Fed: Aust company shows how not to get lost in Beijing

AAP General News (Australia)
04-10-2008
Fed: Aust company shows how not to get lost in Beijing

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CANBERRA, April 10 AAP - Even a VIP visitor to the Beijing Olympics stands a chance
of getting lost.

The traffic is likely to be ferocious. Street signs won't be in English and even if
they were it wouldn't mean much to visitors.

Also, the vast majority of locals won't speak any English.

To the rescue has come an Australian company - SmartTrans - whose technology called
EventTrack was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Beijing today.

The technology can be used on any late model mobile phone equipped with a global positioning
system (GPS) capability.

It will enable the user to identify, in English, where they are in Beijing.

"English isn't spoken much at all," SmartTrans chief operations officer Bryan Carr
said from Beijing today.

"Taxi drivers don't speak English. Many signs aren't in English and they also don't
have street addresses in the context we have.

"You can't stop someone on the street and say where am I?"

And if you were able to find someone who could speak English, they would tell you that
addresses are referred to in relation to landmarks, he said.

EventTrack will also communicate information to a control centre to assist official
transportation for Games VIPs and officials who need to move speedily between venues.

The GPS map, displayed on the phone's screen, will show the booked car approaching,
along with its description, licence plate number and driver's name.

The same system allows the car driver to see where his passenger is waiting.

"If you walk out of a major venue, you can imagine how many people are going to be
waiting to be picked up and all the cars are going to look the same," Mr Carr said.

The system also can show the locations of friends, family or associates.

Mr Carr said it includes a translation function.

For instance, someone who wants to go to a particular bar or restaurant can get a Chinese
language translation on the phone that can be shown to a taxi driver.

"If all else fails, there's a concierge service. Press the button and you speak to
a multi-language call centre," Mr Carr said.

Phones also use a Chinese SIM card, allowing inexpensive local calls.

Companies and organisations attending the Olympics can take out a subscription for
access to these services.

Mr Carr said the company was proud to have the prime minister's support.

AAP mb/rl/apm/cdh

KEYWORD: RUDD TECHNOLOGY (EMBARGOED)

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