go.hiking - Web-based Service Platform for Monitoring and Maintenance of Alpine Hiking Infrastructure, Search&Rescue Spatial Knowledge Base and Info-Desk for Hikers

SatNav devices have been available for mountaineers for a long time. If someone plans a hiking tour, they will look for web-maps showing the region of interest, they want to investigate, the actual state of trails or paths, degree of difficulty, height differences, duration, public transport information, local weather forecast, etc. The most critical content within this list is the state of paths; the rest is somehow linked to commercials. go.hiking will concentrate on the state of paths, on hiking infrastructure.

Short Description

In general, hiking trails, paths and mountaineering infrastructure are maintained by non-profit organisations (alpine clubs, etc).

They check the trails, the bridges, gutters, guard-rails, sign- posts, safety ropes, and marks. To obtain geo-referenced data on the objects including their properties, the path-guards will enhance their workflow using mobile SatNav/GIS-devices and digi-cams. Additionally, in order to get up to date information of the state of paths, the feedback of mountaineers from their tour experiences is of course welcome. An attractive hiking portal should encourage people to post their notices after a tour.

go.hiking is a prototype of a web-based platform serving the following three different user groups. The platform is meant to create synergy effects between all three user groups:

Path guides can react quickly on notices of damage, prioritise their maintenance measures and thus reduce risk for moutaineers; their mostly unpayed work will profit by enhanced efficiency.
Mountaineers will benefit from geo-referenced content and maps, they will take advantage by the exchange of geo-coded information.
Mountain search&rescue organisations as a separate user group can maintain and share their special experience and know-how by geo-coding their local knowledge.

Project Partners

Coordinator

Umweltdata GmbH - Günther Bronner

Partners

ms.gis GmbH - Andreas Bodi
Hitec Marketing - Johanna Berndorfer

Contact Address

Umweltdata GmbH
Günther Bronner
Loquaiplatz 12/4
A-1060 Vienna
E-mail: g.bronner@umweltdata.at
Web: www.umweltdata.at