Andreas Schrader

The search wall: tangible information searching for children in public libraries

Children tend to rely on spatial and graphical cues rather than on digital applications to find media in libraries [7]. Although some Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs) have been modified to appeal to young users, they are still hardly employed by children. Most of the enhancements in the physical space have been directed to signage systems and labels without much use of graphical and interactive elements. In this paper, a tangible interface is proposed as an alternative to support childrens browsing activity in a public library. It draws from research in two fields: information interfaces for children, and tangible user interfaces. It is believed that by transferring functionalities of current information interfaces to the physical realm, the experience of young patrons in a public library might be enhanced in several aspects, including informational, social and recreational activities.

Mobile HolstenTour: contextualized multimedia museum guide

Modern museums provide visitors with mobile, context-aware information and guidance systems. Unfortunately, these systems often suffer from several technological drawbacks: expensive infrastructure, complex maintenance and content modification, difficult to learn user interfaces, manual location specification requirements, etc. Visitors have to rent, learn, carry and return yet another mobile device. On the other hand, most modern nomadics already own high-performance mobile devices: smart-phones. But acceptance to install museum software on a personal device is rather limited. In this paper, a novel mobile, context-aware museum information system is introduced that runs on the visitors mobile phones without any prior installation. We outline the technical principles of the underlying Medient infrastructure and present HolstenTour as an example service instantiation for the famous Museum Holstentor in Luebeck, Germany.

eyeJOT - A Ubiquitous Context-aware Campus Information System

In this paper we present eyeJOT as a new context-aware smart campus information system combining ambient wall-sized displays with location-aware, context-sensitive information sharing on mobile devices. eyeJOT is a metaphor for how we might want a birds eye view of the activities on and off the university campus to guide users through the plethora of information. The platform supports navigation using proximity detection and information posting for news, activities and schedules using Bluetooth and SMS. We introduce the eyeJOT ubiquitous computing architecture, the interface design and present possible use cases.

Modular framework support for context-aware mobile cinema

In this paper we describe a novel approach for interactive cinema based on context-aware narration using handheld computers. The paper describes both the artistic approach and the ubiquitous computing framework developed to realize the scenario. This framework has been used in various projects, including the described video production course at the ISNM, where five interactive cinema concepts have been developed and shown during a public demonstration. In our approach, a new type of user experience has been established by placing the viewer inside the movie’s physical locations during playback. Moreover, the developed ubiquitous computing framework provides a foundation for future work in the area of ad-hoc, service-oriented Ubicomp scenarios.

ARC – towards alternate reality cinema

Todays popular presentations of immersive digital narrative experiences commonly utilise wide screens or forms of panoramic projections to display visually realistic content. The shift of focus to other media forms that includes non-realistic and aesthetic expression using audio and small displays is a challenging step. This paper describes an interactive narrative content and design approach that explores small displays and wide perceptual audio projections to achieve an immersive experience. A mixed media content known as Autophobia was implemented as a proof of concept. Autophobia uniquely presents film, radio, and photomontage to achieve an alternate reality experience.