ISSUE 1 March 2010

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Abstract

Objectives

Work Packages

Partners

March Kick-off

The purpose of the Smarcos newsletter is to cover the consortium activities around the project. The main objective of this first issue is to give a global view of the whole project.

Abstract

Smarcos project aims to help users of interconnected embedded systems by ensuring their interusability.

Nowadays, many products connect with web services(media players, refrigerators). This distributed computing is becoming the norm in embedded systems.

Smarcos allows devices and services to communicate in UI level terms and symbols, exchange context information, user actions, and semantic data. It allows applications to follow the user’s actions, predict needs, and react appropriately to unexpected actions.

The use cases would be constructed around three complementary domains: attentive personal systems, interusable devices and complex systems control. Several pilots would be carried out to implement the use cases, including one large trial in a major public event (2012 London Olympics). Along the project, several smaller prototypes will be implemented.

Our results will be applicable to all embedded systems that interact with their users, which is a substantial fraction of today’s market.

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Objectives

Technical excellence. We seek to extend usability research and user interface solutions to look beyond individual devices and services.

Developer traction. We want our results to be spreading trough the embedded systems developer community.

Market insight. To look at usability-enhancing principles in several complementary domains (health care, personal devices, control systems).

Academic excellence. Smarcos will carry out high quality research both by our research partners and our industrial partners’ R&D departments. Visibility. We plan to realise our work as a number of tangible prototypes in a number of public trials, some with very high visibility (e.g. London Olympics)…

Work Packages

WP1: Design Methods and Concepting. To develop and refine design methods for interconnected embedded systems, and applying the developed methods for creating Smarcos application and service concepts.

WP2: Interface, Interaction and Context Modelling. To enable an enjoyable end-user experience provided by

the seamless utilisation of the composition of user interface components located in different types of devices within an environment during interaction tasks.

WP3: Tools for Runtime UI & Context Composition. To enable successful interusability between user interface components locating in the myriad of devices with in an environment, tool and methods for processing information on contexts, interaction tasks of users and UI resources at a run-time are urgently required.

WP4: Attentive Personal Systems. To provide an intelligent system that motivates and supports consumers in their daily life to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle using the notion of inter-usability and task-drive UI modelling technologies.

WP5: Interusable Devices. To explores the usability of communicating embedded devices through a combination of user centric research and technology developments that are validated in several large and small scale trials.

WP6: Complex systems control. To develop tools facilitating control of complex systems and perform their validation with end-users. The design of technological components with reusability capacity is another primary target.

WP7: Exploitation and dissemination. To specify the manners of dissemination of project results through both scientifically and industrially visible forums and channels.

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Partners

Country Organisation

legal name Experiences

FI NOKIA Oyj (Coordinator)

Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries.

FI Valtion Teknillinen

Tutkimuskeskus

Technical Research Centre of Finland is a government organisation established by law and operating under the auspices of the Finnish Ministry of Employment & Economy.

BE Barco

A global technology company designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets.

NL Philips Research

Labs

Philips Research develops new technologies and investigates potential growth areas for the globally operating Philips company. Focusing on the areas of health and well-being.

NL Philips Consumer Lifestyle

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations.

IT Intecs Informatica e Tecnologia del

Software

Software Company providing leading-edge technological support and products to the major European organizations in the design, implementation, verification of complex electronic systems.

IT Consiglio Nazionale delle

Ricerche

The Human Interfaces in Information System Laboratory (http://giove.isti.cnr.it) of CNR-ISTI, with expertise in user interface software and technologies.

ES Fundacion European Software Institute

ESI is a member-based private “Technology Centre” located in Bilbao (Spain). ESI has a dual nature as SME and R&D organisation.

BE Sirris c.d.g.

Research centre for the technology industry in Belgium, is a private collective research centre founded by Agoria, the multi-sector federation for the Belgian technology industry.

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Partners

Country Organisation legal name

Experiences

ES Indra Sistemas,

S.A

Indra is the premier Information Technology company in Spain and a leading IT multinational in Europe and Latin America. It is the second European company in its sector according to stock market capitalisation, and also the second Spanish company with the most investment in R&D.

BE Human Interface Group

Their aim is optimizing the usability of technology. HIG design user-friendly interfaces & technology, develop user guides & documentation & realize trainings for companies of all sectors.

FI Valve Valve is a design agency with special focus on designing Internet based multimodal services. Valve is the leading service design and Internet consultant in Finland.

NL University of Twente

The Human Media Interaction (HMI) group in the Computer Science Department of the University of Twente.

UK Fjord Fjord was founded in 2001 in the UK. It is a creative consultancy offering expertise in the innovation and design of digital services for mobile, PC and interactive TV.

CZ Honeywell International

s.r.o.

HON is a global company, which performs basic research, working closely with universities and laboratories, develop advanced technology, and develop state-of-the-art products.

NL PHI-I PHIi (Personal Health Institute international), a SME, is focused towards the development of knowledge, tools and services to support personal health management.

NL EVALAN Evalan is a product-oriented innovation. It focuses on applications that use state-of-the-art communications technology and internet applications in health care.

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March Kick-off This newsletter is published every six months. It informs the members of the Smarcos and the general public about the progress of the project. Contact: Dr. Pertti J. Huuskonen pertti.huuskonen@nokia.com Any questions or suggestions? Please contact us! http://www.smarcos-project.eu/

KICK OFF PROJECT MEETING 16th – 17th March 2010 Amsterdam, Holland Organizer: Nokia The kick-off meeting has brought together representatives of all seventeen SMARCOS partners for two days of discussion, development and planning. All seventeen partners have shared in the excitement of launching this ambitious and much-needed project to help users of interconnected embedded systems by ensuring their interusability. The kick-off marks the beginning of fruitful, multi-year collaboration between partners towards a common goal.

Kick-off meeting participants