Projects

Digifieds (derived from digital classified) is a digital public notice area we developed in the context of the European Project PD-Net. We deployed and evaluated Digifieds in an urban environment during the UbiChallenge 2011 in Oulu, Finland over the course of 6 months. The deployment allowed the users' view to be studied with regard to the envisioned content, preferred interaction techniques, as well as privacy concerns, and to compare them against traditional PNAs. (read more)

FunSquare is a novel application that creates localized “fun facts” by matching information from a display’s surroundings (current temperature of -2C°) with information from a database of facts (the coldest temperature ever recorded in Sao Paulo was -2 C°) into a new piece of information (the current temperature is equal to the coldest temperature ever measured in Sao Paulo). FunSquare runs in two modes: an ambient mode, where fun facts are continuously shown to provide a backdrop for conversation, and a game mode, where fun facts are displayed as a trivia quiz to encourage collaborative interaction.

Instant Places aims to explore public digital displays and other technologies as a new form of expression in public places. With Instant Places, you can contribute with your preferences and content to what is displayed in the places you visit.

In this project we investigated how passers-by notice the interactivity of public displays. We designed an interactive installation that uses visual feedback to the incidental movements of passers- by to communicate its interactivity. The studies reveal: (1) Mirrored user silhouettes and images are more effective than avatar-like representations. (2) It takes time to notice the interactivity. Our findings can be used to design public display applications and shop windows that more effectively communicate interactivity to passers-by. (read more)

A cloudlet is a new architectural element that arises from the convergence of mobile computing and cloud computing. It represents the middle tier of a 3-tier hierarchy: mobile device --- cloudlet --- cloud. A cloudlet can be viewed as a "data center in a box" whose goal is to "bring the cloud closer".