Corsin Decurtins

Digital annotation of printed documents

We present a general model and information server for the digital annotation of printed documents. The resulting annotation framework supports both informal and structured annotations as well as context-dependent services. A demonstrator application for mammography that features both enhanced writing and reading activities is described.

Interplay of content and context

We examine the relationship between context engines and content management systems, showing by means of an example application how these should mutually interact with each other to ensure the timely delivery of relevant information. We show how a content management system can use context information to enrich its functionality and also how a general and abstract approach to content management can support context awareness. Information models of the general context engine and content management system that we have developed are presented, along with a description of how a symbiotic relationship of content and context can be achieved through the integration of these models.

Modelling context for information environments

Context-awareness has become an important consideration in the development of mobile and ubiquitous systems. While efforts have been made to develop general context models and application frameworks, it remains the case that often the notion of context supported is very restrictive and/or the representation of context is based on simple key-value pairs. As a result, most existing systems lack well-defined semantics and typing for context that would facilitate the general implementation, maintenance and adaption of context-aware systems. In this paper, we present a general context model that consolidates the models underlying many other approaches, while moving to a higher-level of abstraction in terms of semantic context description.

Experimental platform for mobile information systems

Interaction design is a major issue for mobile information systems in terms of not only the choice of input-output channels and presentation of information, but also the application of context-awareness. To support experimentation with these factors, we have developed a platform that supports the rapid prototyping of multi-channel, multi-modal, context-aware applications. The paper presents the main components of the platform and describes how it was used to develop a tourist information system for an international arts festival where interaction was based on a combination of speech input-output and interactive paper.

Context-aware platform for mobile data management

Interaction design is a major issue for mobile information systems in terms of not only the choice of input/output channels and presentation of information, but also the application of context-awareness. To support experimentation with these factors, we have developed platforms to support the rapid prototyping of multi-channel, multi-modal, context-aware applications. The Java-based platform presented here is based on an integration of a cross-media link server and an object-oriented framework for advanced content publishing, along with a Client Controller and Context Engine. We also describe how this platform was used to develop a mobile tourist information system for an international arts festival where interaction was based on a combination of interactive paper and speech output.

Paper-based mobile access to databases

Our demonstration is a paper-based interactive guide for visitors to the worlds largest international arts festival that was developed as part of a project investigating new forms of context-aware information delivery and interaction in mobile environments. Information stored in a database is accessed from a set of interactive paper documents, including a printed festival brochure, a city map and a bookmark. Active areas are defined within the documents and selection of these using a special digital pen causes the corresponding query request along with context data to be sent to a festival application database and the response is returned to the visitor in the form of generated speech output. In addition to paper-based information browsing and transactions such as ticket booking, the digital pen can also be applied for data capture of event ratings and handwritten comments on events. The system integrates three main database components - a cross-media information platform, a content management framework for multi-channel context-aware publishing of data and the festival application database.

Putting the gloss on paper: a frame-work for cross-media annotation

We present a general framework for cross-media annotation that can be used to support the many different forms and uses of annotation. Specifically, we discuss the need for digital annotation of printed materials and describe how various technologies for digitally augmented paper can be used in support of work practices. The state of the art in terms of both commercial and research solutions is described in some detail, with an analysis of the extent to which they can support both the writing and reading activities associated with annotation. Our framework is based on an extension of the information server that was developed within the Paper++ project to support enhanced reading. It is capable of handling both formal and informal annotation across printed and digital media, exploiting a range of technologies for information capture and display. A prototype demonstrator application for mammography is presented to illustrate both the functionality of the framework and the status of existing technologies.

An infrastructure for reactive information environments

We introduce the concept of reactive information environments and a general infrastructure for experimentation with such systems. Its asynchronous state-based processing model is described along with the architectural requirements and main components of our infrastructure. These include a general context engine coupled together with a web publishing platform. An application for a public news service is used to motivate the requirements, explain the processing model and show how an application is implemented using the platform.