Understanding the use of web technologies for aplications in open display networks

Open display networks represent a new paradigm for large scale networks of public displays that are open to applications and content from third party sources. Web technologies may be particularly interesting as a technological framework for third party application development in open display networks because of their portability and widespread use. However, there are also significant challenges involved that result from the specificities of this particular usage domain. In this work, we identify and characterize some of those specificities and analyze their implications for the use of web technologies. This contribution builds on our own experience with the development of multiple web-based applications for public displays and will inform the design of new models for this type of applications.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Web-based applications for open display networks : developers’ perspective

Open Display Networks represent a new paradigm for large scale networks of public displays that are open to applications and content from third parties. Web technologies may be particularly interesting as a technological framework for third-party application development in Open Display Networks because of their portability and widespread use. However, there are also significant challenges involved that result from the specificities of this particular usage domain and the lack of specific development insights for this context. In this work, we address the concept of public display application (display app) from a development perspective. The overall goal of this paper is to identify and characterize some of the key specificities of display applications and the appropriate Web solutions that can serve in the development of this type of application. The contribution of this paper builds on our extensive experience with the application development for a real world public display infrastructure and also on a short-term experiment with third party developers. Overall, the results show that Web technologies are valuable building blocks for public displays applications and their adoption is not only a subject for adaptation procedures but also for redesigning their use according to the characteristics and user experience offered by public displays. This research will inform the design of new Web-based models of display applications and shed light on the challenges that may impede third party development and the evolution of an application ecosystem in this area.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Situatedness for global display web apps

Most display systems are making use of static definition for the places in which they are situated. The content shown on these displays is predefined as is the case of television broadcasting. In this paper we present an approach that allows local display managers, e.g., display owners, to instantiate global display web applications on each display basis. We describe an innovative model for content presentation that takes into consideration both the display environmental data, e.g., sensors and user interactions, and app specific configuration. This approach enables the content being shown to be highly personalized, thus reflecting the dynamic and situated behavior of global display web apps.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Development challenges in web apps for public displays

Digital public displays can have a key role in urban ubiquitous computing infrastructures, but they have not yet managed to fill this role. A key step in that direction would be the emergence of an application model for open display networks that would enable anyone to create applications for display infrastructures. In this work, we study the development of web-based applications for public displays. We report on our experience of application development for real world public deployment and also on an experiment with external web developers to assess their ability to create such applications using our own development tools. The results show that the web-based app model can effectively be used in the context of public displays and that web developers are able to leverage upon their expertise to create this type of applications.(undefined

Design considerations for application selection and control in multi-user public displays

Urban spaces are increasingly embedded with various types of public digital displays. Many of these displays can be subject to multi-user interactions and support a broad range of applications. A fundamental implication emerging from the interactive nature of those applications is that users should have access to appropriate selection and control techniques that would allow them to drive the way applications are shown and used in the respective environment. Such techniques should enable each user to reason and express intentions about the system behavior, while also dealing with concurrent requests from multiple users in a way that is fair and clear. In this study, we aim to inform the definition of novel techniques for application selection and control in pervasive display environments that can address the above challenges. Drawing inspiration from traditional GUI interaction concepts we developed and deployed a public display system that supports multiple applications and is able to receive explicit content presentation requests from multiple viewers. Based on the experiment observations and interviews with the participants, we reached a set of design considerations for future pervasive displays environments that are open to third party applications providers and allow the audience to influence content presentation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Aplicações baseadas em tecnologias web para redes abertas de ecrãs públicos

Tese de doutoramento do Programa Doutoral em InformáticaDigital display technology is facing considerable progress and large screens are increasingly pervasive in our public environment. Most display systems exist as non-interactive units, broadcasting multimedia content, such as text, images and videos and work under tight control of their owners. These installations usually do not take much consideration for the audience, as information is pushed regardless of viewers’ interests. Although the pervasiveness of these displays has increased in the last decade, they do not provide considerable added value for people’s lives. This means that public displays have not yet managed to integrate the emerging eco-system of services and devices that constitute a ubiquitous computing infrastructure. Open Display Networks are an emergent paradigm that considers the possibility of opening the currently closed networks and invite audience into new levels of engagement through the usage of sensing and interaction capabilities. It also entails the idea that display owners will benefit from opening their display networks for third party software applications and multimedia content. This originates multi-application displays that can engage viewers in a wide range of usage scenarios similarly to what happened with smartphones. This research addresses the conceptual and technical challenges for the concretization of the applications for interactive public displays. Our work contributes with the fundamental understanding of what a display application might be and how it should be designed, developed and used as part of multi-application display experiences. We came out with a set of application design principles and characteristics that may guide application creators in the design space of multi-application displays. This thesis also contributes to the understanding of the implications that display applications might have on the use of Web technologies as an appropriate technological framework for the creation of this type of applications. We identified a set of Web development specificities and insights that help third-party developers to understand in what ways a display application is different from its desktop or mobile counterparts. The new findings developed as part of this thesis are expected to have an impact on the emergence of potential web-based application models and related application eco-systems. This in turn would determine the deployment of multi-application display systems that would embed many use cases and therefore increase benefits for all the parties involved.As tecnologia de ecrãs digitais estão a enfrentar um progresso considerável e é cada vez mais comum a sua presença em vários tipos de espaços públicos. A maioria dos sistemas consistem em unidades não-interativas, para difusão de conteúdos multimédia, como texto, imagens e vídeos. Estes sistemas funcionam sobre um controlo direto do proprietário e sem grandes preocupações com o público e os seus interesses. Apesar de serem cada vez mais comuns, dificilmente se poderá dizer que essa maior presença de ecrãs públicos corresponda a um maior valor acrescentado para a vida das pessoas. As Redes Abertas de Ecrãs Públicos são um paradigma emergente, que considera a possibilidade de abrir as redes actualmente fechados e convidar o público para novos níveis de apropriação dos ecrãs como meio de comunicação. Este paradigma baseia-se também na ideia de que os proprietários de ecrãs poderão partilhá-los com aplicações de software e conteúdo multimédia de terceiros, saindo a ganhar com o valor gerado por essa partilha. Isto origina ecrãs com múltiplas aplicações que podem envolver os espectadores em uma ampla gama de cenários de uso semelhante ao que aconteceu com os smartphones. Esta investigação aborda os desafios conceptuais e técnicas para a concretização das aplicações de ecrãs públicos interativos. Esta investigação contribui com a compreensão fundamental do que uma aplicação de ecrã pode ser e como deve ser concebido, desenvolvido e usado como parte de ecrãs com experiências de múltiplas aplicações. A contribuição desta tese inclui um conjunto de princípios de design de aplicações e características que podem orientar os criadores de aplicações no espaço de design de ecrãs com múltiplas aplicações. Esta tese também contribui para a compreensão das implicações que as aplicações de ecrãs pode ter sobre o uso de tecnologias da Web como uma estrutura tecnológica adequada para a criação deste tipo de aplicações. Identificamos um conjunto de especificidades de desenvolvimento Web e recomendações que visam ajudar os desenvolvedores de aplicações a entender de que forma a aplicação de ecrã é diferente de uma aplicação web clássica. Este resultados deverão ter um impacto sobre o surgimento de modelos de aplicações baseados na web e ecossistemas de aplicações relacionadas. Este por sua vez, será uma contribuição para a implantação de sistemas de ecrãs com múltiplas aplicações que sustentem muitos casos de uso e possam assim servir melhor os objetivos de todas as partes envolvidas.This research was supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 244011 (PD-Net) and Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) under the PhD grant SFRH/BD/75868/2011

How to Web - Startup SpotLight 2015

<p>This video presents Knowledge Window application as part of Startup SpotLight 2015 application submission form.</p

FEUP - Printed Poster Exhibition

<p>Printed posters on windows at University of Porto (FEUP), Porto, Portugal</p

An application framework for open application development and distribution in Pervasive Display Networks

Displays technology experienced a considerable progress and screens are increasingly pervasive in public spaces. Most of the display systems exist as singular non-interactive units showing static images, power point presentations or product videos. Further developments will consider the possibility of connecting the displays towards the Pervasive Display Networks. This approach will provide the background for highly interactive applications, thus creating a novel and powerful global communication medium. The research activity proposed in this paper will consider the challenges raised by the need to support third-party application development and distribution. Consequently, the work will conceive and evaluate a web-based framework for the development, distribution and use of display-centred applications in Pervasive Display Networks

Design considerations for application selection and control in multi-user public displays - Coded Text Fragments

<p>List of the traditional GUI concepts that were coded in MaxQda software for the paper “A public deployment of a multi-application and multi-user display system in the field” submitted to the J.UCS special issue “Towards Sustainable Computing through Ambient Intelligence”.</p