A. Eduardo Dias

InStory: a system for mobile information access, storytelling and gaming activities in physical spaces

This paper describes the work carried out in the InStory project. InStory has the goal of defining and implementing a platform for mobile storytelling, information access, and gaming activities. The platform has a flexible computational architecture that integrates heterogeneous devices, different media formats and computational support for different narrative modes and gaming activities. The system is driven and validated by a set of story threads and narratives that are centered on the exploration of physical spaces. This exploration is combined with the perspective of sharing information between users and providing historic context. The project also wants to explore the social aspect of shared narratives and activities, with the idea that the technology can provide new innovative approaches to social participation in different types of events.

Augmenting reality with geo-referenced information for environmental management

When interacting with natural or urban environments there are many situations where the ability to access data in real time becomes relevant. Augmented Reality (AR) technologies allow real time superimposition of synthetic objects on real images, providing an augmented knowledge about the surrounding world. Using a Head Mounted Display, the user of an AR system can visualize the exterior world with additional virtual information that is generated in real time and in a contextual way.This paper presents ANTS (Augmented Environments), an AR project for providing geo-referenced environmental information. The project uses a flexible client-server approach that allows to move more or less components to the client, depending on processing power and application requirements. The geo-referenced database and 3D model for user positioning are located in the server and the presentation component, for image composition and display, is the most fundamental part of the client. The applications for environmental management, include monitoring water quality using models of the pollutant transport, the visualization of the temporal evolution of physical structures and the evolution of subsoil structures, such as phone and power supply networks.

A location-based multiplayer mobile game to encourage pro-environmental behaviours

This paper explores the use of persuasive technology concepts to induce behaviour changes towards a better environmental consciousness, through mobile phones and public displays. More specifically, the paper reports the design, development and evaluation of Gaea, a location-based multiplayer mobile game, which prompts people to recycle virtual objects within a specified spatial context. Initial user tests were conducted to evaluate Gaeas persuasive ability during a small-scale event. Later on, Gaeas usability, and primarily its gameplay, were evaluated more extensively, in the context of an open day event at our University campus attended by 7000 high school students. The results obtained from the user tests were very positive, and may give a considerable contribution to the future development of persuasive applications, regardless the area of study.

Testing the usability of a platform for rapid development of mobile context-aware applications

In this paper, we present the usability evaluation of IVO (Integrated Virtual Operator), a platform that supports the rapid development of contextaware applications by users with no programming skills. Using only the tools provided by the platform (IVO Builder and IVO Outlook), users can define temporal and spatial conditions and associate them with workflows of activities available within the platform. This way, whenever the defined conditions occur, the users smartphone will immediately produce the intended behavior, with no need for user intervention. The applications developed using IVO can easily be made available to other users through a distributed web platform. Moreover, an android client was developed, to run the IVO-developed applications, allowing the smartphone to act as the ubiquitous interaction device. The evaluation of the platform was performed through usability tests at both the end-user level (android client) and the developer-user level (builder tools).

If you can feel it, you can share it!: a system for sharing emotions during live sports broadcasts

The exchange of opinions through chat-based services or social networks while watching TV shows has become a common practice. However, the use of these platforms requires users to shift their attention from the TV to whatever device they are accessing them with. This may be a problem in the case of live sports broadcasts, since it can cause users/viewers to miss important events. Addressing this issue, we introduce WeFeel, a system that enhances the experience of remote spectators of broadcasted sports events, by allowing them to share their opinions and emotions with friends through the TV screen using a mobile device. Results from user tests were highly positive, with participants manifesting great interest in using WeFeel.

Enhancing remote live sports experiences through an eyes-free interaction

When using mobile screen apps on touch-based mobile devices to interact with live sports TV broadcasts, people need to keep an eye on those devices, since they do not provide tactile feedback. If the app on the mobile screen requires user interaction when something exciting is about to happen on the TV screen, the user needs to shift attention from the TV to the mobile screen, spoiling the whole experience. This paper presents WeBet, a mobile game that prompts users to bet if a goal is about to happen during a football match, without requiring their visual attention. WeBet aims to study if this concept conveys an exciting user experience by allowing a natural interaction with the mobile screen without looking at it. Results from a preliminary user test helped to validate our approach and identified important refinements for future work.

ANTS—Augmented Environments

Abstract Interaction with natural or urban environments creates numerous situations where it is relevant to have access to further information that we cannot perceive by direct observation through our senses. Augmented Reality (AR) technologies allow real time superimposition of synthetic objects on real images, providing an augmented knowledge about the surrounding world. Users of an AR system can visualize the real surrounding world together with additional data generated in real time in a contextual way. This paper presents the ANTS project, which carries out the development of an AR technological infrastructure that can be used to explore physical and natural structures, namely for environmental management purposes. The systems architecture has a flexible design based on a client-server model, where several independent, but functionally interdependent modules are articulated. Therefore, modules can be moved from the server side to the client side or vice versa, according to the client processing capacity. Several applications have been developed and are also discussed in this paper.

Applaud having fun: a mobile game to cheer your favourite sports team

This paper describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a multiplayer mobile game that enhances the remote fans experience during a live sports event broadcast. This prototype, called WeApplaud, encourages users to participate in the applause happening in the stadium, increasing their levels of fun and immersion in the live event. To achieve these goals, we explored the use of persuasive technology, together with the second screen concept, in order to create a motivating and innovative experience for the users. To test the WeApplaud concept, guide the systems design and evaluate users reactions, we conducted preliminary user tests. Results helped to validate our approach, but also identified some important refinements to be considered in future developments.

Changing environmental behaviors through smartphone-based augmented experiences

A significant part of the population is still not aware of the sustainability problems that our planet is facing, so it is important to inform people about the theme while persuading them to change their behavior and acquire pro-environmental attitudes. This work intends to alert citizens to these issues in a fun and immersive way through the use of mobile devices, more specifically smartphones, and augmented reality technology which will provide the user with informative insight about the surrounding environment, while highlighting the environmental threats. This paper presents a system that works like an environmental scanner, allowing users to inspect their surroundings with their mobile devices in search of pollution sources. When detected the system provides users with additional information and allows them to virtually clean these pollution sources. In addition it is intended to positively reinforce pro-environmental actions using a system of rewards and a virtual character that will interact and motivate the users.

Building mobile context-aware applications for leisure and entertainment

This paper presents a mobile context-aware tourist guide application created with the IVO platform. IVO (Integrated Virtual Operator) enables end-users to quickly build and deploy context-aware applications without the need to write any programming code, and using smartphones as the ubiquitous interaction device. Aiming at exploring the use of the IVO platform to build mobile leisure and entertainment applications, the developed application makes use of most features available in IVO. Using only the tools provided by the platform, IVO Builder and IVO Outlook, users can define temporal and spatial conditions and associate them with workflows of available activities. The paper also presents the user studies performed to evaluate the applications usefulness and usability.