Presentation Title: "Descriptions for Flexible integration of device interactors and software applications"

Committee:

• Dr. Brygg Ullmer
• Dr. Rajgopal Kannan
• Dr. Gerald Baumgartner

Date: June 27th (Friday), 2008
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Room 256, Coates Hall

Abstract:
Our ability to utilize the capabilities and features of consumer electronics (e.g. televisions and cell phones) is often restricted to interaction through the physical interactors and built- in software provided by the manufacturer. As such devices proliferate and are used in the context of other complex software applications, one may wish to interlink these devices and software in different ways based on availability, appropriateness, and convenience. This project targets designers and prosumers, giving them the ability to remap the digital behavior of devices in order to change the control and feedback paths. The remapping of physical actions (e.g., pressing a button or moving a RFID card) onto computational events is achieved using standardized descriptions of services and their mappings.

The project surveys three frameworks | iStuff, ECT, and d.tools | which allow the definition of bindings between devices and applications, and formulates a new model. The new model follows a multi-layer description framework to separate view from control, thus giving the ability to map actions to events in a many-to-many fashion. The project is implemented using RDF/N3 metadata description format; the alternatives and rationale for this selection are also discussed.

To test our approach, two scenarios were conceived. The first is a common application context where an existing set of devices and an existing software application (PowerPoint) are used. The second scenario is a research context where a novel set of devices, and existing and custom applications (the amira and VisIt visualization software) are used. The project also makes steps toward future systems where both software and devices are distributed and employed in collaboration contexts.

All are invited.