Finding resources in an indoor facility can be a difficult task, especially for patrons who are not familiar with what the facility has to offer. Current methods of indoor navigation involve the use of static maps, directions posted on walls and other traditional systems. However, as we see greater mobility of alwaysconnected computing devices, we believe a better solution can be developed. As campuses and facilities begin to be covered with wireless internet access, we can access the web seamlessly from any location. In this paper, we explore the possibility of using a handheld device that can leverage that technology to search for and locate services and resources within a library. By displaying maps with directions and introducing several other features to aid library exploration, we believe we can reduce search and retrieval times as well as enrich the user experience.
There is inadequate support for seamless task migration when users use multiple devices to perform a single task. In this paper we present the Syncables framework, a software framework designed to alleviate the problem associated with task migration. The Syncables framework can be used to migrate task data and state information across platforms. In the paper we describe the goals, design and an implementation of Syncables. We highlight features, such as a consistent naming scheme, ability for applications to define their own arbitrary Syncable types and use of transcoders and filters. Syncables will help us develop 'continuous user interfaces' that automatically bridge task disconnects.
When a person visits a place, it is almost always simple to understand the physical environment around them. Often people ignore-or don't have access to-the fourth dimension: time. Our research is an attempt to create a system that adds the aspect of time into location-based notification systems. This allows a person to not only experience their surroundings through five senses and three dimensions, but also to understand the changes the location has undergone over time, by receiving cues. This report describes our experience in designing and implementing such a system and reports on a preliminary evaluation of it.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.