Web Based System for Route Finding to the Road Network of Addis Ababa
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Date
2005-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In Africa, though the potentials for tourism is said to be much higher, the n umber of tours ts
arrived at the continent and revenue generated from this sector is very low as compared with the
other continents. This is because la ck of technical person to provide relevant and sufficient
information to the tourist is one of the main stumbling blocks for development of tourism in
Africa. Ethiopia is no exception to this. Ethiopia having higher potential of tourist sites can
promote its tourism industry using expert system technology.
Information makes tourism possible from the very onset of promoting places to making the
experience worthwhile. It empowers tourists in their choices and makes them become more
comfortable about the experience they are going to have. There uses a bi g responsibility for
making that infom1ation accessible intonation that is desirabl e and easily accessible.
Our country fosters hu ge potentials in the touri sm sector, which if taken advantage of can
certainl y provide enom10U S reve nues to aid development. The tourism industry, however, lags
behind with inadequate infrastructure facilities and manpower rendering the potential benefits
unexploited . One of the major problems in this regard relates to access to information for tourists:
when they need it and where they need it. Given the circumstance, the question is, Is/are there
any areas or possible applications of expert systems that could make this problem easier to
overcome?
In an attempt to address such problems, the present stud y, specifically, explores the potentiality
of applying expert systems technology in adv using to urist to find the direction of the route(s) in a convenient and comfortable manner. A Web Based Expert System F or Route Finding To The
Road Network of Addis Ababa (AARFExSys) is developed by using maps and textbooks in the
area of transportation as source of knowledge.
The system is not only meant to replace the tour guides but also to assist them in providing
sufficient information regarding routes of Addis Ababa with the users preferred mode of
transportation. It helps to avoid the scarcity of manpower, the language barrier and the level of
understanding that may face with the experts.
The knowledge acquired for this study is then modeled using hierarchical structure that represents
concepts and parameters involved in finding direction. A GIS based software (Arc View) is used
as an automated knowledge acquisition tool to extract quantitative data such as distance from the
road map of the city. Based on this model, the knowledge is represented using production rules.
These rules are then implemented in the Knowledge Pro Gold expert system shell. Back ward
reasoning is used in inferring the rules and extracting recommendations.
The needs of users are assessed before the recommendation is extracted so that users are being
able to select according to their interest in finding the direction.
The AARFExSys has been developed to assist users particularly of tourists, who are coming from
different countries of the world. Since these users are scattered through out the world, they need
to access this system published on the Internet so that they could be able to get the information
wherever possible. That is why the necessity of this system being developed as a web based.
AARFExSys has been tested by users and experienced travel and tour agents at the selected
Travel and Tour Agencies found in Addis Ababa. Based on an encouraging result obtained, they
have established its acceptability and accuracy.
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Keywords
Information Science