Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
The main objective of the project is to explore the possibilities and design an effective exhibition space at the future TU/e library
Citation preview
!"#$%&&'()!'*
!"#$
%&'()*+,&-./0/1+2,-&-.
!"#$%&'(&)*(#+,- ./012
+,--./0
3&45+-/*2-/67,891+:/;2-''+-<%=&-/>+&4-+/?&''+/3,))'@+,/A)2(BC/9D2/!2,@-+(E
Index
!"#$%&'()%*&"+!'+#,( -!
+,'"#).&'+#,( /!
0+"*'(+'%"1'+#,( 2!
!"#$%&'(")$%*+ ,!"#$%&'(!)*+! ,!-.*/$0(#.10! 2!
-./0("#'$(%+#%1+23&3#"45+ 6!3*$!4++&!560&61! 7!89')#.*(/:&!5&&(/$;!</(=!5/%=*&)!".6>! ?!4$*)@>/$;!'#0(&.0!A.#1!-5B! CD!
7"('('8/3&+ 99!B*+)&!E8F</$G! CC!H&.0#$*)!I$A#.1*(/#$!EB/J1&$G! CK!L+J&%M(M*+)&!EN/00&G! CO!B=&!N*))!E4)&9G! CP!
*%&#,)(+'%"1'+#,( 32!
-%:$&$(%$%*+#;'3"+;$"&'+)33'$%*+ 9,!
-./0("#'$(%+#%1+4(%43/'+13:30(/)3%'+ 9<!5&&(/$;!</(=!4Q!:*$!-/)0&$! C2!H6+)/%!)/+.*.@!#A!410(&.F*1! C7!R85L!410(&.F*1! KD!"#$(&9(!F&:&)#'1&$(! KC!"#$%&'(!F&:&)#'1&$(! KK!
-%:$&$(%$%*+ =>!N/00&S0!:/0/#$!*(!CT!1*.%=!KDCDU! KO!8F</$!:/0/#$!*(!CT!1*.%=!KDCDU! KO!4)&9S0!:/0/#$!*(!CT!1*.%=!KDCDU! KP!V.#6'!:/0/#$! KT!
7"('('8/3&+?%'3"$)+@'345%$4#0A+ =,!N/.&)&00!WXIY! K,!5*95ZH! K2!B#6%=LZ"! K2!B*+)&! K2!
'4+")(+'%"1'+#,( 56!
-%:$&$(%$%*+#;'3"+$%'3"$)+ =6!W#)&0!#A!(=&!F/AA&.&$(!%#$%&'(0! K7!H&.06*0/#$!E[*F&</;G! K?!I$(.#F6%(/#$!*$F!0611*.@!E5*((=/J0!\!]#.;G! K?!^#%*(/#$!E[#;*.FG! K?!H)*@A6))!/$(&.*%(/#$!E_*./$!\!`06>0/G! OD!
!"#$%&"'(%)*+,-$#%+)(.+/,(0,+/12( 34(
!"#"$%&'"()*%+*,%(,"&)-* ./(5$6&"( 37(58"(9$&&:( 33(;+:#",(6+<":( 3=(
0-"1*+%,2-* .3(>+?@"*&"A#%B"(:"::%+):( 3C(!%:A/::($6+/#(1,":")#( 3C(!%:A/::($6+/#(%'"$&(:%#/$#%+)( 3D(!%:A/::($6+/#(*/#/,"(A+)A"1#( 3D(
42)21"*#5-5%(* 67(>+)A"1#( E4(F$&/"(;,+1+:%#%+):(*+,("$A8(/:",(0,+/1( E7(!G@5(G)$&H:%:( E3(
8%(,$2-5%(* 66(
91%)%):&"*45(;$*<=>5?5)5%(*@)",>(5,;$A* 6B(I)*+,-$#%+)(*&+9( E=(;,+A"::%)0(J(@KI!(.%)1/#2( E=(!$#$6$:"(:"#/1( EL(GA#%+):A,%1#(GM3(J(K&$:8(>M=( EN(O+<( EN(
!""#$%&'#() *+(
8%CD"+$",)5#"*-"--5%(*/E*F$"=*G5)>*HIJ*-)2K"()-* 63(
8%CD"+$",)5#"*-"--5%(*LE*F$"=*G5)>*HIJ*-)2K"()-* B/(
Project Description The main objective of the project is to explore the possibilities and design an effective exhibition space at the future TU/e library, which provides service that enhances research and education at TU/e, for both internal and external people. The space, which can be called a knowledge agora, will consist of, but not limited to, exhibiting, meeting, discussing and sharing points, supported with different types of interactive devices and digitalized content. Students are expected to acquire basic understandings of exhibition design, including constructing themes and content (the message they want to communicate to the audience) and ways to present the content.
A more detailed version of the project description can be found in the appendix.
Introduction The library of the Eindhoven University of Technology notices that less people are visiting the library. For the new library in the W-Hal, which has yet to be built, the library wants to create a knowledge agora, a space where faculties and researchers can show their work and expose themselves to the rest of the university and the outside world.
When the knowledge agora is established the library will achieve two goals, attracting people to visit the library and enabling researchers to expose their research.
After going through multiple design cycles and validating the outcome with experts of both Industrial Design and Biomedical Sciences the final concept was developed. In this report one can take a look at the three iterations that the project group has gone through and see the final result.
First iteration The first iteration is the period between the beginning of the project and the first client meeting after 3 weeks. This is seen as a first iteration because everything was present, brainstorming, exploration, research, concept development and visioning. At the presentation a feedback session took place with the client, this was used as base for the second iteration (next chapter in this report).
Brainstorming
In the first few project days the focus was mostly on brainstorming and exploring, and not so much on theoretical research. The idea behind this was to have enough ideas to explore and experience the area of information presentation, instead of getting stuck at lots of theory and research. Each day a brainstorm session was held, where each team member would select a brainstorm approach and ‘lead’ the brainstorm of that day. This was done to improve the skills in the first competency, Ideas and Concepts.
Concept lab
At the faculty ID there is a so-called concept-lab where students can use advanced tools (some still in development) to explore and brainstorm. On Wacom Cintiq’s (drawing tablets) a lot of ideas were generated; each member started with a small drawing and after 2 minutes the idea was switched to someone else who had to interpreted the drawing and continue with it.
This resulted in multiple interesting concepts, where a few themes came back in each concept. The focus was on increasing social behavior, shaping your own exhibition and providing some new methods of accessing information (touch-walls, 3D projectors).
Brainstorms
To improve our ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking a collection of images was selected from the internet (with all sorts if themes) and hung on the wall. These pictures were the inspiration for various ideas, so that it did not only came from our own experiences but also from other products.
Another brainstorm had the focus on exploring possible factors that characterize possible user groups. With an example of a user (persona) the constraints and opportunities were discussed, which gave useful directions to the whole ideating process. Some factors were not taken into account before, and now there was awareness of the not so obvious requirements. For instance, how would a disabled person use the concept? An interesting factor was important for each characterization, i.e. a personal guide. A personal guide can present the information suited for a particular user, on it’s own level of understanding or interest.
Exploration and Research
Van Abbe Museum
To get an idea of how the information is presented in a museum setting, we made an appointment with the van Abbe museum in Eindhoven. The collection manager gave us a tour and we discussed lots of aspects that the museum takes into account while designing the interaction visitors have with their collection. This gave us insights that we would have never thought of without her guidance.
• The spaces in which the rooms are displayed are carefully selected and transformed to match with the content that is displayed in the room. Exhibitions only stay for a short amount of time, on average once every six weeks there is a new exhibition in the van Abbe museum.
• Everything, every detail, room, furniture is carefully selected. Everything in the museum has got a certain purpose and meaning within the museum.
• The museum has put a lot of effort into tempting people to enter the museum. There is a lot of contrast throughout the museum that persuade the people to look around and explore the museum. The museum has decided to not make a clear path throughout the museum but to let people select their own path and discover the museum themselves.
• Although there is a lot of difference throughout the museum looking at the rooms and art that is displayed, there is one constant factor: the guiding signs and the information plate. The museum has made the guiding sign in the same style as their bookshelves, chairs, desks etc. This is done to be consistent, to let people remember the guidance-part of their experience, and thus giving them something to recognize while going through the areas of the museum.
• The information plates provide hidden information to the visitor that is only visible when a colored filter is placed on top of the plate. This is done because from feedback of the visitors of the museum the museum has learned that some people thought that there was too much information provided to them. By hiding information in a way that one can only see it when one is looking for it the museum tried to find a balance concerning the amount of information that they provide to the visitors.
Visiting the museum made us realize that the exhibitions in the museum are really different in setting and setup then the exhibition that has to be designed during the project. Still there are some things that can be taken into account, like the design of the ‘path’ that people can take, and the consistency that they used to guide people through different looking rooms.
Explorative Meeting with Michael Cruz
Michael Cruz is a member of the DQI group, where he is specialized in interaction design with systems. He is responsible for the exhibitions that Industrial Design gives during the Dutch Design Week and other events. The goal of the meeting was to learn more about the approach of our own faculty to information presentation at for instance the Dutch Design Week.
Q: What kind of medium do you usually use for communicating ideas and research?
An important medium for us is video, the department of ID has their own YouTube channel, and it will be the 2nd medium next to prototypes. A movie is a good way to show your work, a report is there because it has to be on an academic level, which can not be achieved through video.
Because Industrial Designers need to communicate the interaction with their concepts (prototypes), video is the best medium, but this is not so easy for mathematics. Therefore not every faculty can use this medium like we do.
Q: What is the focus of text?
Focus of poster is to answer the basic questions, why this particular research, what are the results, etc. For DQI the focus lies on the interaction, and how the interaction developed in the process of designing, and with a prototype or video these ideas can be transferred. On the poster data can be visual, like results of user tests and conclusions. The details of a project are available in a written report.
Some other conclusions from the meeting:
Philip Mendels is working on a project wherein you could document your project visually; he wants to mix the hard data with the visual process.
In terms of protection, the design and the prototype are sometimes protected, but the papers are always published, because you want people to refer to your work.
Audience at the Dutch Design Week: company's who are good for funding, and publicity for new students.
If the product/interaction is attractive age doesn't matter
Analyzing posters from BMT
To get a good idea of the possibilities of presenting the information, the structure of the actual posters and reports of Bio Medical Technology were analyzed. Together with pictures of posters of the faculty of Mathematics (at the 8th floor of the main building), a good idea was shaped of what kind of information is presented and how it is structured.
Things that come back in many posters:
- Text
- Mathematical formulas
- Tables
- Pictures:
o Photo’s (normal scale / highly zoomed in)
o Drawings
o 3D models
o Molecular structures
- Visual representations:
o Mathematical graphs/diagrams
o Different kinds of charts:
! Bar chart
! Line chart
! Graphical plots
It was also clear that all posters followed a familiar same structure:
- Introduction to the problem
- Approach and expectations
- Methods and results
o Examples of processes, calculations, measurements
o Results in tables, charts, etc
- Conclusions, what did they learn and how did it match the expectations
- Future options with this new knowledge
It was interesting to see that all the posters were in the same format; this could be useful for shaping a system based on information that researchers would generate. Instead of making a poster, they could create something that would fit in the concept.
Prototypes
During the brainstorm sessions and the exploration each formed their own vision and had a preference for a direction, which each could explain and argument. There were lots of discussions about the concept and we decided it would be better if each individual could develop their own vision without interference from others, to come up with 4 different approaches that could be presented to the client.
Table (Edwin)
The goal
The concept of the Coffee table is based on the analogy with a real world library where magazines are offered to read. People collect the ones they want to read and thus browse through the ‘catalog’. If they are happy with what they collect, they can read it in depth at a table where other people read as well. This enables them to look at others, to see what they are reading. It should be simple to collect the items you want to read, with ‘teasers’ in a rack where you can have an overview of all that is offered.
Digital advantages
As inspiration for this concept I thought about the advantages a digital version of a magazine could have in a social environment. The advantages could trigger a whole new experience, where knowledge sharing is promoted.
- Having a digital version makes it easy to make a copy to share, this is not really possible with analog information
- There is a possibility to offer more layers of detail, not just a linear piece of text but more modeled information where you browse in depth.
- If the information is digital, there are possibilities for linking them together. You can search for information about a topic or theme, or specific on 1 method, and so on. The system can help people with finding more relevant information.
- In a digital format the information can be enriched with animations and video. This is not possible on posters or static analogue information, and can enhance the experience one has with the information.
The concept is similar to a coffee table. Imagine you are sitting at a big table, where you can read information from shelves (like magazines). It is not easy to share information you find with people, unless you really know them well and want to be close together to be able to look at the same page. Also, if there is only 1 magazine available, there is no easy way to give the other person a copy if they want to read it.
The table recognizes the user with his/her library card and gives a personal menu. Your favorites, search history, etc are available for the user. You can then get a teaser or object to place on the table, to open up the underlying information. The teaser is the 'abstract' of the research or results, or a teaser that enables people to get interested. This is similar to the graphical layout of the poster; this has also the function of attracting people to read the rest.
Personal Information (Tijmen)
The goal
This concept has a strong focus on the way the environment is of influence on the way people perceive information. Various ideas from the brainstorms focused on how the information was presented, i.e. on a table, on the wall, hovering in the air, and so on.
With the concept a personal environment is shaped, where information can be viewed in the comfort of your own personal area.
The concept
The final location of the exhibition space there is a cafeteria and various other public space. It is very likely that there are going to be a lot of distractions, which could make it hard to focus on the information you are reading. A big ‘spiral’ is developed to protect you from this environment, to isolate you. The spiral is half-clear to be able to see if someone is using it. An user can choose to adapt the opening of the spiral, to indicate that he/she wants privacy or is open for others to join them. In the spiral there is a comfortable chair where you can sit after a long day of work. The information should react to movements of the user, which is shown on a video that can be found in the appendix.
Technology
To realize this concept, there needs to be some sort of motion tracking. This can be achieved with the new Microsoft Kinect, a motion controller for game consoles. With some adaptation this could be implemented within 1 year from now.
For the walls to be see-through, it needs some kind of material to be flexible but solid enough to stand up. It would be ideal if the user could adapt the transparency of the wall, but it is not sure of this kind of material actually exists.
Objec-t-able (Wisse)
The goal
The goal of this concept was to enable visitors of an exhibition to explore the information themselves in an active way.
The concept
Visitors are required to collect objects that they like, that are placed all over the exhibition space. When they place them on a table they will get more information about the objects and will see links between the objects. In this way a link between the physical object and the digital interface is established.
The blocks placed around the table can contain object, they can be moved around and people can sit on them while interacting with the table.
Technology
The technology to use for this concept is a reacTIVision table. This table can recognize objects placed on top of it and will also have a touch interface.
The Wall (Alex)
The focus of this individual iteration was on the social aspect, playfulness, dealing with different levels of prior knowledge and common interests. Some brainstorms were done about dealing with these subjects and are worked out in the shape of a touchable wall interface. This is basically a huge interactive display against the wall on which research information is presented. Multiple people can stand in front of it and browse through the information. A wall is chosen to make it a public activity; other people can see what you as a user are doing. It will show common interests visually and suggest “friends” by comparing them.
To stimulate the social aspect more a community can be build around the system. By offering the possibility to leave comments or leave questions to which people can reply and offer their expertise. This is of course also a possibility for the developer of the exhibition to get valuable feedback. A playful way of implementing this could be by digital sticky notes that can be left by the visitors.
Playfulness can be a good way to get attention of the user. Making it visually dynamic, giving subtle suggestions and an intuitive form of interaction can do this. It could suggest some articles by presenting them playfully when you walk past it. If the system is able to recognize someone it could suggest articles that are probably interesting to that person. The system will also do this when browsing through articles; it will anticipate and bring some other articles to your attention. They will pop up around the article you are reading, connected by little strings. The thickness of the strings represents how much other users have visited them, you could say, the popularity of these articles.
There is a large target audience for the exhibition, and a wide range of levels of prior knowledge. There will be professors that are very familiar with the subject matter but also high school students that are looking around. There is a possibility here for us to make the information more accessible, for example by providing an option for choosing the difficulty level. Beforehand or maybe even on the fly, so when a video or text becomes too complicated the viewer can skip to an easier level.
Another possibility is to create links to as much background information as possible; you can select anything and expand on it. For example, when you only select a word it will link to a dictionary, when you select a whole sentence you get an alternative explanation or a link to an encyclopedia. The usage of a system like this gives extremely useful feedback for the developer because he can see which parts are understood worst, and different improvement can be tried, and different explanations can be linked to different user groups.
Second iteration Envisioning after first meeting
After the first client meeting the groups had to start working together in order to build one exhibition with (concepts) modules integrated into a whole. To achieve this a group-vision had to be defined, which was done by mapping the personal goals of all the team members and looking for similarities and differences.
Each member of the group had to write down the direction they wanted to go (other groups needed to continue on individual base) on post-its, a color per team, and these were mapped on a table in categories. To get to the essence of what was important the favorite three directions were selected and the remaining categories were dismissed or merged within the main three. During this meeting a common ground for the project was defined with which the team visions could be developed.
The vision of the team
After the group meeting the individual members of the team all wrote down their own vision, this would be used as input for a discussion on the collective vision. This resulted in the following vision:
The main objective of the project is to create and design a modular exhibition space (mixing physical and digital content) at the TU/e library. It provides service that enhances research and education at TU/e, for both internal and external people.
Design opportunities: exhibiting, meeting, discussing and sharing points (different types of interactive devices and digitized content).
Exploration and concept development
Meeting with A. van Bilsen
To find out how the department of electrical engineering makes use of poster a meeting with an employee of their communication office, A. van Bilsen, was conducted.
The department of EE uses the poster templates that are provided by the TU/e communication office. Students and staff do not get help or instruction for making the posters. Van Bilsen believes that when the faculty provides better guidelines and checks whether they are met or not, the quality of the posters can increase dramatically.
The goal of the posters is in most cases to present their research results. In some cases the posters are used during the research phase, this is done because they need to present their research so other people can decide whether they can continue the research and get more funds or that they have to stop the research. (the COBRA group, contact person Jose Hakkens)
Van Bilsen sees that people use the posters because they are there, in most cases they do not use the posters for a specific goal.
The target group for the posters is not clear. However in some specific cases as mentioned above it is. van Bilsen believes that the presentations can be improved when they can be more interactive and that people can respond
The posters are also used during master classes, when high school students follow a short course of 5 - 6 weeks. They have to make their own posters and use the posters of the faculty as inspiration.
The posters can be found in the hallways of the faculty. These are places where not many people walk by. The posters are presented in the hallway of the departments that made them, so the goal seems to be that they can see what they did themselves. Van Bilsen has in the two months that she is working at the TU/e never seen anyone looking at the posters for a long time.
Other media that the faculty uses to present their research are presentations and reports for instance during symposia. The departments store their research themselves.
Public library of Amsterdam
Why the public library of Amsterdam?
The public library of Amsterdam is very modern, and tries to be the first to experiment with new interactions with visitors. It is, in a way, similar to the TU/e Library, because a lot of students use it as their primary place to study and discover new information. It was useful to see how they implemented new interactions with users, and how these new interactions were used.
How is the building designed?
The thing that was very evident was the lighting. In the whole building there was an interesting light-plan, which was good for the atmosphere of a learning environment. There are a lot of white walls that distribute the light through the whole space.
Apart from the light, the division of room is well thought out. For each function that the library has for users, there is a specific area that supports that function. The workspaces are light, with good chairs and big tables, and placed in busy and quiet places. This gives groups a chance to have an area where they can work together, but also individuals to work in silence.
There is a magazine stand, with comfortable chairs and couches, and everything is placed visible and accessible. People can search for the magazine they want to read and find a comfortable place to sit down and relax. This place has a high ceiling, giving a feeling of openness and space, which is nice if you want to relax.
Remarkably, there is even a place to listen to music and watch videos, while the sound that is generated by this activity is captured by the structure of the building, so that it does not interfere with the working areas.
How did this help?
The setup of the library and the whole experience that it offered to users was a trigger to take details into account, so that the whole exhibition space supported the function of the exhibition. It is supposed to give you an impression of what it supports, by looking at the people working with the space. This was very noticeable at the library, you could tell by looking at the people how the environment was supporting their activities.
The pictures we took at the library were placed on the wall at the working space, to act as inspiration and reminder of the importance of context within the concept.
NEMO Amsterdam
NEMO is the largest science centre in the Netherlands. With five floors full of exciting things to do and discover, it is the perfect place for anyone with an inquiring mind. Everything in NEMO is connected to science and technology: Exhibitions, theatre performances, films, workshops and demonstrations. You will smell, hear, feel and see how the world works. After a visit to NEMO, you will know why bridges are so strong, what you will look like in 30 years, why you look so much like your parents, how to purify water, what happens when you kiss, how lightning and satellites work and much more. In other words, a day at NEMO is a pretty smart thing to do!
Interaction
NEMO uses interactive installations to teach children how the world works (science and technology). This gives a nice view on interaction with exhibitions, especially because it is designed to be accessible for a large target group (if it is understandable for children adults should not have trouble).
Visiting NEMO gave insight on how the setting of the exhibition space could be filled in. The installations were open and inviting people to walk in and experience the installation. The interactions at the exhibition made the experience more complete, and offered a better feeling than just learning from e.g. the Internet. It triggered actions from users, not just information, but also physical interaction.
It was easy for the children to understand scientific principles because they could try it themselves. They could read some theory about soap bubbles, and then experience how that theory applied to reality.
Looking back at the visit, there was no real result that can be found back in the concept, but the experience was in the back of our minds and helped us in the process of designing.
Context development
The context is the yet to build W-Hal, which is going to be the home of the TU/e Library and also has the role of canteen / work environment. It was important to take this context into account, because it could be of influence on the final prototype.
With help of the architectural sketches of the building and the artistic renderings of the final building a 3D model was created using Google SketchUp. This brought to our attention the light conditions, the pathways people can walk on and the place where users first encounter the exhibition area. The exhibition space is in the centre of the whole new building, with lots of workplaces around it, and it could really be the center of all knowledge for the TU/e. The size is about 40 square meters, which gave us options for a real experience and not just a small exhibition.
In this experimental phase various setups have been tried, expressed in drawings, sketches and miniature models. All the important aspects from the vision have been combined in an area where people can relax, see each other, and use to gain knowledge. The exhibition space should be a place where people like to go, but also invite for deeper knowledge gathering.
While experimenting with models and sketches various aspects like walking routes and persuasive effects were discovered and discussed, which gave a better view on the final shape of the exhibition. This would have been a lot more difficult without this phase; it gave a chance to experience the setup before it was even build.
Concept development
After the first iteration there was little time before the interim exhibition, where we wanted to show a working prototype. The development of the concept was quite streamlined; the 4 main concepts we presented to the client were analyzed to see what the strong aspects were of each. Those strong aspects combined were formed into a new concept, which had the functionality of all four. This was basically the most obvious choice, to build upon what we had created in the first place.
Table
The main focus of the coffee table was on getting physical objects onto the table, and to browse through the information attached. The idea of collecting analogue items was interesting, because they can give an user a nice experience of being able to touch and really experience the physical part of an exhibition without going to deep into the information.
Wall
The wall was only the medium to show an interface / platform where users could recommend items to each other, view information in a more interactive way and show layered information (which enables detailed or global information). Sitting at a table is more suitable for longer reading sessions, while still being able to keep the advantages of a multi touch wall.
Objec-t-able
The objec-t-able is very similar to the coffee table, but the idea behind it is different. Not only the relations between books / items should be shown, but also more depth of information. Combining the ideas of the objec-t-able and the coffee table makes the concept that follows better in multiple areas, by having the advantages of both.
Private information
The aspect of looking at information at your own individual personalized environment is something we are very familiar with at home and almost everywhere we read information. Reading with more than one person requires users to wait for each other, agreement on skipping information, and so on. The idea of ‘private’ information is therefore something we should not forget; users value the private time when they read more than a few sentences.
One aspect of this concept did come back; the walls around the exhibition space are derived from the walls of the Private Information concept. They serve the same purpose, protecting users within the walls from the surroundings, so that they can experience the exhibition without getting too much distracted.
Envisioning
After some heavy discussions the group realized that most of the individual visions wanted the same end result, but the focus was on different themes within the bigger picture. To prevent more endless discussions and arguments, each group member wrote down their vision and got some time to think about it (away from the workspace).
Wisse’s vision at 15 march 2010:
I believe that the direction that we are going into, looking at different ways to share knowledge is a very strong one, since then people can show the process which they have gone through and also get feedback on more aspects than when only the end result is being presented.
We have to decide how we can build an experience around this so that the user is required to go to the library and interact with the system.
The kind of system that we are going to build should perfectly fit with the goal of the exhibition. So we should be aware of how the user will act in specific settings and check whether that matches our expectations.
I think that we should try out different settings in a fast lo-fi way to decide in which direction we should go with the interaction and setting of the exhibition. And then later on look deeper into techniques to persuade people to use our stand.
Since most of the people visiting the library will be students of the TU/e we decided to focus on students as the target group. There are opportunities to get students enthusiastic for research and to stimulate them to do research themselves.
Edwin vision at 15 march 2010:
In my vision of the future students will go to the library for various reasons. This can be, as is now:
• To study at a place that is designed to be a good study environment (good tables, comfortable chairs, information at hand, fast internet, etc)
• To look for information in books and magazines (the classic library), they already know what they are looking for (they are looking for a book, or information about a topic)
Things that define a knowledge agora are for me:
• It is a place to find information in a cool way that is interactive. • Place to go to if you feel like learning • Place to meet new people if this is something you want • Place to look for information on topics you find interesting, or you need for
research or projects • Place to connect with people that can help you do your own work (not just use
them, more like using their knowledge and expertise The ideal representation of information would be a way that is easy for end users and the people that provide the information. After weeks of tinkering I think that ideally researchers can add information as they produce it, for instance, publish your results from an user research immediately while still doing work with it.
I think that researchers and students and visitors should together, like a wiki, build this information system with dynamic links like Philip showed us. There are always connections between 2 pieces of information, so with links they can be connected:
for instance: research A 'covers the same area' as research B, research B has background information on report A, report A is made by student F who also cooperates with employee D who works on research C. And so on.
This should be on an interactive location, so that multiple users can freely use this. I like the idea of an exhibition, because everyone is free to walk around. If you narrow it down to just a few locations it is not possible for groups to use it together, or to discuss stuff...
Also, I think the system should be very big. Like, not just on 1 location in the library, but more a system where multiple devices and installations can take advantage. With the interactive linking of information and descriptions that connect pieces together, there should be a possibility of using the same information in multiple ways.
For instance, a ‘work in progress’ section, where you can access information about projects and research that are still being in progress. You can follow the progression, add hints or suggest use of technologies and methods.
Another area could then be an interactive coffee table where multiple users can browse and search/explore information and links between them. The focus on this interaction is more on finding information for your own use, and not like the collaboration wall.
I think that our target groups should be more divided in these kind of functions, and not just in people. I mean, a researcher can also just look for information for his own work. People can have shared interest as well, we should divide it in to these interests.
Alex’s vision at 15 march 2010:
• I envision our future concept as a place to physically gather and share knowledge, a place/medium for setting up collaborations.
• A place to constructively and accurately build towards a good outcome with multiple people, hopefully raising the quality and lowering the error margin.
• An exposition of ongoing (research) projects, publically available to whomever is interested, an aim for openness in research.
• A gathering point for the most recent information and instantly being able to see the consequences for the process when new information becomes available.
• And maybe a reference point for evaluating your own opinion/viewpoints in a certain matter. (Being able to check back on what suppositions it depends or being able to get insight in other people their viewpoints.)
I think there are a lot of ways to work out a concept like this and it will be helpful for us to do a brainstorm about it to get some more ideas before we start building low fi prototypes.
By choosing for a knowledge sharing environment instead of a (simple) modular exhibition stand we aim a lot higher because a system like this is more complex and includes the exhibition part. I think it's a good thing we are ambitious considering the purpose of our project but think we have to make sure that aiming for this is desired by the client. (or at least have a good inherent presentation/exhibition part :))
Group vision
After this discussion the group was more on a line, and everyone knew from each other how they looked at the system. From this point the focus shifted more on creating a prototype for the interim exhibition, to be able to test if our concept would appeal to users. A large part of the complete was shaped from this point on, until the final interim presentation. The final vision can be found in the next chapter of this report.
Prototypes Interim (technical)
One of the first concepts the group produced was: ‘Make it look extremely cool and flashy’. This idea was not very useful in a serious concept that had to be produced and brought to the market, but at the exhibition this would certainly help generate attention and communicate the concept. Therefore, the goal was to create something that worked and gave an impression of our final concept, to get feedback from visitors at our exhibition.
Wireless RFID
The goal was to give people feedback when they scanned the items on the wall. It was the idea to give users the feeling that they actually transferred the information from the wall to the scanning device, and that the scanning device gave them an idea of being loaded with information.
To give the user feedback on when they scanned an item, 3 colored LED’s and a vibration motor were built in the Scanner. The LED’s use a lot of energy (40 mA), and therefore transistors are used to give them the power needed.
For the wireless communication a set of cheap 433 MHz communication chips are used, attached to the TX pin on the Arduino at 2400 bps. With a small antenna of about 13 cm a range of 50 meter was successfully tested, which is more than enough for the exhibition. As RFID reader a Parallax RFID reader was attached, and controlled by the Arduino. Once the scanner scans, the RFID reader goes inactive for 6 seconds to give the user time to remove the scanner from the wall. This is done to prevent them from scanning the same object twice.
To be able to use the color LED’s there were 4 RFID tags taped to a paper, where you could select the ‘color-mode’ the RFID scanner was. The light could be continuously on until a tag was scanned, or continuous off and blinking when a tag was scanned. The
wireless communication was one-way, so the tags were hard-coded in the code to change the behavior.
MaxMSP
The wireless scanner transmits the scan-tag to the receiver, with the use of the VirtualWire library for Arduino. Once a scan is received, the program (MaxMSP) checks if the tag belongs to box, or is used to modify the color-mode (see last paragraph).
If the color mode is changed, it sets the message that is send when a scan is activated.
If a valid scan is made, the code sends a value to another Arduino over a serial connection, in the format rXXXgXXXbXXX where the X’s are values 0-255. The Arduino receives this code and adjusts the attached LED’s to show that RGB value.
There are 5 boxes on the wall, and the control program can control all 5 of them. When someone scans a box, the box lights up in the color of the scanner. This gives the feedback that the scan actually took place, apart from the vibration and the lights on the scanner itself.
TouchOSC
Instead of organizing a user test to see how people react to the scanner and the wall, the user test took place at the exhibition. To be able to experiment with lights and different reactions on people, the program TouchOSC was installed on 4 iPhones (each member had an iPhone or iPod Touch). With this program it is possible to send OSC data to the computer, where MaxMSP can translate those control messages into serial messages to control the lights on the boxes. All 5 boxes were controllable wirelessly, with a touch-interface. This gave the freedom to explain different scenario’s to visitors while ‘faking’ interactions, like coming closer to a box or scanning a box and giving it a color.
Table
Despite all the hard work it was not yet possible to have a fully working touch table, and a Wizard-Of-Oz approach was used. On a black piece of cardboard an interface was shown with Adobe Flash CS4, with 3 movies that could be controlled by pressing numbers on the keyboard of the laptop. Once a scanner, with scanned information, was placed on the table, one of the group members would then try to ‘fake’ the interaction users had with our system, which was successful in most cases.
A beamer projected the image on the table, and because it was a (special) DLP projector, the black (background) color was not projected on the table, which made it look like the videos were just ‘on’ the table. This made the whole experience better, because most visitors did not realize the images came from a beamer. One visitor even asked what type of screen was used.
Third iteration The third iteration takes places between the interim exhibition and the final exhibition. Please not that various days were cancelled due to free days like Queen’s day and Hemelvaartsdag, thus leaving less days for project work.
Envisioning after interim
In order to completely create an exhibition space where all concepts work together, all the groups had to come together and define how the definite roles will be divided. It should be clear for the visitor of the exhibition how to experience the exhibition. Where to go to first, what can be found where and what are the roles of the elements of the exhibition. All the concepts combined should end up in one consistent exhibition giving the visitor the best experience possible.
To be able to end up with a consistent exhibition the coaches asked to link the concepts to each other. Our project group took the leading role in selecting the technology to use. This included the RFID scanners and the database on which all the groups could log in to.
Roles of the different concepts
To define the roles of the different groups a few meetings were arranged, where each group made scenarios where 5 target users were described. Each group/individual presented the value and use their concept had for this user.
A timeline of the exhibition was generated as a result of the group meetings to end up with a consistent layout for the exhibition and to make sure that the different groups were not doing the same job.
The exhibition was divided in three time spans:
• Entering the exhibition.
• Acquiring the knowledge.
• Reflecting on the knowledge and getting a summary.
Afterwards the time spans were divided in several elements in which the concepts could be placed.
Persuasion (Hadewig)
In this phase the visitor to the library needs to be attracted to visit the exhibition, the concept of Hadewig Boerman was selected to fulfill this element. With her concept the visitor is persuaded to touch and experience a first block of information which can be found inside.
Introduction and summary (Matthijs & Jorg)
As an introduction to the exhibition the concept of Matthijs Jansen and Jorg de Bont is selected. Their concept teases the visitor by slowly opening the top of their concept. The visitor can see a video about the faculty which is presenting at the time and a video on how to walk through the exhibition and what the visitor can experience. The visitor can scan his RFID tag to log in to the exhibition. This concept is also used for the summary of the exhibition. Once the visitor leaves the exhibition they can scan again and they will receive a printout which includes the information they have selected.
Location (Hogard)
In the middle of the exhibition the concept of Hogard Janssen can be found. This concept is a guideline for the visitor of the exhibition where they can find information about the different elements of the exhibition. This is done by a comp-pass. Rotating the screen and pointing at elements of the exhibition will show the visitor information about the element to which the visitor is looking at.
Playfull interaction (Karin & Zsuzsi)
The concepts of both Karin Vintges as Zsuzsi Nagy let the visitor of the exhibition explore the information in a playfull way. In their concept there is also room to reflect on the information and give comments.
The concept of Karin Vintges requires visitors to work together to open information. They need to stand on a floor panel together, the more visitors that are standing on the floor panel the more information is presented to them.
The concept of Zsuzsi Nagy is focused more on individual use. The visitor can place triangles that are lying on a table into an active field, by ordering and moving the
triangles information is opened and the visitor can explore the information.
Detailed information (our group)
The table is used to take a more detailed look into the information that is scanned, and provide a 'serious' approach to information gathering.
Development of concepts
Our group was responsible for the creation of the 'table' concept, the walls and the poster-boxes where the teasers are placed. The different aspects were divided;Tijmen and Edwin developed the Table, Wisse developed the posterbox and Alex developed the Wall.
Table
The concept of the table was already envisioned during the interim exhibition, but was not realized yet. In order to be able to actually create a working table, the programming language Flash CS5 and Actionscript 3.0 was needed. Tijmen and Edwin both could use this for their competency development as well, and started with a book about Actionscript and flash.
UI at the table
After learning more about the possibilities for creating a working prototype, various touch-based user interfaces were explored. With the help of Google and YouTube interesting pictures and videos of interesting designs were found and printed as inspiration. After having a better idea of what was possible, the interface guidelines from the iPad and iPhone were downloaded and discussed, which lead to useful information about the way information can be presented and accessed on a touch-based device. Details like minimum button size (44px) and touch-behavior were interesting, because they were not so obvious to think of.
Philip Mendels, a researcher at the TU/e, helped with the exploration of information modeling and structures, to give a start on creating an idea of how information from researchers could be used to shape a system like envisioned.
It was clear that creating a whole new system for researchers to enter their information and monitor their progress was too complex to tackle in a short time, so the focus
shifted towards making the final result of such a system. The whole idea behind it was taken into account, but it was designed from result-to-method.
On a whiteboard, flat on the table, the group discussed the possibilities and interface requirements of an information system. By role-playing the scanning, sitting at the table and sharing / recommending information to each other it was possible to envision how such an interface would roughly behave.
Content
After playing around with various interfaces it proved to be hard to imagine a system without actually knowing what kind of information exactly was supposed to be presented with it. The next step was to analyze the actual information; therefore a selection was made from the long list of papers that we could use.
It became clear that there is a consistent setup of scientific papers, with some standards items that are present in most of them. To experiment with this knowledge, a scientific paper was printed and cut to the different parts it consists of, to play with on the table.
There is not really a 'right' way to present information, but during the experimenting the most promising layout was to divide the content into sub-paragraphs (just like on a real paper), and show those sub paragraphs in layers. Instead of a linear presentation, a quick overview is presented like this, and when someone wants to know more, he/she can go deeper into detail on each subparagraph, with for instance extra video material and links to related articles.
The walls
The walls play an important role in the exhibition layout; it provides the context for the different concepts. Users can experience the exhibition within these walls, and be a little bit separated from the rest of the library (to focus on the information). It is like the library of Amsterdam, each function has it's own dedicated space. Information gathering requires attention, and the barrier the walls provide keep the attention inside those walls. The walls are not really closed, but more placed in a way so that it is perceived as a separate part of the whole building. This can be perceived in the same way an area with a different floor color is experienced as a different area of a hall.
Because the exhibition space needs to be modular so that it can be changed every two months, the walls should not be fixed but movable. With movable walls the exhibition space can change drastically when a different faculty exhibits, giving it a more dynamic appearance.
Since the poster boxes can be hanged on the walls, there is no need for electronics in the wall itself. This gives options for size and shape, and provides options for a custom shaped exhibition space. This was conceptualized with various drawings of the exhibition space, with different sizes, different setups, and tables with physical objects in addition to posters on the wall.
A shape was developed that was inspired by previous concepts and an idea of what is important in an exhibition space. There will be different subjects and these need to be able to distinguish themselves from each other. On the other hand, similar subjects need to be able to be grouped.
Different shapes were considered; a combination of the best aspects delivered the idea of rounded walls. Different sizes and angles were tested and a 3D model was made to test the possibilities. The results were that 112.5 degrees would be the ideal angle with a radius of 4meters across. To communicate this idea the most feasible option was to create a scale model of it.
Poster boxes
One of the key concepts of this project is scanning the information which one finds interesting. When finalizing the concept it became clear that it was more efficient to integrate the scanning part in the poster boxes since it will reduce the amount of maintenance needed:
• The boxes can supply the power, so there is no need to use a battery.
• The boxes are fixed to the wall so they cannot be taken away.
• The boxes cannot fall down on the ground and break.
• The boxes will have an unlimited amount of users, compared to the portable scanners where there is a maximum of users.
Even though there are many pros to use the boxes there are also some cons. The possibilities of giving feedback to the user are reduced, with the most important feedback of taking the information with you.
After comparing the pros and cons the decision has been made to integrate the scanners in the posters and use RFID tags to scan the posters. The RFID tag can be implemented in the library card so that the TU/e students and employees are all able to use the system without any additional setups.
Brainstorm sessions were conducted to develop the feedback for the poster boxes, the one selected is the following: when somebody scans the poster the surrounding light in the box will drop down into the area where the users scans the poster, in this way it is suggested that the light takes the information from the poster into the scanning area. After the light has dropped down the scanning area will glow, indicating that the information is loading into the RFID tag. Then after a few seconds the lights will turn on again and the next visitor of the exhibition can use the box.
The way how the feedback is given is developed after testing several versions in which the feedback diverged; the speed in which the light drops down, the number of times that the scanning area fades and the total duration of the feedback. All the versions have been tried out on users, which enabled the group to improve the quality of the feedback.
The goal of this feedback is to give users the idea that their RFID tag is used to transfer the data, they need to have the idea that there is actually some information on that tag. Once users are familiar with this concept, the collecting of information will feel natural and normal, which lowers the threshold to repeatedly use the system.
Shape Design
The basic shape of the poster box is based on the A4 paper size dimension; this means that posters can easily be printed with the correct dimensions. Added to the basic shape
is an outline of three centimeters in which the feedback is implemented. Half a circle is added at the bottom to create a scanning area. The size of the circle is based upon the width of the ATM cards, so one can hold a card in front of the circle to scan. In the top right corner of the box the TU/e logo is engraved with RGB LEDs behind it, this enables the faculty that exhibits to show different groups by changing the color of the logo.
Interaction
The LEDs of the poster box are always on when no one is using it. When someone scans the box he or she will receive feedback through the LEDs. Once a scan has been done the light will drop down into the scanning area and then it will fade in and out to indicate that a scan has been made and the information is being processed. When the feedback was too short (at the interim exhibition and during tests), users had the idea that the scan was not complete. It seems that people expect the system to need time to finish writing the scan to the database, while this takes only a fraction of a second.
Testing the boxes gave insight that it was not clear for the users where to scan, users where scanning the box in front of the poster, the TU/e logo or correctly at the height of the scanning area. After adding a circle at the scanning area on the second day of the exhibition it became clearer for the users where to scan and the number of initial errors was decreased significantly.
Production
The prototype had to be of high quality, several production methods have been taken into account and after validating them with an expert the choice was made to use a laser cutter to make the parts out of MDF and Plexiglass.
A 3d model of the design has been made in Solidworks, which is then used to control the laser cutter. As a final touch after laser cutting the parts the sides of the boxes have been given a layer of polyester to get a smooth surface. The boxes have been spray-painted and the Plexiglas top has been sand blasted.
Once the poster box is produced with different materials and production techniques this will greatly decrease the cost of the box. We cannot order in large quantities, and it has to be manufactured by hand.
The Arduino (cost !18,-) can be replaced by a micro controller (cost around !6,-) This will reduce the costs per poster box by !7,-
• Plexiglas and a MDF back panel: !6,69 (at the TU/e)
• LEDs: !13,50 (www.leds-buy.nl)
• A micro controller of approximate !6,-
• RFID scanner of !28,60 (www.antratek.com)
• Labour costs of !40.80 minimum wage, 5 hours work
This is only an idea of the costs the project group would have made, in real life there are cheaper ways to produce, other retail stores where cheap
components can be ordered, and improved manufacturing can greatly reduce the time it takes to manufacture one box.
User focus
Alex and Edwin followed the assignment DG309 – Co-Reflection, given by Oscar Tomico. In short, this method is used to actively involve the user in the design process, instead of asking about / testing your concept with them.
Co-Reflective sessions
Prior to the sessions with researchers, both Alex and Edwin had sessions with students of ID and BMT. The results of those user sessions can be found in the appendixes.
Within one week 6 sessions were held with individual researchers, and from all the notes combined we found a lot of similarities in the way they work. The following text was discussed and re-written a few times, it would not be useful within this report to have six similar notes on the same topics. (A lot of conclusions were drawn over and over again).
The approach during the sessions worked was:
First explore together with the ‘users’ what the current situation is and find problems/reasons/methods
Then sketch a new visionary future where you discuss about things that could be better and how it could be.
Reflect on the ‘concept’ and try to refine it according to the input from the users. Don’t ‘kill’ ideas, but refine them so that they change in something positive.
Discuss about present
Why and how do they present their work?
Papers are the main method of presenting the work, on the Internet and in magazines. It consists of a standard setup, like the problem statement, the hypothesis, methods used, results and conclusions. These give a deep detailed view on the research, and consists mostly of text (paper is not the best way to display graphics).
Conferences are the other big important way to present work. It is the place where they meet with others to present each other with what they are working on. This is done in short presentations of around 10-15 minutes, or if they are more ‘important’, longer.
The TU/e also has poster-competitions where they offer a money prize for researchers. This is of course a nice reason to make a poster, but posters also make it possible to be seen by students and colleagues at the university.
A researcher wants to be published and referenced to, because then others value your work. References are mostly used to reference to papers from others, and researchers use papers as literature for their own work. Getting more references from others means that you will get a sort of status, a nice ‘track’ record. With this positive track record and publicity they have a better chance in getting money from companies that invest in researchers, or get a budget to do expensive experiments/tests. Also, when you want to apply for a new job, it would help if you have a nice history and researches on your name.
The target group a researcher wants to reach is small. It consists of other researchers, companies and master students or professors. The whole ‘research’ world is the target group. Getting seen and acknowledged is very important in their daily activity.
Personal motivation
Business motivation is not the only reason why they publish their work. The problems they are trying to solve often make it possible to improve current things. In BMT, that’s mostly with benefits for people’s health, or in other area’s, this can be a technology improvement or environmental reason. When you are the one that worked on a groundbreaking new cancer treatment you could possibly save thousands of lives, which, off course, is a good reason to do something all day long.
With this in mind, we can also explain the value proposition of publishing for students and other researchers. They can be sure that their research is used further, that it was useful.
Discuss about ideal situation
After discussion the reasoning behind the current publishing system for researchers and the whole research community, we tried to find things that did not work that well or find new opportunities.
They found it important to be able to show graphics of processes, to explain the text that goes along. This can be applicable to lots of different content, not only medical. Things like video’s and animations of processes are often cut into a few pictures and then placed as a storyline, but with digital media this does not have to happen anymore.
Another problem is that the people that read the papers and go to conferences have a different level of knowledge. For each presentation at a conference they have to consider who is the audience, and adapt to that. They would really like to have a system that can adapt to more users at the same time, to be as accessible as possible.
They also would like to see who is doing the research and how they can benefit from their work. Just like at a conference, the goal of listening to the work and progress of others is to gain knowledge about the area and benefit from this. Bringing researchers in contact with each other and make them aware of what is going on where is very important.
Discuss about future concept
The researchers like the idea of having a multi touch table, they can imagine that users are appealed by this new technology. They are not sure what the actual information setup should be like on a table, but that is also because they have no experience with interaction design.
It would be a good idea if an interaction specialist could help them shape their content to be accessible by the table, because they are a bit scared to do it themselves. They don't have time or the knowledge to create interactive content, 'making an animation of a MRI scan is hard enough'.
They know that there are lots of existing imaging techniques that are used at the faculty, but exporting that information to something interactive is not possible yet. One would really love to be able to give users the chance to experience the flow of blood in a mouse-heart, because that is a process that is not easy to understand without seeing it for your self.
Some of them don't see the advantage of having 'teasers' on the wall to scan, but rather focus on the multi-touch table as a stand-alone device at conferences and meetings. They like to meet people after they give a presentation, with the reason to ask specific
questions. They can see this table take over that role and give them more options to get in touch with other researchers.
Not only do they want to be able to ask researchers for more information, but also like to hand over their 'business card'. If they come across something where they could help or collaborate, they want to leave a note or an invitation.
Future vision
After speaking with the researchers from BMT some new insights were reached. As addition to the Co-Reflective sessions performed by Alex, Edwin and Tijmen (he joined the sessions with the researchers), Edwin had to make a business analysis for assignment DG508 – Co-Creation.
The library at the TU/e wants to create a modular exhibition space in their new building, due to complete in 2020. Their goal is to create a space where students, researchers, personnel and companies can come together and explore the research of the different faculty’s the TU/e has, within time frames of 2 months. This exhibition has to be interactive, interesting and explorative, with a goal to attract people and create a ‘knowledge agora’.
With the use of Co-Reflective sessions with researchers and students a list of value propositions is made to make sure the concept matches the needs of potential users, and to create a business-setup that the library can use once they see potential in the concept. The development of the concept was done with this in mind, making sure it would be usable in a real world situation.
Concept
Usage:
The user walks at the exhibition space and collects teasers with their RFID tag within their TU/e Identity card. They can select topics they find interesting and want to read more about.
Once arrived at the table they put down their RFID card and the items they scanned pop up. On the table they can browse through the scientific information (made by researchers) in different layers, with enhanced graphics and in a more interactive/dynamic way.
This dynamic presentation of scientific information is the first part of the concept. It already has additional value in relation to traditional scientific papers, because it is not static and linear.
Together with researchers a few other functionalities were added. They want it to be possible to search for keywords, like ‘tags’, to find relevant information. These tags can describe research methods, topics, research fields and so on. This is not possible with current systems yet.
The possibility to share information with others (look at this!) and offer yourself to others is not really present in the current research-systems. There is no platform that promotes working together and finding each other, that role is now performed by professors who can only ‘know’ a few people from other faculties.
As a whole, this platform we are creating is in a way a new platform for researchers, students and companies where they can find each other, know what they are working on and stimulate collaboration.
Value Propositions for each user group
After discussions with researchers we gradually created a vision of how our concept can change the research world, where collaboration is more and more important. We made this list together with the researchers, who are a huge target group for this system.
For students -> first year
- Being able to browse through scientific information in a non-dull way, but with a touch interface and playful interactions (also provided by the other teams).
- See what the future can bring for them, what is the area where they can work in, what will they actually become, where do they study for. The real-life examples of their theoretical knowledge.
For students -> final bachelor, master
- A way to look for interesting topics and methods, which they can use to choose a final project or a minor. Normally their coaches play this role, but now they can explore the ‘research’ world more easily with our concept.
For researchers at TU/e and other universities
- Better way to connect with other researchers and their work, find common methods/findings outside their own work area, promote collaboration between faculty’s and individuals
• Opportunity to present their work to a whole range of users, with layered, interactive, information. If a company wants to find researchers that work on a certain subject, this is possible without digging through all the details, but if an engineer wants to know every detail, they can go in very deeply.
- Opportunity to offer their own knowledge or ask others to help them, through a system that is a platform for that first contact.
Companies like Philips
- Easy access to information about who is doing what kind of research, providing them with opportunities of finding projects they want to invest in or collaborate with.
- Multi-layered information, the engineering department can find interesting developments in detailed engineering and technology issues, while managers can find interesting projects and people responsible for that project.
TU/e, the provider of the platform
- The status of being the ‘innovator’, being the first to offer such a system
- Providing a platform, which enables their research groups to work more productive, and let them focus on bundling their knowledge instead of wasting time finding knowledge that is buried too deep in stacks of papers.
- Providing first year students and VWO graduates a peek into their future, and actually work with information that they can use to form a vision of why they want to choose a study. This will hopefully decrease the number of dropouts which saves a lot of money.
- Attracting businesses to this system, where they can easily find researchers and projects where they might want to invest in. This could place the TU/e in a better
picture with various companies, which will evolve in more investments in research. (Funds)
Why Co-Creation?
The TU/e provides a platform for researchers to present their work, and for students and companies and other researchers to find their work. The platform stimulates working together, and is basically a way to get in touch with each other. In the future, when the concept is more developed and deployed, more and more functions can be added to build upon this ‘platform’.
The point of interaction is at the library, within the exhibition system. But it is more a way to lay that first contact, to find people.
The concept is a cost-centre; there are no profits, only costs. But, as explained in the presentation and the value propositions, other profit-centers at the TU/e will benefit from this system, because it can provide cost-reduction.
DART Analysis
Dialogue
Users of the system can use it to get in contact with researchers, within the build-in services. Sending an email or notification, or a link to an interesting paper can do this. The functionality of the system is to get them in touch, but not be the primary channel. If users decide to work together than the goal of the system is completed.
For the researchers to present their information they have to integrate in the system. Because most researchers are not the best interaction designers out there, a separate design team will design the first interactions, to give them more time to focus on their work.
Ideally, in the future, there should be a system that enables the designers to monitor and collect their work, and give them the appropriate tools to export their work into something the system can transform into an interactive presentation. This is something that needs to be developed, but this could become the interaction between researchers and the TU/e.
Access
As with all research that is published, others are free to use this, if they provide a reference. The whole research-world is based on this system and there is no reason to change this.
As with scientific magazines and conferences, the information will always be the intellectual ownership of the research (group) that produced it, and the library has access to it but is not allowed to change any content.
Risk
Within the research world there is always the risk of plagiarism, and that is not different this time. The system could even try to prevent this from happening, by dynamically linking research papers together and making it easier to find plagiarism.
Because it is only a platform with a copy of the actual information (the researcher has the ‘master’ version, there is no real threat, like with money. Funding is not handled by the system, so that is not of order.
The RFID tags are personal, and could be a threat to privacy or identity theft. But, the actual benefit for a thief or hacker would be minimal, what would they possibly want with the information? The information is not of high risk, and is often public available anyway.
Transparency
The source of information is very clear, researchers publish the research and their name is available at the table. Further, only the first communication is handled by the system, other communication is done privately by email or telephone or in real life. There is not much to be transparent about with respect to dialogue.
There is no payment involved, researchers commit their research to the system because they want to use it to profit from it.
Users don’t exactly know what happens with their ‘scan’ data on the RFID tags. This is not really transparent, but the system gives the user the feeling they are in control of the data that is kept by the system. There is no hidden ‘History’, users can use and modify this themselves. This gives them total control of their own data in the system.
The rest of the data is already in the TU/e databases, which cannot be changed by this system.
Conclusion
We believe that the proposed system could result in a new kind of interaction with research material, where the information is more accessible for each target group, and has added value for each user of the platform. The TU/e could take a step into the future by developing this concept and placing it in the library in the near future.
What started as a regular project changed the way we look at scientific information and the work that is done here at the university. Discussing with the researchers has proven to be valuable, and gave deep insights in how they experience the system as it is today.
If we had to develop this concept further, we would focus on:
- Tangible interaction with objects place in the exhibition space, does it add value for users? Is it needed for the table to succeed?
- How can we provide researchers a usable system to monitor their work, add information and connections while working, and export to an interactive paper to be displayed on touch displays?
- What kind of added functionality does the table need to transfer from an interactive paper to a social platform? Which functions add value, and which functionality is surplus?
- Does it need to be in the library, or can it be online? A researchers-facebook?
Prototype Final Exhibition (technical)
All the code can be found in the appendix, or in the .zip file in their original state. The .pde files can be read with the Arduino software environment or the Processing software, the .fla and .as are Flash CS5 files.
It is not easy to explain complex code, a global description is given but in order to fully understand some programming knowledge is required.
Information flow
The final prototype consists of three boxes that can scan RFID tags and give feedback in the form of light, a separate scanner with six LED's, a monitor with a movie and a table with an interface.
When a poster box is scanned, the system checks if that tag already exists in the database. If the tag is not in the database yet (first scan), the tag is inserted in the database. The tag is then registered with the content that was scanned, with a timestamp.
After the user is finished collecting posters, they place the tag on the table. Underneath the table a Phidgets RFID reader is duck taped, which sends the tag info the Flash via the Phidgets server application. With the tag info Flash asks the database if this tag exists, and if they scanned posters in the last 15 minutes.
Processing & RFID (input)
The processing program reads information from 4 serial ports (there are 4 scanners) and handles these events with an event handler (serialEvent()). It prints a trace message with the tag info for debugging, and calls the insertSQL function. This function connects with the online SQL server and looks for a user with the specific tag. With a SQL query it then adds the scan to the database.
msql.execute("INSERT INTO `users` (`tag`, `last_visit`) VALUES ('"+tag+"', CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)");
Database setup
The database is online, because this gave the option to let others use it as well without the need of running a program on a laptop. Our group provided the other groups with an example Processing Sketch, which they could use to implement in their own prototype. Unfortunately, only Jorg and Matthijs were able to actually use a RFID scanner and provide the users with interaction, the rest of the groups did not have a working
prototype that was integrated in the bigger system.
The database is very simple, with only 3 tables. The users table holds the information about the users that scanned with their RFID tags, and the contents table holds the information about the titles of the papers.
When someone scans a poster with content.id 1, an entry will be added to the scans table with the user_tag and the content_id they scanned. This is a join table with a many-to-many relationship.
Actionscript AS3 & Flash CS5
For this prototype it was the first time we used Flash and Actionscript, so some time was spent on learning the language. Actionscript 3.0 is a fully Object Orientated Programming language, and this took some time to get familiar with.
Once the program starts, it sets event listeners for the RFID scanner. When a tag is scanned by the Phidget RFID reader, the code comes in action. First it checks if the tag is in the database, and if there are scans. This is done by loading an XML file that is generated by PHP, because Flash can’t ‘talk’ to databases.
After the scans are loaded, small thumbnails are loaded from a folder, and animated to the stage. They are configured as clickable buttons, and when clicked, they load a .swf (Flash format) file with the actual content that belongs to that scan.
The .swf files with the content of the scans is generated using Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5, a rapid UI creation tool, without databases or anything. The content is hard coded into the files, and not suited yet for mass-production.
Box
The box is powered by 9V, and uses an Arduino Pro Mini and transistors to control the 52 LED’s in groups of 6. The RFID reader is connected to the serial input of the Arduino, and the code checks when a tag is scanned. Once it has received a tag, it loops through the LED-control pins and thus creating the effect of filling the ring with information. The ring is then faded in and out to indicate process, this is done with Pulse Width Modulation of the LED’s (LED’s can’t be dimmed). While giving feedback to the users, the tag is send to the computer to Processing, to insert the information into the database.
The code for the Arduino can be found in the appendix.
Appendixes Co-Reflective session 1: Alex with BMT students
Subjects covered:
Exploring what kinds of research is done in BMT and the kinds of information that is produced and dealt with.
How is the information currently presented en how would it be presented in an ideal situation.
Results:
On posters there is used a lot of jargon.
The posters cannot be simplified too much they must remain on an academic level.
The posters could be a lot better but aren't because of:
- The people that make the posters are not specialists at it.
- Better metaphors and explanations could be used.
The posters are to give a short impression, they are meant to make people interested for the subject.
The route to further information however is often hard to find.
The posters don't go into detail, only give an impression.
If you want to know more, you have to really go and look for more information.
At this moment all the posters stay in their own faculty, there is zero interconnection between faculties.
It seems the posters are more decoration of the hallways then anything else, just something nice to look at.
Although you want to stimulate collaboration you never see someone asking help on a poster, they aren't looking for it.
The posters are from finished researched, maybe too late to start a collaboration.
The poster is standard, it's meant as an abstract of a really big bookwork.
This bookwork is the actual result, can be hundreds of pages.
This and the gained knowledge, being able to talk about it with other people (professors).
Walking through the corridors is kind of like stumbling through the research that is done, to get an impression, overview.
The kinds of results presented on posters on BMT are extremely variable.
There are a lot of 3D models since its about the human body, which is 3d.
Many things just cannot be shown on 2d pictures.
There is a lot of movement in the human body, which has to been shown, and its consequences.
At this moment they only have to make a poster, if you want to make them do more there must be something in it for them.
Poster isn't the most important thing; it will not come through the surface anymore during their career.
Their priority is at studying further, their career.
Another priority for some people may be inspiring new students or giving them ground to build on further in research.
The people that make the posters don't have the skills to present it well (graphically).
(Offer them something like: presenting for dummies)
(Offer them: a rectangle with the size of a poster and a content managing system.)
(Maybe interactive touchscreen)
(Link to encyclopedia for hard words, or ask the makers to make short descriptions for the hard terms.)
Stimulate them so they want to inform others.
Spoken word would be good for presenting.
In an ideal situation I imagine a holographich 3d world where you can see everything happen from the perfect angle with a perfect explanation but there is a barreir at the team who does the research, They just aren't able to make such a thing and don't have the time.
To present things better they have to work together with specialists at presetnting visualizing.
It just isn't doable withouth third persons.
A possibility might be to make a fromework in which researcher can put there results, zero programming really simple.
en update (BMT master student, T.DelaHaije):
Posters are a presentation of things that are allready finished/published or presented at a conference.
For the most results of the research there are not yet good visualisations, to be able to get good visualisations it is needed to intervene in an ongoing project.
ideal would be 3d
or interactive 2d with a lot of different orientations to be able to see depth.
Some people are probably able to make the visualisations but its not worth it, its all frontline research, and there is a big chance that it wont be used ever in the future.
And in the few situations where it is used it is dedicated to radiologists, and then it is important to take quantification into account.
There is a group that focusses on visualisation though: http://w3.bmt.tue.nl/en/research/divisions_bme/biomedical_imaging_modeling/biomedical_image_analysis/research/multivalued_image_analysis_visualization/
Philips has a cheap system to present research, which allows for 3d effects. (Similar to the iphone in iphone application)
An important thing to do is give people insight in how things look in 3d so this is a cheap solution.
On presenting ongoing research:
I think most researchers aren't very willing to work open source.
There has been a lot of problems about that here on BMT.
There is a lot of research that still needs folowup research which you might be able to use.
But if you present it in the library and it is still ubpublished work than it may only be accessible from people from within the TU/e.
At this moment BMT is considering putting all of the promotion thesises online but there are a lot of comments on that, even on the graduation works.
The problem is not the copyright but the actual knowledge, its not forbidden to read and understand it and then implement it in a product.
They can't sell the paper itself but they can sell the idea.
Co-Reflective session 2: Alex with BMT students
Exploration:
BMT students talk about past experiences they had with poster presentations and the aspect of feedback. This is about getting insight in the current state of feedback people receive, how they receive it, what kind of information it is, which is important to them and what would they desire? This phase will get the users in the right mindset for the ideation phase.
Ideation:
People talk about ways to get the desired information not restricted by the real world limitations. They were asked to come up with ways to receive the desired feedback. Envision a system that will satisfies the needs that came to surface during the exploration.
Confrontation:
BMT students are confronted with sketches and ideas for exhibitions. They are open for interpretation and it is asked how the ideas from the previous phase can be implemented. This is to build upon the current state of the concept, how can the new ideas from the ideation phase be implemented in a setting like this?
Exploration
•The personal goal of the poster is transferring information, educating others.
•In principal the biggest part of the learning process is finished when the poster has been made.
•During the research itself there is a lot of guidance by a tutor.
•Also colleagues, post docs, AIO’s and graduates are a source of information.
•Experts are useful when things need to be explained clearly, they understand the subject matter in a way that they are able to do this.
•At the end of a project only the theory aspect can be improved. (Other/better ways of doing things.)
•The kind of feedback you look for depends on the target audience (at this moment this can be very specific for a poster).
•At a conference you’re aiming at expert feedback, inside of the faculty an aim can be acting as an expert in the matter to students.
•An important possibility can be finding common ground throughout faculties. At this moment collaborations are also made but this process goes very difficult. It does happen but it’s most of time coincidence when these connections are made.
•The research is never really finished, and new application can be found for the presented theories, for this it is also useful to maintain a way of communication.
•By presenting research on a bigger scale (exhibition in the library) a bigger audience can be reached and this can help shortening the amount of time new theories will be accepted.
•The best knowledge you could transfer is intuition in the subjects. (meaning: making it obvious/logical why things are as they are, this is more than theory.)
•The amount of feedback on posters is low.
•You get the feedback but don’t have to do anything with in unless you performed insufficiently.
•sometimes a screening, points of improvement
Ideation:
•Almost all of the posters require a lot of prior knowledge, on interactive explanation can be used to shorten the introduction time to the subject.
•It is possible to make interactive models, maybe an animation in which parameters can be adjusted using sliders for example. (A way of doing this is using a program called Mathematica, making things clear dynamically.)
•Literally all of the research needs at least some kind of introduction to get familiar, everything is far above VWO level. And even for almost all students on the TU/e since it are very dedicated subjects.
•A possibility of direct contact with the maker can have a lot of benefits. Being able to send the makers an email for example.
•A problem can be that things become too hard to understand because they are explained too short because the matter is too familiar to the maker.
•There is already a tutor that gives all the needed feedback and advice during the projects
•A draft report is also an occasion that allow for feedback before the poster.
•Peer reviews are a way of getting personal feedback during the projects.
•Getting feedback at the very last stage of the project will only be to make it from good to perfect.
•It’s hard to give feedback that allows for learning because these things are noticed early on and are probably mostly small things that don’t influence results only the process. (slow it down)
•Some kind of an interactive feedback system offers possibilities
•Something similar like comments in MS word.
•A possibility for the maker to reply in order to clarify things.
•Maybe the opportunity for critical debate.
•Giving feedback through email.
•Points of improvement.
Confrontation:
•Make it possible to send yourself things as visitor of the exhibition.
•Make it easy to contact the makers.
•It needs to be voluntary.
•Stimulate curiosity, make contacts.
•A contact form is a possible solution.
•When talking about a specific part of the exhibition it must be easy to quote that particular part.
•A student assistant can be used in this system to answer probably 95% of the questions.
•Leaving messages at the relevant place of the information.
•Using search and view behavior of the visitors of the exhibition in order to find things that are not perfectly clear, can be explained better, subjects that may be expanded on.
•A kind of rating system, giving thumbs up and down, add question marks.
•Possibility for the visitor to link to reference material.
1-5
Project code DPE24 Project title
Knowledge Agoras
Project Proposer(s) Tomico prefer to coach Client (s) TUe Information Expertise Centrum Expert(s) Tomico, Bartneck, Lucas
Coach (if preferred) Themes Prime theme Discovering and Learning Links to other themes
Realities AutoMobility Next Nature
Discovering & Learning
Experiences & Emotions Health Care Playful Interactions
Light, Space, Time, Move
Social Robots & Humanoids
Virtues & Values Wearable Senses
Target Competencies
Idea & Concepts Integrating Technology
User Focus and Perspective
Social Cultural Awareness
Designing Business Processes
Form & Senses Teamwork and Communication
Design and Research Processes
Self-Directed and Con tinuous Learning
Descriptive and Mathematical Modelling
2-5
General information Brief Description Abstract The main objective of the project is to explore the possibilities and design an effective exhibition space at the future TU/e library which provides service that enhance research and education at TU/e, for both internal and external people. The space, which can be called a knowledge agora, will consist of, but not limited to, exhibiting, meeting, discussing and sharing points, supported with different types of interactive devices and digitalized content. Students are expected to acquire basic understandings of exhibition design, including constructing themes and content (the message they want to communicate to the audience) and ways to present the content. Introduction The future organization of TU/e will be an ecosystem of sub-departments, specialized research centers, laboratories and private companies around the campus. In order to promote networking around TU/e, finding synergies, setting up collaborations and building up community, TU/e library will act as the center of gravity. With the use of new technologies we think it will be possible to rethink, reinvent and implement the opportunities linked to the storage and display of enriched scientific output of TU/e research (papers, posters, models, photos, audio, videos, data sets, 3D digital models, …) in order to elicit social connectedness and the emergence of knowledge sharing communities
The exhibition space at the future TUe library
3-5
Communication strategy Head Digital Department Library together with the IEC Communication expert will decide the periodicity and the themes that will be presented at the exhibition in relation to events held at TUe like symposiums, conferences or especial activities (e.g. DDW) or specific breakthroughs in research. Content selection The professors from a department, together with the IEC Faculty liaison will commission the research projects that will be presented at the exhibition. The selection criteria will be based on the TUe research policy, the research criteria from the department and the aim of the exhibition (make it more attractive to media, new students, companies, investors in new start-ups, …) Implementation of content IEC Faculty liaison together with the repository manager will check if the material provided fulfills the selection criteria for the repository (can the info be displayed in an expo) and will implement the information in the database for the exhibition. Exhibition set up IEC repository manager and the IEC exhibition expert with arrange the physical space and the suitable display modules to order to support the interaction with the physical models and the digital content. Objectives / Specifics (project objectives; learning goals) The interactive modular space that you will be designing will be based on the research of one department (enriched information from around 10 projects). You will have to consider that the periodicity of the exhibitions is going to be 2 months (for the content selection, implementation of content and exhibition set up). The space to exhibit is going to be in the existing library (de hall) next to the printed media section. You’ll be able to use the display technologies that the IEC has at this moment (beamers, flat screens, touch screens, …). The main question that your design should answer is how the contextualized filtering of digital information and the physicality of the space can elicit social connectedness and provide a context to support the matching of people that might be interested to work together. Design process This project will be based in an iterative design process with three iterations: During the first iteration the students will work on creating experiential prototypes to physically their vision on the future knowledge agora. Tinkering with low-fi prototypes, user based creative sessions are highly recommendable to frame your vision. A vision on how social connectedness can be elicited through the interaction with the system. Aspects to take into account are the relationship between the system, the users and the spectators. Variables to take into account are the physical shape of the modules, the dynamics of the interaction, the contextualization of the information to the visitors’ behaviour. Take into account that not just the physical properties of an object invite people to look at information together but also the digital content can guide them to an specific topic that might be interesting to both of them. The second iteration will start with the set up of an exhibition space with the prototypes created by the different groups participating in the project (from b2.2 to m1.1.). This exhibition at the De Hall will help to contextualize the projects and redefine each group vision to fit in one module. During this iteration as a big team all the groups have to think about how the system will be created, the
4-5
metadata to tag the information, the communication protocol to link all the modules and the look and feel of the exhibition. Individually the groups have to choose the content to provide that better fits their vision in a way that doesn’t overlap other groups. The results of this iteration will be presented during the interim as a whole. The third iteration (form the interim exhibition till the final exhibition) will focus on the implementation of the technology, building a final prototype with museum quality and user involvement sessions. Deliverables Each group will deliver a working prototype of one module to interact with specific content that senses the visitors’ behaviour and transmits the information to the whole exhibition space. Final documentation including the reflection on the process and guidelines for the communication strategy, the content selection, the implementation of content and setting up the exhibition. Communication material (high res photos, 1 min max demo video, poster and short description of 300 words) Take into the consideration that the results will be used by the IEC to promote the implementation of enriched scientific output and the use of interactive spaces to the different departments at TUe. Information Sources Information Expertise Centrum experts that will be available: Repository beheerder (=Repository manager) Hoofd digitale bibliotheek (=Head Digital Department Library) Faculty Liaison medewerker (=Faculty liaison) Communicatie/PR medewerker (=Communication/public affairs) Digitaal erfgoed/tentoonstellingen (=Cultural heritage/exhibitions) Embodied & situated learning strategies Vygotsky, L. (1978) Mind in Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lave, J. and Wenger, E. 1991. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Pfeifer R, Bongard, JC (2006) How the body shapes the way we think—A new view of intelligence. Cambridge (Massachusetts): MIT Press. In press. Ludvigsen, M. (2005) Designing for Social Use in Public Places -- a Conceptual Framework of Social Interaction, Proceedings of DPPI 05, Designing Pleasuable Products and Interfaces Conference on 24--27 October, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Libraries Bruijnzeels R (2002) Creating Library Spaces: Libraries 2040. In: Libraries for Life: Democracy, Diversity, Delivery. IFLA Council and General Conference: Conference Programme and Proceedings (68th, Glasgow, Scotland, August 18-24, 2002).
5-5
Bundy A (2006) Places and spaces: Public libraries for the 21st century. Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services, 19(2), 5 Casey ME, Savastinuk LC (2006) Library 2.0: Service for the Next-Generation Library. Library Journal, 131(14), 40 Dent VF (2007) Intelligent agent concepts in the modern library. Library High Tech, 25(1),108-125 Williams A, Kabisch E, Dourish P (2005) From Interaction to Participation: Configuring Space through Embodied Interaction. In Proc. UbiComp‘05. (Tokyo,Japan, September, 2005), 287-30, 11 Worpole K (2004) 21st Century libraries: Changing forms, changing futures. London: Building Library Futures / CABE
// Code for the posterboxes
// Import the SQL libraryimport de.bezier.data.sql.*;
// Make a MySQL objectMySQL msql;
import processing.serial.*;
Serial[] myPorts = new Serial[4]; // Create a list of objects from Serial classString[] dataIn = new String[4]; // a list to hold data from the serial ports
boolean connected = false;
void setup() { size(400,200); // List all the available serial ports (check which one you need for the next line -> list()[x] println(Serial.list()); // get the ports' names: String port1 = Serial.list()[6]; // Deep Tissue String port2 = Serial.list()[0]; // String port3 = Serial.list()[2]; // ralph String port4 = Serial.list()[4]; // Monitor // open the ports: myPorts[0] = new Serial(this, port1, 9600); myPorts[1] = new Serial(this, port2, 9600); myPorts[2] = new Serial(this, port3, 9600); myPorts[3] = new Serial(this, port4, 9600);
myPorts[0].bufferUntil(03); // buffer until 03 character (is final byte of TAG as outputted by ID12 scanners) myPorts[1].bufferUntil(03); // buffer until 03 character (is final byte of TAG as outputted by ID12 scanners) myPorts[2].bufferUntil(03); // buffer until 03 character (is final byte of TAG as outputted by ID12 scanners) myPorts[3].bufferUntil(03); // buffer until 03 character (is final byte of TAG as outputted by ID12 scanners) // SQL setup -> public database for our project -> don't change String host = "*****"; String user = "*****"; String pass = "*****"; String database = "*****"; msql = new MySQL( this, host, database, user, pass); if(msql.connect()) { connected = true; print("Connected"); }} void draw() { } void serialEvent(Serial thisPort) {// tag = p.readString().substring(1, 13); // get value and rip off the linefeed etc
// println(tag); // variable to hold the number of the port: int portNumber = -1; // iterate over the list of ports opened, and match the // one that generated this event: for (int p = 0; p < myPorts.length; p++) { if (thisPort == myPorts[p]) { portNumber = p; } } // read a byte from the port: String tag = thisPort.readString().substring(1,11); // put it in the list that holds the latest data from each port: dataIn[portNumber] = tag; // tell us who sent what: println("Got " + tag + " from serial port " + portNumber); insertSQL(tag, (portNumber + 1));}
void insertSQL(String tag, int content_id) { if(connected) { msql.query("SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM users WHERE users.tag = '"+tag+"'"); msql.next(); if(msql.getInt("count") > 0) { println("De user bestaat!"); // Update last visit with the update function msql.execute("UPDATE `users` SET `last_visit` = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP WHERE `tag` = '"+tag+"'"); } else { println("The user is made!"); // Maak de user aan msql.execute("INSERT INTO `users` (`tag`, `last_visit`) VALUES ('"+tag+"', CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)"); } // insert the 'scan' to the database msql.execute("INSERT INTO `scans` (`content_id`,`user_tag`,`timestamp`) VALUES ('"+content_id+"','"+tag+"',CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)"); } else { println("Connection failed!"); }}
// code for the Arduino
char val[16];int bytesread = 0;
int ledPin[] = { 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11};
void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // connect to the serial port for(int i = 0; i <= 7; i++){ pinMode(ledPin[i], OUTPUT); } for(int i = 0; i < 7;i++){ ledAan(ledPin[i]); } digitalWrite(11,HIGH);}
void loop () { if(Serial.available() > 0) { val[bytesread] = Serial.read(); bytesread++; } if(bytesread == 16) { bytesread = 0; // DO SOMETHING WITH LED's digitalWrite(13, HIGH); // notify the master Arduino delay(200); Serial.print(val); digitalWrite(13, LOW); doSomethingCool(); for (int i = 0; i < 7; i++){ ledAan(ledPin[i]); analogWrite(ledPin[7],0); } delay(2000); Serial.flush(); }}
void doSomethingCool() { for(int i = 0; i < 7; i++){ ledUit(ledPin[i]); delay(150); if (i > 2){ analogWrite(ledPin[7], (i-1) * 50); } } delay(200); for(int i = 255; i > 0 ; i--) { analogWrite(ledPin[7], i); delay(1); } for(int i = 0; i < 255 ; i++) { analogWrite(ledPin[7], i); delay(1); } for(int i = 255; i > 0 ; i--) { analogWrite(ledPin[7], i);
delay(3); } delay(100); analogWrite(ledPin[7], 0); delay(300);}
void ledAan(int ledPin) { digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);}
void ledUit(int ledPin) { digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); }
// Code for Scan.as -> an Flash CS5 AS3 class to show thumbnails on the table
package com{
import flash.display.MovieClip; import flash.events.Event; import flash.net.URLRequest; import flash.display.Loader; import flash.events.MouseEvent; import flash.display.Sprite;
public class Scan extends Sprite { private var _contentID:int;// store the contentID of this Scan. private var _contentTitle:String;// store the contentTitle of this Scan public var _imageLoader:Loader = new Loader();// Var to load the image to
public function Scan(contentID:int, contentTitle:String):void { _contentID = contentID; _contentTitle = contentTitle;
// Load image from the thumbnails folder _imageLoader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, imageLoaded); _imageLoader.load(new URLRequest("./scans/thumbnails/" + _contentID + ".jpg")); } public function removeYourself() { parent.removeChild(this); }
// Is called once the image is loaded; private function imageLoaded(e:Event) { _imageLoader.width = 100; _imageLoader.height = 150; _imageLoader.x = 0; _imageLoader.y = 0; this.addChild(new imageHolder()); this.addChild(_imageLoader); this.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, scanClicked); parent.startAnimation(this); }
private function scanClicked(event:MouseEvent):void { parent.addContent(_contentID); } }}
// Code for main.fla -> the main class of the table software
// stop the timelinethis.stop();
// Import librariesimport com.*;import fl.transitions.Tween;import fl.transitions.easing.*;import flash.net.URLLoader;import flash.events.Event;import flash.utils.Timer;import flash.display.Sprite;import flash.events.MouseEvent;import flash.events.TimerEvent;
// Phidgetsimport com.phidgets.*;import com.phidgets.events.*;import flash.display.MovieClip;import flash.display.Loader;
// Phidget varvar rfid:PhidgetRFID = new PhidgetRFID();
// Array for Scansvar scans:Array = new Array();
// Counter for number of scans and to help animatevar numberOfScans:int = 0;var currentScan:int = 0;
// variabele om de content in te laden zodat we m ook weer kunnen deletenvar cHolder:MovieClip = new MovieClip();var cLoader:Loader = new Loader();this.addChild(cHolder);this.addChild(cLoader);
// loader for XML filevar scanLoader:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
// Function to get the TAG and do a request to get XML with info from the serverfunction loadTagInfo(tag:String):void { trace(tag); scanLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, loadScans); scanLoader.load(new URLRequest("http://gethappy.nl/Showcase/kAgora/test.php?tag=" + tag));}
// function to unload all the information so we can scan again. Also removes everything from the stagefunction unLoadTagInfo() { numberOfScans = 0; currentScan = 0; for(var i:int = 0; i < scans.length; i++) { scans[i].removeYourself(); } scans = []; this.deleteContent();}
// When we have a XML with scans, read them out and do somethingfunction loadScans(e:Event) { // remove the eventlistener scanLoader.removeEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, loadScans); XML.ignoreComments = true; var contents:XML = new XML(e.target.data); numberOfScans = contents.scan.length(); // Check if there are scans if(contents.scan.length() > 0) { for(var i:int = 0; i < contents.scan.length(); i++) { // Make a new Scan object with the information from the XML file var sc:Scan = new Scan(contents.scan[i].scan_id, contents.scan[i].scan_title); this.addChild(sc); // Put it in the scans array, so that we can remove or modify them if we want scans.push(sc); } } else { // There are no scans, what now? trace("There are no scans for this user!"); }}
// once a scan is loaded it gets animated into position and a button handler is addedfunction startAnimation(scan:Scan) { currentScan++; scan.y = 825; var tweenX:Tween = new Tween(scan, "x", Strong.easeOut, 0, (100 + (currentScan * 150)), 1, true); var tweenA:Tween = new Tween(scan, "alpha", Strong.easeOut, 0, 1, 1, true);}
function addContent(c:int) { this.addChild(DisplayObject(cLoader)); var cRequest:URLRequest = new URLRequest("./scans/contents/" + c + ".swf"); cLoader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, function(e:Event):void { cHolder = DisplayObject(e.target.content); this.addChild(cHolder); trace("Content added"); }); cLoader.load(cRequest);}
function deleteContent() { this.removeChild(DisplayObject(cLoader)); this.removeChild(DisplayObject(cHolder));}
var logo:logoTUe = new logoTUe();logo.scaleX = 0.2;logo.scaleY = logo.scaleX;this.addChild(logo);logo.y = 1024;logo.x = 1280;
rfid.addEventListener(PhidgetEvent.DETACH, onDetach);
rfid.addEventListener(PhidgetEvent.ATTACH, onAttach);rfid.addEventListener(PhidgetErrorEvent.ERROR, onError);rfid.addEventListener(PhidgetDataEvent.TAG, onTag);rfid.addEventListener(PhidgetDataEvent.TAG_LOST, onTagLoss);
rfid.open("localhost", 5001, "");
function onError(evt:PhidgetErrorEvent):void { trace(evt);}function onAttach(evt:PhidgetEvent):void{ trace(evt); rfid.Antenna = true; rfid.LED = true;}function onDetach(evt:PhidgetEvent):void{ trace(evt);}function onTag(evt:PhidgetDataEvent):void{ trace(evt); loadTagInfo(evt.Data.toString().toUpperCase());}function onTagLoss(evt:PhidgetDataEvent):void{ trace(evt); unLoadTagInfo()}
var circle1:Sprite = new scanArea();circle1.x = 100;circle1.y = 900;circle1.width = 150;circle1.height = 150;
this.addChild(circle1);
PHP script on webserver to return an XML file with scans
<?php header("Content-type: text/xml"); $host = "*****"; $user = "*****"; $pass = "*****"; $database = "*****"; $linkID = mysql_connect($host, $user, $pass) or die("Could not connect to host."); mysql_select_db($database, $linkID) or die("Could not find database."); // the tag! $tag = $_REQUEST["tag"]; // the interval in minutes... $interval = 15; $qry_list = "SELECT DISTINCT contents.title, contents.id FROM users, contents, scans WHERE users.tag = '" . $tag . "' AND scans.user_tag = users.tag AND scans.`content_id` = contents.`id` AND scans.`timestamp` > DATE_SUB(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, INTERVAL " . $interval . " MINUTE)"; echo "<contents>\n"; $res_list = mysql_query($qry_list) or die(mysql_error()); $total = mysql_num_rows($res_list); if ($total != 0) { while ($content = mysql_fetch_array($res_list)) { echo "<scan>\n"; echo "<scan_id>" . $content["id"] . "</scan_id>\n"; echo "<scan_title>" . $content["title"] . "</scan_title>\n"; echo "</scan>\n"; } } echo "</contents>";?>
