1626827
Augmenting kitchen appliances with a shared context using knowledge about daily events
Networked appliances might make them aware of each other, but interacting with a complex network can be difficult in itself. KitchenSense is a sensor rich networked kitchen research platform that uses Common Sense reasoning to simplify control interfaces and augment interaction. The system's sensor net attempts to interpret people's intentions to create fail-soft support for safe, efficient and aesthetic activity. By considering embedded sensor data together with daily-event knowledge, a centrally-controlled system can develop a shared context across various appliances. The system is a research platform that is used to evaluate augmented intelligent support of work scenarios in physical spaces.
17677434
A framework for designing intelligent task-oriented augmented reality user interfaces
A task-oriented space can benefit from an augmented reality interface that layers the existing tools and surfaces with useful information to make cooking more easy, safe and efficient. To serve experienced users as well as novices, augmented reality interfaces need to adapt modalities to the user's expertise and allow for multiple ways to perform tasks. We present a framework for designing an intelligent user interface that informs and choreographs multiple tasks in a single space according to a model of tasks and users. A residential kitchen has been outfitted with systems to gather data from tools and surfaces and project multi-modal interfaces back onto the tools and surfaces themselves. Based on user evaluations of this augmented reality kitchen, we propose a system to tailor information modalities based on the spatial and temporal qualities of the task, and the expertise, location and progress of the user. The intelligent augmented reality user interface choreographs multiple tasks in the same space at the same time.
6801906
Attention-based design of augmented reality interfaces
The objects and surfaces of a task-based environment can be layered with digital interfaces to make them easier and safer to use. Once information can be projected anywhere in the space, it becomes crucial to design the information to make optimal use of users' attention. We have prototyped and evaluated a real-world augmented reality kitchen where user-centered interfaces and displays can be projected anywhere in the space to improve its usability. The augmented environment is designed to support the activities of a variety of people in diverse kitchen environments.This paper presents five intelligent kitchen systems that layer useful interfaces onto the refrigerator, range, cabinets, countertops and sink. The interface design is driven by human factors, especially attention theory and user evaluations. By projecting interfaces where they require the least cognitive load, we hope to improve the performance and confidence of users. The design employs cueing and search principles from attention theory. We present the results of pilot studies and future directions for our work.
38028125
Lover's cups: drinking interfaces as new communication channels
This paper shows how computer interfaces can enhance common activities and use them as communication method between people. In this paper, the act of drinking is used as an input of remote communication with the support of computer interfaces. We present Lover's Cups which enable people to share the time of drinking with someone they care about in different places. Using a wireless connection, an otherwise ordinary pair of cups becomes a communication device, amplifying the social aspect of drinking behavior.
16256064
Emotionally reactive television
When is an interface simple? Is it when it is invisible or very obvious, even intrusive? From the time TV was created, watching TV is considered as a static activity. TV audiences have very limited choices to interact with TV, such as turning on/off, increasing/decreasing volume, and traversing among different channels. This paper suggests that TV program should have social responses to people, such as affording and accepting audience's emotional feeling with the growth of technologies. This paper presents HiTV, an Emotionally-Reactive TV system using a digitally augmented soft ball as affect-input interfaces that can amplify TV program's video/audio signals. HiTV transforms the original video and audio into effects that intrigue and fulfill people's emotional expectation.
7053531
Attention meter: a vision-based input toolkit for interaction designers
This paper shows how a software toolkit can allow graphic designers to make camera-based interactive environments in a short period of time without experience in user interface design or machine vision. The Attention Meter, a vision-based input toolkit, gives users an analysis of faces found in a given image stream, including facial expression, body motion, and attentive activities. This data is fed to a text file that can be easily understood by humans and programs alike. A four day workshop demonstrated that some Flash-savvy architecture students could construct interactive spaces (e.g. TaiKer-KTV and ScreamMarket) based on body and head motions.
17815023
Experimental study on adaptive control of underwater robots
The control of underwater robots presents a number of unique and formidable challenges. Underwater robot dynamics are highly nonlinear, coupled, and time-varying, and subject to hydrodynamic uncertainties and external disturbances such as current. Unlike land mobile robots, underwater robots cannot use GPS. Most popular underwater positioning sensors are sonar-based, such as long-base line. However, autonomous processing of sonar measurements is plagued by noise, drop-outs, missed detection, false reading, poor resolution, etc. The paper presents a new adaptive control of underwater robots with sonar-based position measurements. Experimental results show robustness of the control system in the presence of unmodelled dynamics and various noise.
2177844
Design, performance analysis, and implementation of a super-scalar video-on-demand system
Despite the availability of video-on-demand (VoD) services in a number of cities around the world, large-scale deployment of VoD services in a metropolitan area is still economically impractical. This study presents a novel super-scalar architecture for building very large-scale and efficient VoD systems. The proposed architecture combines the use of static multicast, dynamic multicast, and intelligent client-side caching to vastly reduce server and network resource requirement. Moreover, in sharp contrast to conventional VoD systems where the system cost increases at least linearly with the system scale, the proposed architecture becomes more efficient as the system scales up and can ultimately be scaled up to serve any number of users while still keeping the startup latency short. This paper presents this new architecture, proposes methods to support interactive playback controls without the need for additional server or client resources, and derives an approximate performance model to relate the startup latency with other system parameters. The performance model is validated using simulation and the architecture is evaluated under various system settings. Lastly, a system implementation is presented and benchmarking results obtained to further verify the architecture, the performance model, and the simulation results.
205046494
Run-time support For parallel functional programming on shared-memory multiprocessors
Abstract The use of functional languages for parallel computing has been proposed for many years. Many functional languages were developed along with the design of new architectures such as data flow and reduction machines. In this article, we present a general model of a run-time system for a parallel functional language called SISAL, to be executed on shared-memory multiprocessors. The implementation of this run-time system is examined on two radically different architectures: a 32-way (symmetrical) VAX Research Multiprocessor M31 and a 4-way Cray X-MP system. To properly evaluate the effectiveness of SISAL on shared-memory multiprocessors, we suggest further research explore an interactive visual control mechanism that dynamically shows run-time behavior.
17289303
Spare CASH: reclaiming holes to minimize aperiodic response times in a firm real-time environment
Scheduling periodic tasks that allow some instances to be skipped produces spare capacity in the schedule. Only a fraction of this spare capacity is uniformly distributed and can easily be reclaimed for servicing aperiodic requests. The remaining fraction of the spare capacity is non-uniformly distributed, and no existing technique has been able to reclaim it. We present a method for improving the response times of aperiodic tasks by identifying the non-uniform holes in the schedule and adding these holes as extra capacity to the capacity queue of the CASH mechanism. The non-uniform holes can account for a significant portion of spare capacity, and reclaiming this capacity results in considerable improvements to aperiodic response times.
5311612
A genetic algorithm for job sequencing problems with distinct due dates and general early-tardy penalty weights
Abstract A job scheduling problem with distinct due dates in a single machine is considered. General penalty weights which are not necessarily proportional to the processing times are applied to jobs either early or tardy. An optimal timing algorithm is presented which decides the optimal starting time of each job in a given job sequence. Idle times are inserted between blocks of jobs such that the cost function of each newly created job block is minimized. Prominent near optimal sequences are generated via a genetic algorithm N best reproduction without duplicates, uniform order-based crossover and intra-block mutation operators are employed. The proposed genetic algorithm is proved to outperform existing heuristic methods. On average, 12–33% cost reduction effect is obtained by the evolution algorithm compared to the solution by an excellent heuristic procedure. The near optimality of the solutions by the GA is also illustrated by the comparison with an exact algorithm.