Per Persson

GeoNotes: Social and Navigational Aspects of Location-Based Information Systems

Location-based information systems allow the user to access information in relation to the users position in geographical space. This paper outlines navigational and social aspects of such systems. It is argued that location-based systems must allow users to participate as content providers in order to achieve a social and dynamic information space. Moreover, as these systems allow commercial and private users to annotate space with information on a mass-scale, information filtering techniques will become essential in order to prevent information overload and user disturbance. We present a number of content-based and social filtering techniques to support this. We discuss implications for implementation and we describe a system (GeoNotes), which takes some of these aspects into account.

GeoNotes: a location-based information system for public spaces

The basic idea behind location-based information systems is to connect information pieces to positions in outdoor or indoor space. Through position technologies such as Global Positioning System (GPS), GSM positioning, Wireless LAN positioning or Bluetooth positioning, the system keeps track of where a terminal (and its user) is located in space. Via his terminal, the user is allowed to enter/upload information, to which the system automatically allocates a latitude-longitude coordinate. Later, the same user, or some other user, can access that information (again via their wirelessly connected terminals) when they enter the place. Although the digital information is stored on a remote server away from the actual location, the position technology and the mobile terminals give users the impression that information is actually “attached” to the place where the user is. In this way, location-based information systems create user experiences similar to those of Post-its, graffiti and public signs and posters. In both cases, an information space is “superim posed” on indoor/outdoor space.

GeoNotes: social enhancement of physical space

The GeoNotes system allows users to annotate physical locations with virtual notes, which are then pushed to or accessed by other users when in the vicinity. GeoNotes employs a number of social filtering techniques, which all rely on logging of usage rather than content.

Understanding socially intelligent agents - a multilayered phenomenon

The ultimate purpose with socially intelligent agent (SIA) technology is not to simulate social intelligence per se, but to let an agent give an impression of social intelligence. Such user-centred SIA technology, must consider the everyday knowledge and expectations by which users make sense of real, fictive, or artificial social beings. This folk-theoretical understanding of other social beings involves several, rather independent levels such as expectations on behavior, expectations on primitive psychology, models of folk-psychology, understanding of traits, social roles, and empathy. The framework presented here allows one to analyze and reconstruct users understanding of existing and future SIAs, as well as specifying the levels SIA technology models in order to achieve an impression of social intelligence.

Understanding Social Intelligence

Believable social interaction is not only about agents that look right but also do the right thing. To achieve this we must consider the everyday knowledge and expectations by which users make sense of real, fictive or artificial social beings. This folk-theoretical understanding of other social beings involves several, rather independent, levels such as expectations on behaviour, expectations on primitive psychology, models of folk-psychology, understanding of traits, social roles and empathy. Implications for Socially Intelligent A gents (SIA) research are discussed.

Evaluating Believability in an Interactive Narrative

Believability is affected not only by the graphical appearance (movements, synchronisation, gestures), but also by actions of characters, and how users understand actions in terms of everyday psychology, social life and narrative situation. We performed a study of empathic processes in a socio-emotionally rich drama in which players interacted with text-based virtual characters. The results indicate the importance of having some structure in the ways emotions are displayed by characters. The emotional reactions need to be determined in terms of the character’s goals, plans and personality, as well as the narrative context.

Analysis of Open Answers to Survey Questions through Interactive Clustering and Theme Extraction

This paper describes design principles for and the implementation of Gavagai Explorer---a new application which builds on interactive text clustering to extract themes from topically coherent text sets such as open text answers to surveys or questionnaires. An automated system is quick, consistent, and has full coverage over the study material. A system allows an analyst to analyze more answers in a given time period; provides the same initial results regardless of who does the analysis, reducing the risks of inter-rater discrepancy; and does not risk miss responses due to fatige or boredom. These factors reduce the cost and increase the reliability of the service. The most important feature, however, is relieving the human analyst from the frustrating aspects of the coding task, freeing the effort to the central challenge of understanding themes. Gavagai Explorer is available on-line.