Information Appliances Research Articles

A New System Architecture for Pervasive Computing

We present new system architecture, a distributed framework designed to support pervasive computing applications. We propose a new architecture consisting of a search engine and peripheral clients that addresses issues in scalability, data sharing, data transformation and inherent platform heterogeneity. Key features of our application are a type-aware data transport that is capable of extract data, and present data through handheld devices (PDA (personal digital assistant), mobiles, etc). Pervasive computing uses web technology, portable devices, wireless communications and nomadic or ubiquitous computing systems. The web and the simple standard HTTP protocol that it is based on, facilitate this kind of ubiquitous access. This can be implemented on a variety of devices - PDAs, laptops, information appliances such as digital cameras and printers. Mobile users get transparent access to resources outside their current environment. We discuss our system’s architecture and its implementation. Through experimental study, we show reasonable performance and adaptation for our system’s implementation for the mobile devices.

Application of the Serial Port in Experiment Teaching and Development of Embedded Products

Because of its advantages of small size, light weight, powerful etc., the single chip microcomputer(sometimes called “SCM”, ”microcontroller”, or ”MCU”) has a very wide range of applications in information appliances, instruments and meter, industrial control, medical apparatus and communication systems. The serial port is one of the most important resources in the microcontroller and has a very important role in the embedded application system. Some application skills of the serial port in experimental teaching and development of embedded products are discussed in this paper, such as the serial port application in program debugging during experiment teaching, multiple serial port expansion technology and implementation method of USB interface during development of embedded application system.

Design of a Smart Remote Controller Framework Based on Android Mobile Devices

This study presents a smart remote controller (SRC) framework for the Android. The Android mobile device acts as the client side of the proposed SRC software. The software uses intuitive dynamic user operation modes to send remote control commands to the controlled side by leveraging the multi-touch events, gesture recognition and hand gesture features of the Android device. The remote controlled server side is based on a Java framework. This facilities portability to PCs or networked information appliances such as Internet TVs, thus, allowing users to establish connections and translate events to control corresponding programs or actions. In this design of the proposed SRC, advanced features are categorized into various modes that can be applied to the scenarios offices and digital homes.

Developing a knowledge management system for storing and using the design knowledge acquired in the process of a user-centered design of the next generation information appliances

This project developed the next generation information appliances by user-centered design, acquired and stored the knowledge which designers used in the design process, and developed a knowledge management system for supporting the knowledge users to develop their own product ideas. It applied a scenario-based design and an ethnographic study as methods for user-centered design in to developing new product ideas required by the users. It stored the designer’s knowledge in knowledge bases and linked the knowledge connected in the design process to show where it came from. The links help the knowledge users trace the design process, get the design knowledge, and develop their own product ideas. This will make the results from this project facilitate the development of the next generation information appliances.

Real-time Hand Gesture Recognition by Shape Context Based Matching and Cost Matrix

How to recognize the shape gesture for new human-computer interface without controller required and bring entertainment, games industries and information appliances in new ways. In this paper, we would illustrate a real-time hand gesture recognition system by using shape context matching and cost matrix. The shape context is taken as a basis description for shape matching. It can be regarded as a global characterization descriptor to represent the distribution of points in a set with scale and rotation invariance. In this paper, we developed a perceptual interface for human-computer-interaction based on real-time hand gesture recognition. User could interact with computer program by performing body gesture instead of physical contact. The image of hand gesture was captured from CCD. The hand gesture image was transformed into proper instruction according to the shape information respectively. The instruction was transferred to an appropriate program to execute. The experience of our preliminary results shown the precision rates was up to 70% ~ 90%.

Design and Implementation of Boot Loader Based on Embedded System Platform

the embedded products with representatives of information appliances for the Internet era has demonstrated good prospects for the embedded market, but also brought new and higher challenges to the embedded system technology, including hardware and software technologies. This paper uses BF531 processor as the example, focuses on its startup mode and flow, and then based on this designs and implements a tailor made Boot Loader, to complete BF531 processor initialization, loading, starting the operating system kernel, and other works.

Development Platforms for Mobile Applications: Status and Trends

Mobile devices are increasingly accepted as suitable media for multimedia-rich applications. Software firms have started promoting programming platforms and tools tailored to satisfy the requirements of mobile device users, developers, and resource constraints. This article reviews the main characteristics, relative merits, and shortcomings of the most popular development platform options - specifically, Java ME, .NET Compact Framework, Flash Lite, and Android. It evaluates and compares these options according to various quantitative and qualitative criteria. It aims to serve as a reference point and guide for developers and practitioners in choosing a mobile platform for development on information appliances.

The Smart Home meets the Web of Things

In recent years, the merging of computing with physical things, enabled the transformation of everyday objects into information appliances. We propose to reuse the central principles of the modern Web architecture to fully integrate physical objects to the Web and build an interoperable Smart Home. We present an application framework that offers support for multiple home residents concurrently. We show that by using the Web as application layer we can build flexible applications on top of heterogeneous embedded devices with only a few lines of code, transforming home automation into a trivial task. We address many issues related to Web-enabling these devices, from their discovery and service description to the uniform interaction with them. Our evaluation efforts indicate that our framework offers acceptable performance and reliability.

Smart Home System Based on IPV6 and ZIGBEE Technology

Because of high-speed growth of computer control technology and communication technology, it led to the birth of smart home. ZigBee technology is intended to be a suitable standard for a low-rate wireless home control system. The remotely controlling information appliances based on Ipv6 in a home network has become a major request for nowadays consumers. In the paper an IPv6 and Zigbee home network frame is described briefly and the real products are introduced capable of home networking like home gateway and information appliance.

A Library-based Performance Tool for Multicore Pervasive Servers

This paper proposes SPLiT (Scalable Performance Library Tool) as the methodology to improve performance of applications on multicore processors through CPU and cache optimizations on the fly. SPLiT is designed to relieve the difficulty of the performance optimization of parallel applications on multicore processors. Therefore, all programmers have to do to benefit from SPLiT is to add a few library calls to let SPLiT know which part of the application should be analyzed. This simple but compelling optimization library contributes to enrich pervasive servers on a multicore processor, which is a strong candidate for an architecture of information appliances in the near future. SPLiT analyzes and predicts application behaviors based on CPU cycle counts and cache misses. According to the analysis and predictions, SPLiT tries to allocate processes and threads sharing data onto the same physical cores in order to enhance cache efficiency. SPLiT also tries to separate cache effective codes from the codes with more cache misses for the purpose of the avoidance of cache pollutions, which result in performance degradation. Empirical experiments assuming web applications validated the efficiency of SPLiT and the performance of the web application is improved by 26%.

A comparative study of enablers of knowledge creation in Japan and US-based firms

This article reports the results of a study of knowledge creation systems in Japanese and American firms in Japan and the United States. The research was performed inside automotive and information appliance firms with primarily managerial employees from functional areas outside production. Through field interviews, a model was constructed of factors that drive successful knowledge creation, and a subsequent survey compared the use of these factors and their perceived utility among Japan-based and US-based respondents in these two knowledge-intensive industries. Our results show there is broad agreement regarding which practices help create knowledge, but they also suggest that Japan-based firms excel at implementing a distinctive, integrated system of organisational practices that promote organisational learning and stimulate knowledge creation.

Content information desired by Chinese users for effective use of information appliances

Many studies have been conducted to determine how to present information on mobile phones in such a way as to enhance usability, but those studies have not considered what information users need for effective decision making. To investigate what users want from mobile phones, we carried out a content preparation study. A questionnaire was constructed based on prior results from website content research, traditional usability studies on consumer electronics, and extensive study on various types of mobile phones; it was completed by 375 Chinese industrial participants. The statistical results revealed nine major factors of mobile phone content: information relating to input/search, functions, operation, multimedia functions, stored files, phone calls, help/service, accessory functions, and messages. Also, users of different ages and genders evidenced different requirements for mobile phone content, especially concerning accessory and multimedia functions. This study suggests guidelines for mobile phone designers targeted at the Chinese market and provides a base for content study of other information appliances.

Portable Information Appliances: An Update

We have received reader questions seeking help in selecting a portable information appliance to support their personal and professional lives. It has been several years since we devoted an installment to specifically address this market space from a purchase decision perspective. This column looks at the rapid advancements in the smartphone space and what these advancements could mean for someone looking to upgrade or purchase a smartphone.

Erratum to: Ethics and aesthetics of technologies

In Human–Computer Interaction research, several disciplines have come to give their contribution to the field, each with different emphases, traditions and views points. Daniel Fallman elaborates ‘‘early parts of cognitive psychology showed interest in the new field and stressed the application of models and theories of cognitive processes when designing the meeting between human and interface’’ (Fallman 2007). Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) is concerned with the design, implementation and evaluation of interactive computer-based systems, as well as with the multi-disciplinary study of various issues affecting this interaction. The aim of HCI is ‘‘to ensure the safety, utility, effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility and usability of such systems. In recent years, HCI has attracted considerable attention by the academic and research communities, as well as by the Information Society Technologies industry’’ (Stephanidis and Savidis 2001). The on-going paradigm shift towards a knowledge-intensive Information Society has brought about radical changes in the way people work and interact with each other and with information. Computermediated human activities undergo fundamental changes and new ones appear continuously, as new, intelligent, distributed, and highly interactive technological environments emerge, making available concurrent access to heterogeneous information sources and interpersonal communication. The progressive fusion of existing and emerging technologies is transforming the computer from a specialist’s device into an information appliance. ‘‘This dynamic evolution is characterized by several dimensions of diversity that are intrinsic to the Information Society.’’ These become evident when considering the broad range of user characteristics, the changing nature of human activities, the variety of contexts of use, the increasing availability and diversification of information, knowledge sources and services, the proliferation of diverse technological platforms, etc. ‘‘Human–Computer Interaction plays a critical role in the context of the emerging Information Society, as citizens experience technology through their contact with the user interfaces of interactive products, applications and services. Therefore, it is important to ensure that user interfaces provide access and quality in use to all potential users, in all possible of contexts of use, and through a variety of technological platforms’’ (Tripathi 2005; Stephanidis 2007).

Ethics and aesthetics of technologies

Human life is thoroughly mediated by technologies and instruments. Contemporary life is a ‘‘technologically mediated life.’’ We rely on what we make in order to survive, to thrive and to live together in societies. Sometimes the things we make improve our lives, and sometimes they make our lives worse. Technological devices shape our culture and the environment, alter patterns of human activity, and influence who we are and how we live. (Kaplan 2009, 2008, 2007). ‘‘Philosophers of technology tend not to celebrate technological achievements, because they get celebrated all the time’’, says Albert Borgmann by emphasizing the problem of how to tame the technological development. Borgmann further elaborates, ‘‘Philosophers point out the liabilities, what happens when technology moves beyond lifting genuine burdens and starts freeing us from burdens that we should not want to be rid of.’’ Technological mediation is precisely this capacity of technology: technologies can mediate between humans and reality, by establishing specific relations between both. This phenomenon of technological mediation has two dimensions, each of them pertaining to one aspect of the relations between humans and reality. [Verbeek paper Persuasive Technology and Moral Responsibility Toward an ethical framework for persuasive technologies addresses the ethical aspects of persuasive technologies. By integrating the concept of ‘persuasive technology’ with the concept of ‘technological mediation’, as developed in theoretical frameworks from the field of persuasive technology and from the philosophy of technology, it will be possible to identify three such points of application. Cf. Verbeek (2010)] (Fig. 1). Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) is concerned with the design, implementation and evaluation of interactive computer-based systems, as well as with the multi-disciplinary study of various issues affecting this interaction. The aim of HCI is to ensure the safety, utility, effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, and usability of such systems. In recent years, HCI has attracted considerable attention by the academic and research communities, as well as by the Information Society Technologies industry. The ongoing paradigm shift towards a knowledge-intensive Information Society has brought about radical changes in the way people work and interact with each other and with information. Computer-mediated human activities undergo fundamental changes, and new ones appear continuously, as new, intelligent, distributed, and highly interactive technological environments emerge, making available concurrent access to heterogeneous information sources and interpersonal communication. The progressive fusion of existing and emerging technologies is transforming the computer from a specialist’s device into an information appliance. This dynamic evolution is characterized by several dimensions of diversity that are intrinsic to the Information Society. These become evident when considering the broad range of user characteristics, the changing nature of human activities, the variety of contexts of use, the increasing availability and diversification of information, knowledge sources, and services, the proliferation of diverse technological platforms, etc. HCI plays a critical role in the context of the emerging Information Society, as citizens experience technology through their contact with the user interfaces of interactive products, applications, and A. K. Tripathi (&) Department of Philosophy of Technology, Institute for Philosophy, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany e-mail: arun.tripathi@waoe.org

Environmental construction and the operative support of information appliance management practice aimed for information security engineer or manager upbringing

Environmental construction and the operative support of information appliance management practice aimed for information security engineer or manager upbringing

Essential Information Appliance Skills for Pharmacists

Whenever we speak to pharmacists in seminars around the country, we ask the question, “How much of the available capability in your computer and smart phone are you utilizing?” The typical answer is between 5% and 10%. In the past, we held technology “boot camps” to rectify this situation. People traveled to Auburn from as far away as the UK to attend 2-day sessions focused on skill building, beginning with how to find the power switch. Since that time, we have presented our boot camps at health systems. Most health systems were focused on developing foundational skills in physicians who were reluctant to use electronic clinical applications.

Phone n’ Computer: teaming up an information appliance with a PC

Facing the ever growing complexity and usability problems of the PC, some propose specialized computers as a solution, while others argue that such "information appliances" are unnecessary. Rather than pitting information appliances and PCs against each other, we argue instead for exploring the design space in using them together. We experimented with a device teaming approach that takes advantage of both types of devices: the familiar and high bandwidth user interface of the PC, and the task specific form factors of an information appliance. In our experimentation, we designed and developed a phone n' computer (PnC) by teaming up an IP phone with a general-purpose PC. We outline the design space for such a combination and describe several point designs we created that distribute functions between the two devices according to their characteristics. In comparison to separately using phones and computers, our designs provide new and richer user experiences including Drop-to-Call, sharing visual information, and caller information display.

The Future of the Internet—And How to Stop It (review)

Reviewed by: The Future of the Internet—And How to Stop It Greg Downey (bio) The Future of the Internet—And How to Stop It. By Jonathan Zittrain. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2008. Pp. vi+342. $30. Jonathan Zittrain has written a clear and compelling argument for preserving the productive potential of the global infrastructure of networked PCs and their (potentially) collaborative users which we increasingly refer to as “Web 2.0”. Both the internet and the PC, he argues, have expressed a property he calls “generativity,” or “a system’s capacity to produce unanticipated change through unfiltered contributions from broad and varied audiences” (p. 70). This notion of generativity extends from the broad-based production of new applications for information systems to the widespread use of those applications to produce new ideas and insights within the larger culture. According to Zittrain, [End Page 962] The ubiquity of PCs and networks—and the integration of the two—have thus bridged the interests of technical audiences and artistic and expressive ones, making the grid’s generativity relevant not only to creativity in code-writing as an end, but to creativity in other artistic ventures as well, including those that benefit from the ability of near-strangers to encounter each other on the basis of mutual interest, form groups, and then collaborate smoothly enough that actual works can be generated. (p. 96) But this generativity in application development and knowledge production is threatened by its very success, Zittrain fears. The ability of the same generative network to allow (and perhaps encourage) online viruses, spam, malware, phishing, and fraud may convince producers and consumers alike to settle for a use-restricted and user-monitored “appliancized” digital environment instead. Thus Zittrain warns, “The future is not one of generative PCs attached to a generative network. It is instead one of sterile appliances tethered to a network of control” (p. 3). In the first half of his book, Zittrain is actually more concerned with the past than the future, and he offers a brief summary of the secondary history on the PC and the internet. He believes that the key historical design decision was the implicit adoption of the “procrastination principle” which “rests on the assumption that most problems confronting a network can be solved later or by others,” at the endpoints of the network by clever application programming, rather than in the middle of the network through restrictive architecture or protocols (p. 31). From this decision came the key risk to such networks, however: the “trust-your-neighbor approach” which assumed that these application programmers would be “more or less competent and pure enough at heart that they would not intentionally or negligently disrupt the network” (p. 31). Over time, “Multiplying breaches of that trust can threaten the very foundations of the generative system” such that “people will come to prefer security to generativity” (p. 43). Zittrain calls this security-based solution the “information appliance,” exemplified by such digital consumer-electronics products as “Digital video recorders, mobile phones, BlackBerries, and video game consoles” (p. 57). Such appliances are often “tethered” to the corporate interests which produce, sell, and service them, allowing vendors to monitor customer use and even alter the terms of that use from afar. The consequences of such a shift, Zittrain warns, would be devastating, not only to digital innovation itself, but to “individual freedoms and opportunities for self-expression” (p. 64). Zittrain has an impressive command of both the technological and legal nuances of the topics he writes about. He is at his best in his chapter on Wikipedia, in which he argues that this online collaborative amateur encyclopedia [End Page 963] represents both the risks and rewards of “innovative output” and “participatory input” that generative systems enable. The broad range of his inquiry complements the recent literature on the social and political consequences of online activity, somewhere between legal scholar Lawrence Lessig’s Code (2nd edition, 2006) and communication historian Tarleton Gillespie’s Wired Shut (2007). Zittrain’s ideas also invite further work by scholars in other fields. For example, he suggests (but does not develop) the notion that part of the push for taming the generative platform...

Touch-sensitive augmented reality system for development of handheld information appliances

Handheld information devices such as digital cameras and smart-phones are products that unify hardware and software. The body of such products is compact, but it has various functions. Usability is one of the most important factors affecting their commercial competitiveness. However, it is difficult to estimate usability precisely in the design process. Because of usability is strongly affected by the shape of the body, the types and arrangement of the switches etc. In order to accurately evaluate the usability of these products, users must operate them directly. However it is difficult to manufacture prototypes that are operable. Therefore, we have adopted an augmented reality technique to solve the problem. This paper introduces, a touch-sensitive augmented reality system, and describes the construction of a touch sensor made of pressure sensitive conductive rubber, a fingertip tracing method using an LED marker, and an augmented reality system. Finally, we have conducted basic system evaluations.