NetSpace is an application prototype providing information about the bus route tables

NetSpace is an application based on the theory of "The Internet of Things". With NetSpace you can get up-to-date bus schedule information and route tables. Each bus stop has a unique QR-code, which can be scanned and gives the application information about the current location. With this information, routes to a friend or bookmarked place can be calculated and presented to the user. The friends list can be retrieved from the user’s social networks.


The concept originated from a course about “The Internet of Things”, meaning that all kinds of new relations arise when objects get connected to the world. A prime example is attaching a GPS tracking system to a pidgin, and track the itinerary of the pidgin. The gathered data gives a whole new dimension to the fact the pidgin moves from point A to B.


The concept of NetSpace focuses on the Flemish bus network De Lijn. Sometimes a user knows where he wants to go, but doesn’t exactly know which bus to take. NetSpace extracts all social relations and locations, and uses this data to communicate with the route planner API from De Lijn, enabling the app to present the user with the necessary bus route information.


In the initial phase the user sets up the application by entering all the necessary information, and grants the app communication rights for the user’s social networks, like Facebook and Google Lattitude for example.

When the app is set up, the user goes to the closest bus stop, and scans the 2D barcode, to be found at each stop. This gives the app the exact location data, and passes this data on to the bus company’s API.


When the location is known, the user sets the desired location. In this case, the user wishes to visit a friend.

NetSpace presents a list of all the friends in the user’s social networks (and of whom the location data is known). The user selects the desired friend and the app passes on that friend’s location data to the API of the bus company.

The API returns the bus schedule information, and NetSpace presents this information to the user.