow of information round the clock anywhere in Germany, a consortium of eleven companies and institutes is now developing the servingo service portal. The information will be transmitted via the GSM and UMTS mobile radio standards and via digital radio, allowing the service to be accessed from mobile terminals such as cell phones and handhelds, but also via the Internet. The Fraunhofer Institutes for Computer Graphics Research IGD and for Material Flow and Logistics IML are members of the consortium. Four million euros in funds for the ambitious project are being provided by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor alone. The motto The world is visiting its friends describes very well what our portal is meant to do, says Daniel Holweg of the IGD. It guides visitors through cities like a friend who knows his way around, providing useful tips. The platform is not a new database, but a means of access to various existing services. These might include public transport timetables, hotel and restaurant guides, other events at the soccer match venues and related information. If a visitor is at the train station, wanting to know how to get to the stadium or the nearest wide-screen transmission and where to get something to eat beforehand, Holweg explains, they dont need to query a whole series of services they can get all the information they need in any city where the matches are being played. The entertainment offered on the portal includes a facility for watching soccer scenes in 3D and interactively controlling them. Or you can keep a diary of your travels and share it with your friends as an automatically generated digital story. The service is not only intended for spectators, however: IML researchers are working on a non-public aspect of the platform, designed to support the World Cup organizers with the logistics of the vehicle fleet for teams, trainers and VIPs. Initially, the cooperation partners will present the first working components of the new portal to an invited audience at the current FIFA Confederations Cup. Between now and the beginning of next year, we will gradually add all the other services and interlink their content, declares project manager Dirk Balfanz of the Computer Graphics Center (ZGDV). Servingo will become available to the general public in the spring of 2006. Contact: Dipl.-Ing. Daniel Holweg Phone: +49 6151 155-412 Fax: +49 6151 155-444 daniel.holweg@ igd.fraunhofer.de Fraunhofer-Institut für Graphische Datenverarbeitung IGD Fraunhoferstraße 5 64283 Darmstadt www.igd.fraunhofer.de Dr.-Ing. Christoph Vornholt Phone: +49 231 9743-135 christoph.vornholt@ iml.fraunhofer.de Fraunhofer-Institut für Materialfluß und Logistik IML Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str. 2-4 44227 Dortmund Dr. Dirk Balfanz Phone: 0 61 51 / 1 55-2 31 Fax: 0 61 51 / 1 55-4 51 dirk.balfanz@zgdv.de ZGDV Further Information: Servingo	Print page Back