- 117 - Multidisciplinary Travel Guides on PDAs S. Martellos, R. Riccamboni, E. Montagnari Kokelj, P.L. Nimis Abstract — A multidisciplinary travel guide to an open area (Duino-Aurisina, Trieste, NE Italy) has been produced within a research project in the field of cultural tourism. The guide was specifically developed for PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). It contains data on architecture, archaeology, botany economy, geology and zoology of the study area. The most important features of the guide are context-aware contents based on interactive identification tools, and a wide multidisciplinary approach. Index Terms — Cultural tourism, KeyToNature, Landscape discovery, Mobile devices, PDA, Travel guides    1 INTRODUCTION DAs (Personal Digital Assistants), born to be simple portable agendas, presently have different and more complex features. With a PDA it is possible to phone, surf the web, retrieve the coordinates of a point, view pictures and movies, listen to music, etc. PDAs are presently applied in several different fields, from business to education. They are used as real-time automobile navigators thanks to the GPS technology, to verify train timetables and reservations, to collect orders in restaurants, etc. Applications in the field of mobile learning are rapidly increasing. The W3C consortium (http://www.w3.org) has provided a series of recommendations for developers of web contents on PDAs. Several researches focused on context- aware guides running on PDAs for Museums. In these guides, context is defined by both user position and interests [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. Context-aware guides were also developed for several outdoor areas, mostly limited to large towns [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11]. In all of these examples the context is defined by the user’s position in a given area, using GPS (outdoor guides) or other technologies where the GPS technology is not usable (e.g. infrared or bluetooth positioning systems in indoor guides). The adaptation of contents is usually made trough the interaction with a server, the output of which is context-aware information. The poor development of wireless networks, which are necessary for effective data retrieval, is currently one of the main limits to the use of PDAs as travel guides outdoor, outside metropolitan areas. However, it is possible to produce stand-alone packages that do not require an internet connection [12]. Since PDAs do not have a high capacity storage device (hard disks), and memory cards have a limited space (presently up to 16 Gb), stand-alone applications should be structured and developed to require the smallest amount of storage space as possible [12]. A multidisciplinary guide running on a PDA for an area not covered by a wireless network has been developed in 2006 for the area of Duino-Aurisina (Trieste, NE Italy), within a research project for cultural tourism called “Walking with science in the pocket”. This paper describes the result of the project, focusing on its most important features context-aware contents based on interactive identification tools and a broad multidisciplinary approach. 2 THE GUIDE The project started at the beginning of 2006 with the aim of studying new approaches to cultural tourism in open areas. It was leaded by the SMATS (Museum System of the University of Trieste), involving several experts from different Departments of the University. The study area is that of Duino– Aurisina, near Trieste, NE Italy, with and extension of 14 Km 2 . The area is rich in historical remains and monuments, hosts an interesting flora, has a well-visible geologic stratification with abundance of fossils. The village of Duino is well-known for its two castles, and hosts an international high P ————————————————  S. Martellos is with the Department of Biologia, University of Trieste, via L. Giorgeri 10 I-34127 Trieste, Italy. E-mail: martelst@ units.it.  R. Riccamboni is with the Department of Scienze Geologiche, Ambientali e Marine, University of Trieste, via Weiss 2 I-34127 Trieste, Italy. E-mail: rriccamboni@ units.it.  E. Montagnari Kokelj is with the Department of Scienze dell’Antichità, University of Trieste, via dell’Università 3 I-34123 Trieste, Italy. E-mail: montagna@ units.it.  P.L. Nimis is with the Department of Biologia, University of Trieste, via L. Giorgeri 10 I-34127 Trieste, Italy. E- mail: nimis@ units.it.