System Architecture Diagram

I think this is right!

What needs to be done...brace yourselves!

Graeme sent me a list of what I need to have done soon!

1. Finish reading work – I pretty much have this done, I just need to look at the comments and answer them.

2. Setting up LaTeX – I have this done and also TeXnicCenter, I just need to have a look and get to grips with using it.

3. Writing the background/related work part of the background section
   (ignoring technology for now) – I plan to start this today and get it finished within the next few days, I'll set my deadline for this Friday evening and I'll email it to Graeme as soon as it's done!

4. Sketch out the high-level system architecture diagram - I'll aim to get his done today and scanned in tonight.

5. Investigate and choose my technologies – as soon as I've finished 1-4 I will start on this so it'll be this weekend that I begin.

6. Then when this is finished I can draw an updated system architecture diagram with the technologies I'd decided on from point 6.

That's my lovely list of things to do.

Place Labs

I read "Place Lab: Device Positioning Using Radio Beacons in the Wild", this paper doesn't hugely apply to my project but it gives me more of an idea about "ubiquitous" computing and location-based services. This paper has a few of the same issues mentioned in other papers, such as coverage and the cost of entry for "both users and application developers". They mention MAC addresses and how they'll be used as they'll be affordable for everyday use. Privacy is also mentioned - it is clearly a big issue in "location awareness".

The Field Trial

"Locating Family Values: A Field Trial of the Whereabouts Clock” was the next Microsoft paper I read, it was nominated for the best paper award so I was expecting good things! The clock was mentioned as “privacy preserving” given the fact that the locations are so vague and “coarse-grained”. They went on the basis that “less is more”, you only need to know who the person is and where they are. There are only limited applications in this field possibly because it is not yet delivering “compelling value for [the] user”. The Whereabouts Clock was tested on 5 families consisting in total of 26 people over a period of 6 months. It seemed that the clock provided more reassurance than anything, it was used for telling them what “families already know”. The location awareness also meant that people knew if someone wasn't where they were supposed to be.

The clock brings location based services which is so preoccupied with privacy issues involving tracking and situated displays which do not usually have “real-time data”. The clock becomes “part of the routine of life”, the same as a regular clock and it is not “stirring for accuracy or completeness” it is just giving a broad location.

The look of the clock is generally appealing perhaps a bit bland, it would be interesting to give the choice of different background colours to match people's décor or their personalities, I think it would make the clock even more integrated in the home. The casing for the clock could also be changeable this would be a big seller I think especially for younger family members. One feature I liked a lot was the “pendulum” that was animated to show the signal strength, it is a good thought. The clock also chimes whenever someone in the clock moves I also liked this idea.

There was only the need to register a location such as “school” once although the option to re-register is available, this means that some cheating could go on, if someone skipped school that day but didn't want anyone to find out, all they have to do is re-register the location to wherever they want. A child lock or something similar could be implemented to stop this but then that brings up trust issues!

I liked that there were icons for family members even if they were too young or just didn't have a mobile phone, the icon would animate or make noises when touched, this is good so that a young child could feel included, it is something I'd never considered but I would like to possibly include.

From the field trials, members said that they had more of a sense of togetherness, much like the trial done by Microsoft in the office. People adapted to the clock and used it in different ways, if no one in the family went to school, that location came to mean something different and all the family knew what it meant, there should be an option to change the labels which was addressed in this paper later on.

Overall the clock showed more than “just co-ordination and awareness” but also “reassurance, connectedness, expression of identity and social touch.” the clock was not seen as an invasion of privacy it was just showing and confirming what people already knew. People adapted and did more than was expected by the researchers. This paper has given a good indication of what the clock tests should be like and I found it very informative.

"Homes that make us smart"

I read another Microsoft paper “Homes that make us smart”, I had mixed feelings about it. The main idea behind this paper was to talk about “smart homes” and in this paper it wasn't so much about ubiquitous computers but that computers should be thought of as “more as a resource for intelligence”. They want to “augment and support” life, enhance it rather than change the way people go about their daily routines. The paper made a good point about this type of technology only benefiting people who really need it, the elderly, disabled etc. and that people who don't have a need for it might not see the point. Surfaces are a key point in this paper especially fridge surfaces which I felt they spent too long in making this point, it was over simplified. Reminding magnets are the first technology mentioned and they seem a good idea, I would probably invest in them, they glow whenever a urgent note or reminder needs to be seen and all it takes is a glance.

HomeNotes were next mentioned, similar to post-it notes which was an idea also brought up in Weiser's paper, “The Computer for the 21^st Century”, seems to be popular. Notes are meant to be intrusive, you are meant to notice them that is their only purpose so it is important where they are placed. HomeNote is a tablet computer but with a SIM card and GPRS in it so people outside the home can communicated by SMS, once again this is costly. It was tested and like the whereabouts clock people felt they had a presence in the home even when they weren't there.

The next technology is the Whereabouts clock, this paper was written before any field trails had been done. They describe it a s “persistent availability” it is not a necessity in the home but it's there if you need it, it is unobtrusive, “at-a-glance” technology, there is no effort involved. Privacy is a concern but the conclusion was made that the clock is still in your home so anyone who sees it will more than likely be a family member or close friend and your specific location is not given just a general location such as “work”, “home”, or “school”.

The last technology was the PictureBowl it serves to manage digital clutter that we are increasingly ending up with more of, photos and videos etc.. while the idea is good I think at the end of the day when the bowl gets full there is still going to be the choice or deleting or transferring the items, it is still in the early stages and I would like to see more about this to see how it progresses.

verall I felt the paper was too long, it had interesting ideas but they seemed to get bogged down with every detail and it distracted from the projects themselves. The idea of intelligent computing almost seemed like it was being forced on me rather than letting me read about the technologies and coming to my own conclusion. I did like the ideas though, the technologies look really useful and pretty cool. I'd love those magnets for my fridge!

2nd Meeting 17/10/07

I went to CASL to see Graeme, Steve and Lorcan and yes I did manage to get lost. Mainly talked about the technology and what I will be needing to research in the next week or so to help me choose my candidate technology, a lot of information! Basically my project will be divided into 5 core components:

1. database in background to store the necessary fields such as person, location, etc.

2. web server such as LAMP that gives access to the database from the web server.

3. query component that resolves the information (maybe php or jsp; php links nicely with mysql – an open source database) how to find IP(global IP/gateway address) and Wireless Access Point

4. client component to get their location and updated location (could even use a url type thing such as REST?Spring, hibernate and tapestry were also mentioned although hibernate less)

5. actual clock display

So it's pretty much all going to be web based which will make life slightly easier (I hope).

Lorcan sent me his lecture slides on php just to help me get started and I will look at Miktex this weekend, and Texnic center was mentioned so I will have a look at that website as well.

All 6 of us doing Aaron's projects will have to give a presentation at the beginning of November, we will have to talk about what the project is, what technologies we will be using and we should have a system architecture diagram as well. I can't wait.

Lorcan mentioned Lorna Brown who works for Microsoft Research in Cambridge, apparently there has been interest in this project and a possible trip over to Microsoft Research could be in the future, it would be amazing!

At the beginning it's the big picture that has to be addressed but when it comes down to it, it's split into chunks that will be manageable.

My aim this weekend is to finished the rest of the research papers and get that bit sorted and have a look at the technologies that were mentioned to me, basically I have to research a lot this weekend! I'll probably get this finished by next week some time hopefully.

I think I got this all right and remembered most of the stuff said in the meeting if not I'm sure you'll let me know!!!

Computers in the 21st Century...hmmm

I read “The Computer for the 21^st Century”, a paper written by Mark Weiser. I found the paper odd but overall it was an interesting read. I think the paper was written in 1991 and he was hoping, even expecting his ideas to be a reality in 20 years time but that time constraint is nearly up and we are nowhere near what Weiser describes, not in mainstream life anyway. The aim of this paper is to consider ubiquitous computers, i.e., computers that aren't invasive to the extent that you don't realise you're even using a computer. At the moment the Weiser didn't feel like computers were a part of everyday life, in a sense they get in the way, he wants computers to be an “integral, invisible part of the way people live their lives”. Weiser talks about laptops, they have tried to integrate into our everyday lives but a “single box” is still in the way and not “invisible”. He sees integrated computers as the goal for example, “tabs” that act like post-it notes, boards with “electronic chalk”, “liveboards” can be used for conferences when all the people aren't in the same place 2 boards can display the same information. So pretty much pen and paper would never be the same, it would all be electronic. These “liveboards” can also be used as bulletin boards but the bulletins are specific to an individuals needs, all the user needs is an “active badge”, so there is no effort involved, the user doesn't have to do anything, no effort is required.

Weiser seems to want computers to mimic/replace everyday objects and to work together, for instance paper will beep if it is mislaid or a file cabinet will open with the file you are searching for, it will have found it for you. He mentions the money aspect but thinks that a standard screen will be very cheap in the next few years so it won't be a huge problem, I think this is what is holding the idea back, computers and screens are not so cheap that someone could afford to have hundreds in their house! Plus nowadays everyone is very energy efficient I can't see how this idea Weiser has is feasible when it comes to using energy wisely, these computers would always have to be on.

In the wrong hands Weiser recognises these ubiquitous computers such as active badges could have adverse effects, people could access personal data but with “cryptographic techniques” existing, if someone does access your data without consent they will leave behind a kind of digital fingerprint and can be traced.

Weiser gives an extract from a book which I found quite weird and not really appropriate for a paper but it did put across his point of what the world he imagines was real.

He concludes by saying ubiquitous computers will bring a sense of community into workplaces as workers will have more interaction with each other, also there will be less “computer addicts” as computers will be so common and normal that everyone is using them. Computers are a lot of the time related to stress whereas if they are less intrusive people won't make that connection. I'd never thought of this concept before but it is a very provocative insight into what the future could be like. This paper and it's ideas relate to my project as a device that was a computer but so integrated into normal life is exactly what he describes if only a tiny step into his world.

I'm back!

I read "The Whereabouts Clock: Early Testing of a Situated Awareness Device" published by Microsoft Research members. I found this paper very interesting(which is good as it's my project!). The whereabouts clock is basically a device that shows where certain people are, in this case using a 19 inch LCD touch screen, by using location based services (LBS) and situated displays.
The motivation behind this idea seems to be based on peace of mind for the customer in knowing where their workers/family members are, a "sense of reassurance."
Harry Potter is mentioned and accredited with the concept of a clock that displays where people are although there are differences, the whereabouts clock uses icons rather than hands pointing to the people and of course the obvious one of relying "on technology rather than wizardry to make the clock work!"
I liked the idea of peoples faces "fading" on the display when they were out of range/had the application switched off and when they were using the application their faces would "appear bright and also animated(appearing to float slightly)". The main difference with this project and mine is how people are being located, this project used mobile phones with SMS while i'll be using laptops to obtain IP addresses or the nearest wireless access point depending on whether the person is in one place or in transit. The nearest cell tower was used to get a location of the person but what if the person had no coverage on their phone or switched their phone off? Then there would be no way to trace that person which defeats the purpose of the clock in my opinion. Updates would be sent by SMS which to me seems very costly and i know i would be put off because of this. The customer can also select activities from a menu and using SMS transfer this information, that's more money being spent again.
The early field trial that was carried out had very encouraging results, and i liked the fact that it was tested early on as they would get an idea if it was useful or if anyone even used it. 14 people were involved in the trial which i think is quite a big number for an office and the feedback gained would be more than sufficient to get an idea of the need for this clock. In the office trial it was beneficial as if you were working at home or in a meeting, not everyone has to be told individually, it's right there displayed on the clock. The drawbacks the field trial came up with was that sometimes people wanted to convey more, for example if their computer was not working or they'd be in the office after lunch, a location wasn't enough. This problem was addressed and the notion of touching a person's face to find out more information was said. I don't like this idea, I feel it's a bit too invasive but I suppose you only give the information you are comfortable giving.
The volunteers described the "wonder" of the clock and it was also described as "visual enchantment." To me this sums up the entire idea and why I think it would be well received, it's almost magical. The location was not the only important issue/aspect, where someone is going next, what they are doing and why seemed to be significant at times and then the clock would not just be about location it's making a person more real, you're in their personal life. The next step of this project is to add layers and make it touch screen so you can find out more information about an individual, then it's not a "clock" which the researchers recognise. This trial was for office use, the next trial will be in the home.
Overall the researchers seemed to find no negative areas only constructive criticism and room for improvement which is no real surprise as it's a paper written by microsoft about their own product.

my first meeting 01/10/2007

Today me and Colin met Graeme, Steve and Lorcan for an introductory meeting. My project is the Whereabouts Clock. We discussed what is expected of us throughout the project generally, i.e. backup files, write minutes on every meeting, use the CVS as a backup submitting not just code but our thoughts as well. Collaboration is recommended between the 6 of us working on Aaron Quigley's projects. We went through our projects in detail, and looked at the milestones that should be achieved before the next meeting. By the end of October I should aim to have Chapter 2 of my report written which is the background research section and it should be around 5 pages long. I should take into account while reading these papers what relates to my project and what is and isn't useful in regards to my own work. I also need to look at location technologies such as WiFi and see what will be most effective.
We were advised to aim for the bulk of our project to be completed by Christmas as "second semester is going to be hell"! Time management is a very important technique and will be very beneficial for organising this project with other college work.
As well as background reading I need to sort out what my working environment will be, Trac was recommended as project management software as it's the "new GForge", also a programming environment, a language to write in(e.g., java, C++) and a blog(obviously i have chosen blogger).
I'm scared.