Final Project

Projet Milestones

2008-07-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Week 1

June 01: idea, brainstorming ( I was thinking about the virtual piano and virtual window)
June 02: more ideas of designing a real product with interaction design, such as the cane for blind people, a educative magic cube for children... but most of them are not innovative. So we decided to choose the interactive system in the train/carriage
June 05: tube station observation and make chart, list of "issues of London Underground"
June 06: research for Interactive map system examples

Week 2

June 08: research about "Artificial characers" interface v.s. users' emotion
June 09-10: the Jubilee line landmark (make chart, links, photos)
June 11: after tutorial, we need to rethink a new concept, and start again
June 12: digital wall idea fixed, instead of the map system
June 14: existing digital wall examples analysis, emotional games, target audience research

Week 3

June 15: research and found technology (webcam, flash and projector) to use
June 17: interaction design for game
June 18-19: 3D flag ball (illustrator learning)
June 20-22: Beijing Olympic transport system plan, London Underground statistics, why people hate London Underground, the emotion, the journey, London oversea visitors survey

Week 4

June 23: plan to go to cambridge company to borrow the screen but in vain..., use illustrator to create olympic rings, tube logo, map of the wall, background
June 24-27: research for presentation file

Week 5

June 28-30: storyboarding
July 1-10: flash, presentation file making, set-up show

Week 6

July 1-10: flash, presentation file making, set-up show
July 11-15: double check the set-up of exhibition room; modify, compress the flash file

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Final presentation file

2008-07-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

Finally, the presentaiton file is finished...

However, when I tried to display this flash in MAC, the speed of background music is totally different from my PC laptop... Besides, I asked Frederik's help to compress the flash to be flv. and mov., the quality is not good as I expected... I need to have more knowledge about the video compressing, and how to keep the flash file in good resolution and with correct screen size.

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3rd Usability Tutorial notes

2008-07-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

think about degree show usability:

maybe restrict how many people can enter one time
how it works when it's crowded
if people just pass by how can they know they can interact with the wall, cover all angle for people not understand)
summary for the content: instruction or description in the show to guide people
before the show, the usability test can be executed by: people from different countries or people from Stratford
list of games for rating, compare and analyze which one is better and why

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4th Practical tutorial notes

2008-07-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

give feedback ( sound? how users know they are in control with the interaction, think about nature of the game)
background sound recording, such as the train approaching, the foot steps, noise (to simulate the tube)
it's better to allow more time to test & modify (stand outside, not only in our perspectives, inside the users)
think about game play aspects, since we already have the function now

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Storyboarding

2008-07-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

Storyborading plan

mainly devided by 3 parts: introduction, prototype explaination, future development
Introduction: introduce the view we can see in the tube station and mention about the reason for this project. how we came up with this idea, why we would like to create the interactive digital wall in underground
prototype explaination: explain what it is, how it works, the technology we use
future development: display different games, possibility to combine with the commercial, different options in future development

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2nd Usability tutorial

2008-06-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

suggested key points for usability testing

background choice (what kind of background users like most)
the number of people who use it (which version people like to use most)
what kind of age's people play most ( does different age all enjoy the game?)
what kind of group (any specific group of users are more interested in the game?)

suggested key points for next usability testing

usability for the show (practical issue, safety issue)

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typography

2008-06-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

As below, these typography animations gave me inspiration of how to do the text animation in the presentation file.

Dwight's Speech (Typography)

Typolution

"Roots"

Brand New Key: Type Animation

Pixar Intro Luxo Jr. Outtake #4-67-1

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3rd Practical Tutorial notes

2008-06-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

1) research into wide angled webcams
2) what is the game? main focus what's the point of the game
3) photographic paper to project on
4) idea:

5) presentation video shows different game possibilities
6) rings you can hit, balls (flags) you can pop
7) make wide stage in flash, make it wide!! Maybe 2 projectors

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Passenger service that is awful - and excellent

2008-06-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

Passenger service that is awful - and excellent

Steve Browne, 34, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Works for BT marketing. Takes Circle line from Tower Hill to Farringdon
Some days the tube is excellent; on others it can be a 15 minute wait for a tube from Tower Hill so it's almost worth walking for 20 minutes instead.
It isn't too overcrowded, but the trains and stations are tatty. I've been travelling by tube for about 10 years - it improved a bit about two years ago, but it's going back downhill now.
I don't think PPP will work, I just don't think the investment will be there. The plan Ken Livingstone had was better - at least it was already proven to work in New York. I think it'll end up like the British Rail privatisation. Safety will not be improved.
I think the government row about PPP was petty. It seemed the government wanted to go against Ken Livingstone and now they don't want to look as if they are backing down.

Jan Trinnaman, 20, psychology student from north London. Victoria line from Seven Sisters to King's Cross, then Circle line to Farringdon
I take the tube as there's no other option for getting into university every day.
I don't find it too bad, but the Circle line is always quite packed. The trains are quite messy and I don't often travel at night as there are lots of drunks and I feel a bit scared.
I try not to think about the safety issues because I have to get on a train every day.

Chris Whitehouse, 48. Civil servant from north London. Victoria line from Seven Sisters to King's Cross
I've had no problems travelling this morning, and the service is usually good. On occasion there are delays, but no more than usual.
Sometimes there are long queues at the ticket windows - the tube does seem short of staff.
I'm not completely convinced about PPP. There have been too many doubts voiced, but the government just stands up and says PPP is the greatest thing on earth, ignoring the other voices.
I think PPP will put more money into the tube, but it's where the money is invested that is important. The problem is that private firms have their shareholders to think of. The reason why many people are wary of PPP is because of the mess on the railways. We need to be convinced that that won't happen again.

Vanessa Blackstock, 31. Secretary from Wood Green, London. Piccadilly line from Wood Green to King's Cross, then Circle line to Farringdon
My journey this morning was the same as usual: overcrowded, hot and smelly. I had no seat as usual. We're not animals, but we're being transported like them. It's diabolical. If there was an accident on the tube there would be a hell of a lot of lives lost.
Privatisation hasn't improved British Rail so I don't think PPP is going to make the tube any better. It's just going to make it more money orientated.
I back Ken Livingstone more over the tube issue than I do the government. Whoever runs the tube needs to ask more questions and listen to the people that use it. The decisions need to come from them, but even so it will take years to make the service better.

David Fritz, 44. Manager from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. Infrequent tube user
I tend to use the tube to cover large distances that are inconvenient to travel by bus. I work in Mornington Crescent and take the train from there to Euston. But I always prefer to walk from there rather than take the tube.
I avoid the tube if possible because it's smelly and unpleasant and sporadic.
The tube is reasonably priced compared to trains, but compared to buses it is quite extortionate. It is unbelievable that the government has gone with PPP after the experience the country has had with privatisation and public transport.
I'm from Switzerland, and public transport works there. People use it, it's clean and it's punctual. It takes money and commitment to make a public service work - you just can't get it on the cheap.
After PPP I think things are going to get worse - fares will go up and the infrastructure will deteriorate further.

Andrew Belton, 39. General sales manager from Reigate, Surrey. Victoria line from Victoria to Oxford Circus and Central line to Chancery Lane
This morning we were crowded in like sardines. We always are. But I think the tube is fantastic. It's just a victim of its own popularity.
I'm quite a big fan of the tube but I think it needs extreme long-term investment. I think it should be taken out of politicians' hands, but not put wholly into the hands of private companies because money is always going to be a key driver if private companies are involved.
Zuzana Slobodova, 54. Interpreter from Bayswater, central London. Central line from Bayswater to Chancery Lane
My journey was all right this morning, but sometimes it can be hair-raising.
Under PPP I think tube prices will rise, as they did with the trains. It might be that elements of London Underground could be privatised, but I think that needs to be researched thoroughly. In general it should stay in public hands.
I'm concerned about safety on the tube, I always try to sit in the middle of the train. I think the tube needs a new safety system, especially after September 11. Tube stations seem to be vulnerable to terrorism.

research about "transport system issue" for olympic

2008-06-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

i tried to search any issues, problems, expections of olympic tourists, most articles only explained they create more lines for the Olympics or mentioned how olympic influences the host city, nothing about tourits' comments or expectation.

Beijing Olympic Games Ownership Tender Projects' (Main page)

Here are some articles related to the transport system plan:

Beijing Olympic Action Plan (Part I)
　Transport control ─ we will impose necessary traffic restrictions in the city center and adopt new traffic regulations. Automobile administration and parking management will be enforced, and a social environment favorable for traffic regulation enforcement will be established and the citizens' consciousness of observing traffic regulations raised. The development of an intelligence traffic control and dispatch system, a modern traffic control network information system and a traffic security control system will be the key projects to be completed for the modernization of traffic control in the urban areas.

Transport in Beijing - Short Introduction
Beijing Metro / Subway System
The first new modernization of the Beijing Subway after 1969 began with the addition of a third line, running between Central Beijing and the far Haidian District. The 3Rd Line was first connected to The Summer Palace World Heritage Park(s), then continued through to what is now Olympic Park in North Haidian, the main location of the coming Olympic Events.
In the Future this line will connect further North to ChangPing Village near the Ming Tombs Mausoleum Valley, the end of the Line.
A Further two new lines, Line Number 5 and the First Phase of Line Number 10 to connect ChaoYang and its Central Business District were added, reaching completion in 2007.

At the moment there are 5 subway lines traversing Beijing. In addition to this, the Olympic Park and the New Capital Airport will have their own subway lines open in the year 2008. By the Time of the Beijing Olympics in August of 2008, the Subway is scheduled to have 192 Kilometers of underground railroads ready to transport the bulk of the visitors to and from the Olympic Venues.

Currently the most useful thing to notice when using the Subway and/or Bus Lines of Beijing is the recent Introduction of a Pre-Payed Electronic Ticket which is Useable on both Subway and Bus Lines. Now Bus & Subway tickets are combined in the electronic smart-card and discussions with Bus Personel in Mandarin can mostly be avoided. Just get on, pay with your ticket and stay put untill you (think you) have reached your destination.

For more historic backgrounds as well as the most acurate and detailed information so far available on the Beijing Subway / Metro System, please click through to read our special Report Pages with Maps, Photos and explanations on the Beijing Subway Trains.

Beijing Olympic Action Plan Sub-plan for Environmental Protection
(3) Clean Transportation
The city?¡¥s existing public transportation system will be expanded to provide transportation service for the Games. Rail will be built to link the urban metro and the venues. Preferential policies will be formulated to encourage taking public transportation, for example, spectators can enjoy free services on specific bus lines to the competition venues. In the Olympic Green, no emission or ultra-low emission vehicles will be used. To encourage the use of bicycles, specific bicycle lanes and bicycles will be provided in the Village.

London overseas visitor survey, by Cross River Partnership

2008-06-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

London Overseas Visitor Survey

This annual survey provided detailed information about visitor behaviour, activities and opinions, in order to understand the visitor economy and how to maximise the benefits of tourism.

From 2003 to 2005, Cross River Partnership commissioned research in the London Overseas Visitor Survey, also known as LOVS, which was undertaken in three waves, with the largest survey period in the summer. The questions specifically related to tourism and visitor management in the Cross River area. The results of these questions helped partners determine long-term strategic tourism development in the area. This information built a picture of the way in which the area was performing and the impact of environmental and marketing activities and of physical improvements.
This project built on and superseded the work of the Bankside and South Bank Visitor Survey which provided baseline information on a range of issues: brand awareness, visitor profile, pull factors, sources of information, reasons for visiting, awareness of attractions, visitor ratings, ways of improving the visit and expenditure whilst in the area.

Geographical area

The survey was undertaken at up to 30 points across central London including the BA London Eye, Borough Market and Embankment.

Time frame

Project start date: September 2003
Project end date: October 2005

Highlights from the 2004/2005 survey (2003/4 figures):

10% of those surveyed (9%) were on a business trip.
14% in both years were staying with friends or relatives.
Bearing in mind surveys were conducted at leisure destinations, the business figure highlights that business visitors spend time on leisure activities whilst away.
The age of visitors is increasing. Just 21% of those surveyed were in the 16 - 24 age bracket, compared with 28% in summer 1999. 9% of the European market is made up of the over 55s age group, compared with 14% from Japan/Far East, 24% from USA/Canada, and 28% from Australia/ New Zealand.
There was a slight increase in repeat visitors in this survey period, which can explain the slight increase in age of visitor.
2% of those questioned either considered themselves disabled or had a disabled party member.

Factors that may have encouraged those who hadn't visited the areas of Elephant & Castle, Brixton, Vauxhall, Peckham, Dulwich or Bermondsey to visit:

57% wanted more publications telling them what was there (particularly food & drink, shopping, museums & attractions and events & festivals).
8% needed more information as to how to get there.
5% wanted better public transport.
7% would like people available at stations and bus stops to direct and help them.
11% would visit these areas if they were recommended.

Of people who had visited or intended to visit South Bank/Bankside

51% of visitors had been to the area (49%). Of these the biggest group of visitors were those from Japan/Far East.
47% were recommended by someone, had seen a sign to the area or were passing by.
27% had seen details in leaflets, brochures, posters or in the media.
5% used internet resources.

When they were in the area,

62% were there just for a stroll (57%),
33% went to see Tate Modern (32%) and
14% (no change on 2004) went window shopping, which doesn't indicate a significant spend in the area. Time spent in the area has remained about the same at 3 1/2 hours.

However, in terms of spend in the area,

32% (39%) went to see the BA London Eye,
27% went to a restaurant or café (26%)
and 19% (17%) went to a bar or pub.
14% went to Shakespeare's Globe (15%) theatre or exhibition.
Of those who didn't visit the area,
14% would consider it if they knew what was there. Surprisingly, less than 1% said they'd go if it was recommended to them.

Chinatown, Covent Garden and Leicester SquareThese popular areas have overcrowded tube stations, so a new question was asked in 2005 to determine method of travel.

Chinatown: 42% had visited or intended to visit. 36% accessed the area by tube and 56% walked to the area.
Covent Garden: 62% had visited or intended to visit. 48% used the tube to get there and 44% walked.
Leicester Square: 65% have visited or intend to visit the area. 50% used the tube and 43% walked to the area.

Highlights from the 2003/04 survey:
The main reason for visiting London is for a holiday, followed by visiting friends and relatives and business.

65% of visitors either had visited or intended to visit the South Bank/ Bankside areas.
The main reason, for 57% of visitors, was just to take a stroll. 39% and 32% were going to visit the BA London Eye or Tate Modern (respectively) 43% were intending to spend some time (and money) in the local cafes, bars and restaurants.
The average length of stay on the South Bank/Bankside was three hours and 30 minutes.
The most popular way to both enter and leave the South Bank/Bankside area is by walking over a bridge.

Cross River Partnerships role: Part funder and co-ordinator

Lead partner: Visit London

Other project partners:

City of London
Lambeth Council
Southwark Council
Westminster City Council
ContactJamie Talmage

jtalmage@visitlondon.com 020 7234 5800

Reasons about why people dislike London underground

2008-06-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

some articles about why people dislike the london underground.

10 Reasons Why I Hate The Tube...

Rush-Hour
Nutters: .....One way to avoid a nutter is to BE the nutter or simply wear a pair of suinglasses and listen to your walkman. (except for listen to walkman, passengers have new choice to play with our interactive wall.)
Tourists
The Circle Line: .... delays, cancellations, engineering works or more simply if it doesn't turn up at all. Delays between stops are so common that all Circle Line trains have been graffitted as the graffiti artists are so bored that they attack the inside of the train, fed up of trying to get to their destination - like everyone then. ( if train delay, people has more things to do, however, if the game of our interaction wall is too simple, how can we satisfy bored people and avoid them to graffiti/attack the train...?)
The Tube Map: All those different coloured lines - its like a rainbow... until you come to the interchanges. Bank and Monument is a classic example - a mile walk between the Central and District/Circle Lines through dingy tunnels. ...
Cleanliness: .....BBC London have also reported that sound levels on the tube are dangerously high and regular tube users should wear earplugs!...
LU Staff: Grumpy, Unhelpful and Selfish (i.e. the number of ever-increasing strikes). ...
PA Annoucements: "MIThh the GAhh" and "Thith trn wi noo stoip abbroltluy" not forgetting "Plith sta clee of the clopthie doo" all make the experience slightly less beareable. However it is amusing when tourists are looking for "clopthie doo" while the door squashes them and they lose their phrase book. Central Line users have the privileage of listening to an automated recorded woman stating every stop. She's called Sonia ('cos she gets on yer nerves). (I am thinking, if we need to include sound in our interactive wall, we need to be careful to choose a sound can relax people instead of make the underground more noisy.)
Flashers/Gropers
Signal Failure/Suspected Packages/Strike

A million reasons why I hate the London Underground
Posted on March 27, 2007 by simbsi
There are plenty of reasons why I hate travelling on the London Underground.

The Northern Line has to be the worst train service on the underground.
The announcements on the Northern Line tend to be a bit too loud. Infact it seems like the train driver wants to pierce our eardrums with all that noise. (again, people hate the annoucement is too noisy.)
The fact that I always have to change my train at Kennington coz the train terminates there most of the time.
People who don’t give up their seats to the elderly or pregnant women.
People who beg on the underground by going around carriage to carriage. I have noticed this woman who comes around nearly every day with her baby to beg for money. Now if it were a one off it would be fine but then I see her like practically every day. I am sure she spends most of her day underground soliciting funds.
I can’t stand weird people who stare at me while travelling. It tends to get a bit annoying. I had to face three people yesterday who kept staring at me yesterday.It did not comfort me one bit because they looked like major creeps.
A notable mention to people with obssessive compulsive disorders who tend to get a bit annoying after some time. I would like to point out that guy who kept slapping his hand and then rolling his eyes around and staring at everyone every 2 mins. Then there was this guy who kept biting his fingernails and digging for gold and trying to achieve every goal in the “a million ways to irritate people on the underground” book. To top it all the old foggie sitting on my left kept licking his lips. The worst bit was that I could hear him through all that loud music i was listening to. At least it was better than that guy who kept tapping his feet while listening to music.

I Hate London Underground (a personal experience talking about a keen traveller and like to experience different things. However, he hates london underground because he feel nervous )

"... Now for the first-time traveller to London you would expect nerves, other people can’t feel these nerves apart from you but I’m sure when you’re standing staring at a picture like this 10ft by 7ft, they should share your pain. No, they don’t. They just push past you in the hope of getting on their train 4.295 seconds quicker than their daily average so they can gather more time at work to stand around their water machines chatting about how some poor chap was lost on the London Underground and their inability to help out another fellow human being...."

London Undergroud Statistic

2008-06-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

London Underground Statistics

General data:

Total passenger journeys/day: 2.7 million (Average - some working days record over 3 million.)
Most passengers on a line: District (180 million passengers over 60 km length)
Busiest Line: Victoria (174 million over 20 km length)

Line Infrastructure Data: (since the olympic village is on Jubilee line, Stratford, i choose this data first.)

Line: Jubilee
Route Length: 38 kms
Tunnel: 19 kms
Open: 19 kms
Stations Served: 27

Line Service Data : tph = trains per hour

Line: Jubilee
Peak service (tph): 24 (average train comes every 2.5 min)
Off Peak Service (tph): 15 (average train comes every 4 min)
Trains req'd*: 46 x 6-cars
Stabling: Neasden, Stratford, Stanmore
Control Centre: Neasden

Everyday, around 2.7 million passengers take tube, if "1 million" passengers play with our interactive wall when waiting for the train, have fun and get relax feeling, our project can be said reach the purpose and aim!
The train comes very frequently, the interaction design has to attract users in very short time. Besides, keep it easy and fun. If too complicated or the game feedback is very slow or delay, the interaction between users and our project will fail.

3D Olympic ring and Tube logo

2008-06-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

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How to use illustrator to create 3D flag ball

2008-06-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

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Brainstorming the game and interaction design

2008-06-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

When disscuss with teamates about the game content and interaction design, we are thinking,

1) keep the game simple, passive interaction:
Considering the safety issue and some users may feel embarrassing to interact in public space, we should keep the game simple, and passive interaction allowing passengers play with the digital wall freely. The space on the platform is limited. To avoid children may want to chase the game or fall into the platform, the speed of the game is moderate.

2) connect the game with Olympic spirit (ball + flag + Olympic logo):
In view of people have their own supporting countries, we think about using flag balls to trigger users' motivation. People's attention may focus on their countries flags and trying to pop as many as balls to win for their countries. Besides, the background should have the Olympic logo as metaphor of connection to Olympics.

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Interaction design for game reference

2008-06-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

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Interaction Design Pattern Library for Games

2008-06-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

The content are copied from the websites (as research ref.).

Interaction Design Pattern Library for Games

Although this website is for video game design, some points are also good for us to design our content.

Make game usable by:

1. prevent waiting:
usability problem - The player has to wait before it can start playing the game. ...

2. avoid errors

usability problem - Players have to wait for something to complete in the game. ...

slow
rewind
auto save
visual saves
pause
free look

3. providing help

tutorial agent
interaction aids
playground
journal

4. providing feedback

instant replay
game progress

5. adapt to the player

closed captions
interaction aids
dyn. diff. adjustment
adaptive assist
configurable controls
slow
arcade mode

Make game accessible to:

1. physical disabilities
usability problem - Player gets killed or injured repeatedly because the game is too hard to play for the player on the current difficulty setting. Player gets bored because the game is too easy to play for the player on the current difficulty setting. ...

slow
interaction aids
dyn. diff. adjustment
adaptive assist
configurable controls
scan and select
rotate and extend

2. visual disabilities

journal
interaction aids

3. auditory disabilities

closed captions
interaction aids

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Meeting with Nicolas

2008-06-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

We asked Nicolas's opinion about our final major project.
(p.s. Nicolas Marechal, Interactive & Moving Image Sen. Tech. I had sensor workshop on Dec. 22, 2007)

need to think about computers, hardware, equipment and how to connect a high resolution screen
hardware might have problem to connect to computer, it's a risk...
we may need 2 x 5 meter proxmiti sensor
we can consider to use a image as the background
we can consider to play with shadow (just like the example I found, shadow-play with monster)
compare the advantage and disadvantage between flash and MaxMsp
"Unibrain" web camera (can connect several and form a big picture, firewire compatible...)
useful links:

webcamxtra site about motion capture:http://webcamxtra.sourceforge.net/
cv.jit site:http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~jovan02/cv/
Peter Aerschmann: http://www.aerschmann.ch/

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webcam motion detection examples

2008-06-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Webcam Motion Detection
At the begining, users can play with the objects in 3D way. It's interesting for users to have different way to interact, instead of just chasing, hiting or poping the objects.
In the end, there is a soccer games, we can design different olympic sport ball in the game content. bring in more olympic spirits.

PlaydoCam: Flash 8 Fire
The interactive objects can chase specific part of users' body. For ex., the fire always detect users hand and stick on it. For passive interaction, this is easier to draw users' attention and curiosity.

interactive shadow
users interact with the game and got feedback, the scores. This will trigger more motivation.

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Tech informations: Flash + Webcam

2008-06-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

Luckily, today, when I talked with Giuseppe, my flatmate, he has done projects related to webcam. One simple project he showed me is using his laptop's webcam, when I move my head, I can see different view of the video displayed on the screen (made by flash, using webcam to replace mouse click). He gave me some links as belowed.

Inspiration
http://www.playdojam.com/
http://lab.andre-michelle.com/motiondetection
http://www.sillywebcam.com/
http://hrp.com/

Technical
http://www.laserpirate.com/as3edgeandmotion/
http://suckatmath.com/personal/facedetect/facedetect.html
http://board.flashkit.com/board/showthread.php?t=759470
http://www.blog.sizzla-media.co.uk/index.php/tag/motion-detection/
http://sizzla-media.co.uk/motion.html
http://newmovieclip.wordpress.com/2006/06/11/detect-and-locate-webcam-motion-in-flash-8/
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/webcam_motion.html
http://www.actionscript.org/resources/articles/613/1/Camera-motion-controlled-ball/Page1.html
http://blog.soulwire.co.uk/flash/actionscript-3/webcam-motion-detection-tracking/
http://www.actionscript.org/resources/articles/613/1/Camera-motion-controlle

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Research about Target Audience for Digital Wall-2

2008-06-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

The content are copied from the websites (as research ref.)

After researching about the target audience, I found, most articles only mention the problems of transportation is busy, crowded...hard to find what users' needs. Here are some links.

Olympic Tourism Needs Good Intelligence

London can win Olympic Gold medal in tourism, says 2012 Games chief
Mr Mills said London's passion for sport in combination with its famous landmarks and other tourism attractions, will help to benefit the tourism industry in significant ways.
For further information please contact the London 2012 Press office on + 44 (0) 20 7093 5100 or visit our website at http://www.london2012.com/

China Corner Forum: Olympic Competition Venues in Beijing(2)

3 tourist destination in 2007. The Olympic bump is expected to draw 550000 foreignrs ... is that many foreigners complain 'so many people don't speak English. ... (Language is an issue for Beijing Olympic tourists)

Reactions: Olympic headaches

Transportation and weather top the list
Crowded trains and buses, potential torrential downpours, snooty Aussies and even bomb threats. As the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia draw near, CNNSI.com users were asked what they thought were the biggest headaches facing organizers. A sample of the responses we received follows:
When it comes to anticipated Olympic headaches, the one the locals fear is transport. A travel tip: plan back-up routes to your destination. For example, instead of catching the train to the main Olympic Park terminus, consider going to Concord West and walking the 1.6 km (20-30 minutes) to the venues. Andrea Shead, Sydney, Australia
As an Aussie, and one that lives between the cycling and beach volleyball venues, I would have to say that the traffic chaos will be incredible. After all, every Sydneysider (who has to work during the Olympics) knows it isn't practical to leave their car at home and catch a train to work. You might not get there till lunch and then, of course, let's think of the accessibility of our visitors when visiting some of our larger commercial areas. Donna, Sydney, Australia
The biggest headache for the organizers of the Olympics will be the control of information. They are trying to stop people from posting up-to-date results, interviews, images, movies etc. on their Web sites, but they will find out that information, even about "the people's games," is uncontrollable in the internet age. And that is a good thing. Jan Visser, The Netherlands
1. Strikes by major trade unions could cause problems. The public transit drivers and conductors, mail personnel, telephone, garbage haulers, fuel tanker drivers, etc., all have the nasty habit of calling strikes for pay raises at the worst possible times. They love Christmas because they always get results.John-Eric Beckman, Atlanta, Ga.
FEEDBACK WELCOME! The organisers of the Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games welcome your comments and feedback about events, venues, transport, staff or accessible facilities. Please contact the Access Hot Desk with your comments. Phone: (02) 9714 7886 Fax: (02) 9714 7922 TTY: (02) 9714 7821 Email: jenny_pannell@oca.nsw.gov.au

China tourism: Winning ways?

Tourist overload?

Indeed, the problems are already so acute that observers have even begun to question how many overseas visitors are actually planning to go and swelter in Beijing next summer. China is not alone: a recent report on London’s 2012 Olympics warned that it may actually deter tourists, as they try to avoid the crowds and overcharging.

Even if foreign visitors stay away from Beijing, however, hordes of mainland Chinese will certainly head to the capital to take part in the Games. Altogether some 2m Chinese visitors are expected, to add to the 500,000 foreigners. Again, this will add to the existing boom in China’s domestic tourism industry, as disposable incomes rise and government restrictions relax. Domestic tourism already accounts for 90% of China’s tourist traffic and contributes 70% of total revenue. The government has been working to boost these figures, not least by introducing in 1999 three ‘golden week’ holidays for Spring Festival, Labour Day and National Day.

In a worrying precedent for the Olympics, these Golden Weeks have created more problems than they solved, straining the transport system and driving away overseas visitors. In the meantime, Chinese tourists have gained a reputation for themselves as vulgar, impolite and undisciplined. The authorities are so concerned that they have launched an education campaign to foster good behaviour during the Olympic Games. But whether the improvement in politeness will be enough to compensate for high prices and overcrowding remains to be seen.

Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games Launch Pad

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Research about Target Audience for Digital Wall-1

2008-06-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

The content are copied from the websites, personal findings were written in red color.

Economic and Tourism Aspects of the Olympic Games GaWC Research, Tourism Review (The Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 )

Abstract: It is an analysis about sport-tourism influence and what influence of the Olympic bring to the city.
Introduction: In this paper the development of the Olympic Games (the biggest mega sport and media event ever) is analysed as an interesting case in the sport-tourism relationship. The Olympics are indeed the biggest show on earth … the most participants in history, … spectators on site and the greatest television audience ever (Fortune Magazine, May 1996 p. 33-56). This marriage of convenience between sport and tourism will be explored and exemplified, first in general and second by means of on historical overview and the economic impact of the Olympic Games.
Tourism and the Tourism IndustryAccording to a World Travel and Tourism Council report (www.wttc.org) discussing the economic importance of tourism in the year 2004, tourism is the “world's largest industry and largest employer” with $US 5,490.4 billion in gross output and 214.7 million jobs or 8.1% of total employment.

Countries now boast considerable potential for developing different strategies to attract tourists. The basic facilities (cf. figure 1) a visitor to a place looks for are:

1. adequate transport infrastructure like roads, airports, public transport, etc.;

2. a store of cultural and/or historical wealth to appeal to visitors such as beautiful landscapes, rustic villages, architectural and artistic monuments, etc.;

3. andappropriate and various accommodation, hospitality and commercial supply.

Olympic Sport as a Mega-Event: “Organizing major events, for example the Olympic Games, can bring benefits to the host nation such as prestige and improved national morale.” (Ritchie 1988 p. 2-11 & cited in Standeven & De Knop 1999 p. 213)

--> If the host nation organizes Olympic better, the more prestige and national morale will be improved. And the adequate transport infrastructure is the primary reason to attract tourists. I think this can be a reason to support, why we want to design our project for Olympic tourist.

The Interrelationship between Sports Mega-Events and Tourism

Relationship between the Games and TourismThe relationship between the Olympics (which are the greatest sport event) and tourism is obvious.

The diverse preparations in Sydney for the 2000 Games not only cater for the 11,116 athletes, but also take into consideration the potential tourism inflow from Olympic spectators (which could number in the millions), ....

Transport

SOCOG would obviously like to prevent a repeat of the logistics problems in Atlanta. Sydney has spent a lot of time and money refurbishing and reorganising its public transport system in preparation for the Games. The new rail link is able to carry 50,000 passengers per hour between venues and the Sydney Olympic Park.

A well planned, properly marketed and publicised mega-event like the Olympic Games attract millions of foreign and domestic visitors to a place. Tourists attend the event and spend money in related tourism businesses while it is being held. They also visit surrounding tourist destinations and attractions and may even extend their stay to take in attractions in other cities and states outside the event perimetres. The flow-on effects of event tourism are numerous: they act as image maker, travel motivator, stimulator of infrastructure and communications development, employment generator, add to gross domestic product and generally boost the economy of the host nation. Some criticism has been levied on governments for not doing enough to lure major mega-events like the Olympics to their shores. Other critics say the net benefits to a place are overrated given the cost of building world-standard facilities to host such mega-festivals, which is increasingly being born by tax payers, and the inevitable disruptions to normal business, residents, the environment and the general living conditions.“Event tourism must, therefore, seek to enhance the attractiveness of individual events and festivals and to use them to enhance destination attractiveness. [he also states] Successful events can enhance the image of the destination, generating an important but often unmeasurable increase in general-purpose tourism.” (Getz 1991 p.23-36) .

At the same time the event organisers and government participants must be seen to be working toward minimising disruption to local residents in the short-and-long-term, and maximising the return on investment—both financial and emotional—to the private and public contributors. Admittedly, this is a delicate balancing act, one that organisers past of the Olympics have not always been able to achieve.

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Interactive Wall videos

2008-06-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

The Wishing Wall

Users can pick up the phone and say their wishes, the messages will transformed to be bunches of symbol on the wall. Then, users can go downstair to pick up another phone to listen to other people's hope. The interaction combined with different media, and between multi-user.

Super Objects installation at Sao Paulo Fashion Week

Simple interactive wall, users play with ball or stars, the objects will bounce based on motion detection.

presence [a.k.a soft & silky]

Color Gun - Interactive Art Project

interesting project, the interaction is responded to a toy gun shot, then make colorful animation and funny background sound.

"Calder" Interactive art by Zack Booth Simpson

users can use hands to draw what they want, then the objects transformed to be 3D objects which give users a surprised effects and feedback.

"Molecular Bubbles" - Interactive Art by Zack Booth Simpson

the bubbles' shape decided by users, different shape and colors transformed according to users gestures and movement of hands.

Bubbles. Interactive Video Installation at Lovebytes 2002.

very slow and simple interactive wall suitable for different ages of users, even children can understand how to interact with it and have fun.

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TXTris SMS Wall (another sms wall example)

2008-06-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

What: interactive projection, sms's falling down, an interactive SMS wall installation. The first work by MLT. November, 2007
Who: few users
Why: The simple concept behind TXTris the interaction of the real and computer generated stuff.
Where: -
Technology: mobile,
Positives: more media - convergence, falling text - nice effect
Negatives: just sending message, you don't interact directly, hard to find out that you can actually interact

I relation to our project:

mobile technology
or other media, not just users

TXTris SMS Wall (another sms wall example)

Description: SMS messages sent by bystanders appear, one at a time, from the top of the projection and slowly fall down the screen. The physical/virtual cross-over happens when the falling letters reach a real cardboard roofline and stop, resting on the roof of a building. The virtual words gradually pile up, getting fractured as some letters fall farther than others to land on the roofs of shorter buildings.

TXTris SMS Wall from Patrick Dinnen on Vimeo.

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Interactive Wall

2008-06-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

Interactive waterfall

Interactive Floor and Interactive Wall @ Innovation Expo 05

Emotional Games

2008-06-14T01:35:00.000-07:00

Here is one interview artical talking about "Interview: Ubisoft's Yannis Mallat Wants Emotional Games"

Although it is for video game ( I am not a game player...i don't know who is he and what the game is), he mentioned some interesting points for emotional games.

I cut and paste as abstract:

Mallat, the CEO of Ubisoft's Montreal studio, referenced the 66-year-old classic animated tear-jerker to drive home his point: The future of games, he said, isn't so much about what technology you use, but how that technology facilitates games that create an emotional response in the player.
" People were looking at how art was showcased and how game design choices were made, illustrating how we would interact within the world, that was actually making them say, okay, that's going to be an emotional experience, I know in advance. I think this is more what happened to gamers, for sure."

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Interactive Wall - Big Shadow (Japen)

2008-06-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

Interactive Wall - Big Shadow (Japen)

1) main introduction 2) see video directly

Concept (the description from the website):

Interactive OOH (out of home) advertising that takes you on an adventure

Blue Dragon is a game software title; in this game, the protagonist's shadow becomes a dragon when he fights.

To promote this, we focused on the primordial human experience of shadow-play. We projected magnified shadows of ordinary people in town and created a system whereby they could play with their own shadows. A person's shadow is projected as a giant shadow image, which can suddenly change into the shape of a dragon. This creates a new and engaging interactive experience.

A shadow can also be manipulated via the Web while viewing a webcam image. We wanted to provide a fresh experience that links the city and the Internet as well as people and shadows.

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Coca Cola - Microcinema and Interactive Wall at the Rural Expo 2007

2008-06-14T01:05:00.000-07:00

What: interactive projection game for product awareness
Who: multiuser
Why: to interact with customers/visitors, to have fun, brand awareness
Where: Buenos Aires Rural Expo 07
Technology: projection
Positives: looks nice visually, it's fun,
Negatives: getting bored very quickly (just grabing bottles), you need to be in line, just walk through

I relation to our project:

to advertise - use a game via brand awareness, not typical like-print ads
aducation
landscape background for the game - would help to the underground disconnection from overground

Coca Cola - Microcinema and Interactive Wall at the Rural Expo 2007

This example shows Coca Cola used the Interactive Wall as a commercial way.
So, I am thinking, if we "will" (i am not sure now) include the AD idea in our digital wall, we can not only just put AD for sponsors, the content of interaction can be a game, for ex., this project want to convery: Visitors also participated at the Interactive Wall with a game in which participants lost drops of sweat as their shadow advanced along the wall. They recovered their body liquids by “drinking” - that is, standing in front of the products displayed on the wall. (Personally, the design of the interface is not so interesting, just the content inspired me...)

As I remember, some drinks companies, especially for after exercise, always try to buy the best postion to put AD in the olympic stadium. Now they can choose to put AD on the digital wall. The content can be designed in a metaphor way, so, when users play with the game, actually the game is AD and contains the slogan or some special meaning the sponsor preferred.

Or, even it's not for AD or sponsors, we can design the interactive game content to convery some "Green Issue" (for ex.: global warming... when user plays, they can be aware of the idea at the same time.)

========================================
cut the description of this project:

September 2007 – Buenos Aires, Argentina
The annual Buenos Aires Rural Expo is one of the most important agricultural trade shows in Argentina. Coca-Cola had a booth again this year, and the booth was particularly popular thanks to the SIA Interactive solutions.

First, SIA set up a microcinema that showed a video created by Coca-Cola especially for the event.

Visitors also participated at the Interactive Wall with a game in which participants lost drops of sweat as their shadow advanced along the wall. They recovered their body liquids by “drinking” - that is, standing in front of the products displayed on the wall.

As always, the Coca-Cola booth had long lines of people waiting their turn to play. Some finished playing and returned to the end of the line to get a chance to play again.

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1st Usability Tutorial with Mazy (080613)

2008-06-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

Main points:

our digital wall is: passive interaction, for multi-user
how to solve the security issue? --> create sensor zone
how to attract users in an immediately and short interaction?
particular users' experience and the potential
what kind of emotion? commercial, game, nature...? (psychological affects)
background research
sensors usability research
delay reaction may influece the interaction
how to simulate the wall and conduct the test?

Mazy's comments (by e-mail):
Before the next tutorial, you'll need to have -

Conducted initial user surveys to inform ongoing user-centered development of project concept. Maybe focus on finding out the perceptions / experiences of using the tube from the point of view of your target group. For example, What do they like best / least about it? Ask them to describe their best / worst journeys, How could it be improved? What emotions to they associate with using the tube? How would they like to feel instead? What positive emotions could counter the negative ones they may associate with the tube? etc

Identify a specific theme / concept / scenario for your proof of concept to test with / exhibit in the show (i.e. nature / game theme). Early stage user research should help inform the direction of this.

Recruited a user panel from your specified target group

Constructed an early functional / partially functional prototype for early product testing & created a test script with necessary scenarios / tasks. i.e. if you can implement some basic functionality using sensors and a projector.

Lodnon Loop- the Tube's future, the system (behind the scenes work)

2008-06-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

To understand more about London Tube issues, there are some good infomation on London Loop magazine.

The Tube's future: TFL's investment programme

TFL is improving the transport network, the key points including:

Line-upgrades: for every Tube line, providing almost 30 per cent more capacity; new signalling systems

To avoid the disruption to Londoners, most work are at weekends or overnight. Some work finished on the Waterloo & City line since 2006, there are about 25 per cent more capacity increased. Work on the Jubilee and Victoria lines ia already well underway with the Circle, District, Hammersmith & city, Metropolitan and Northern lines to follow.

Step-Free stations: making stations more accessible and secure

For wheelchair users or heavy luggage passengers, a quarter of Tube stations will have step-free access. It supposed to take 18 months due to complex engineering techniques to install lifts, the detailed design work and construction plan.

Major station refurbishment: the system delivering better information, extra space, additional escalator capacity, safety features, CCTV and Help points and better access

Rebuilding key stations such as Victoria and Tottenham Court Road, bigger and less crowded.

Behind-the-scenes: how the TFL system control unexpected failure

The movement of trains on London Underground is controlled by a fail-safe system of signals. The service controller's team has several service recovery strategies and when an incident happens, trains usually have to be reversed at short notice.
PTI: Possitive Train Identification On the Underground most trains have a PTI system, which sends information to the do matrix on the platforms.
In the control room, the staff can advise the Network Operations Centre and ensure that the information is passed onto the media.
The technology TFL use is state-of-the-art. every call is logged on bespoke systems and sent to mapping software, which allows incidents management in real time, check historical data and identify incident hotspots. The technology used on the Central line is one of the most advanced thanks to its upgrade in the 1990s.

2nd Practical Tutorial with Rob

2008-06-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

After 2nd practical tutorial, I got more and more confused...

Interaction? Practical? Usablity?

Since we can't think better ideas, we printed out all the old ideas, Rob choosed Digital Wall.
He said, it's

brave
smart
innovative
interesting
very good interactivity

I asked Rob, when people wait for tube, it's only 2 or 3 min. then the train is coming. If our old idea is not practical and people will not use it, what's the differences between this one and old one? He said, think about users, if he were the user, he will play with the digital wall...

Is this one more practical???

Sasha told me, only if you have a purpose for users, for ex., this digital wall is trying to relax people's feeling in underground. If people have fun with it, that's can be said, it's also practical and useful.

Anyway, I tried to think new ideas (the cube for children, the interactive globe, the interactive window for restaurant, lift, the cane for blind people, the wand for children...etc) , but not stronger enough. We have no time to think more. I think I should concentrate on this idea. At least, I tried.

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1st Practical Tutorial with Rob

2008-06-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

No good...

Rob asked us to think a new idea, because the interactive map system in train is not a smart thinking.

Reasons:

Not practical (when the train is croweded, few people will use it)
Not a smart thinking
Not a MA level
Less interaction, more information display system
Usability
think more about users

I am more and more confused about the definition of "interaction", why a touch-screen interface is not interaction?

besides, before tomorrow's meeting, we have to think a new idea, otherwise, we will fail...

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Landmarks for Jubilee line

2008-06-11T02:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we decided main function for our map system, and also, we choosed to focus on Jubilee line.

Reasons:

The end station of Stratford is the Olympic 2012 village.
The carriage has space for standing which can put our map system.
There are many famous landmarks surround the Jubilee line area, we can plan the information for visitors.

Landmarks I found:

Funmi starts the information architecture, I will find the landmarks for her to design the contents.
Except for the travel info. on internet, I collected all the london maps, london loop magazine and my travel book.

As the print one (A4) is too small, I tried to draw on a bigger paper to put all the landmarks I found first.

list:

Jubilee Line (Start: Stanmore - End: Stratford)

Stanmore: Bernays Park
Canons Park:
Queensbury:
Kingsbury:
Wembley Park:
Neasden:
Dollis Hill:
Willesden Green:
Kilburn:
West Hampstead:

Finchley Road:

Finchley Road Vue
Freud Museum
Jewish Museum

Swiss Cottage:

Odeon Swiss Cottage

St. John’s Wood:

London Central Mosque
Abbey Road Studios
Lords Cricket Ground

Baker St.:

Sherlock Holmes Museum
Madame Tussaud’s
Screen on Baker Street

Bond St.:

Marble Arch
Selfridges
American Embassy, Grosvenor Sq.
Handel House Museum
Mayfair district
Faraday Museum
National Gallery
Nelson’s Column
Eros

Green Park:

Green Park
St. James’s Park
Royal Academy
Churchill Museum & cabinet War Rooms
Guards Museum
Buckingham Palace
Clarence House
Royal Mews

Westminster:

Westminster Abbey
Westminster Cathedral
House of Parliament
Big Ben & the Palace of Westminster
House Guards
Admiralty Arch
Buckingham Palace
London Aquarium
Banqueting House, Whitehall
Jewel Tower
Whitehall and Downing Street
Waterloo: London Eye
Royal Festival Hall
Embankment
Cleopatra’s Needle
London Imax
Florence Nightingale Museum
Festival Hall
Royal National Theatre
The Old Vic
The South Bank Centre

Southwark:

Southwark Cathedral
The Millenium Bridge
The Tate Modern
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
Bankside Gallery
Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre
Minopolis
Borgess Park
Nunhead Cemetery
Imperial War Museum
Curing Museum

London Bridge:

Tower Bridge
The Tower of London
HMS Belfast
Design Museum
Old Operating theatre
Butlers Waf
Potters fields park
Hay’s Galleria
London Dungeon
Golden HInde
Borough Market
Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum
Café Gallery Projects
Fire Bridge Museum

Bermondsey:

Fashion & Textile Museum
The Garrison

Canada Water:

Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Park
Rotherhithe – Brunel Engine House Museum

Canary Warf:

Canary Wharf Tower
West India Quay UGC
Docklands Distric

North Greenwich:

Millenium Dome – The O2
The Valley – Charlton Athletic FC

Canning Town

West Ham

Stratford: Olympic Village 2012

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Research result: Artificial Character Interface v.s. Users' emotion and interaction

2008-06-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

I found many useful articles or reports related to Artificial Charaters.

Artificial Emotion: Simulating Mood and Personality
http://www.neon.ai/docs/gamasutra.pdf
Emotions in Humans and Artifacts
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?sid=3BAD7993-C4BD-4876-954A-68EE512E33FA&ttype=2&tid=9244
Creating Emotional Relationships With Virtual Characters
http://www.interactivestory.net/papers/stern_emotionartifacts1999.html
Virtual personal service assistants: real-time characters with artificial hearts
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=/iel5/6569/17622/00814187.pdf?temp=x
The Artificial Emotion Engine ™, Driving Emotional Behavior.
http://www.nada.kth.se/kurser/kth/2D1381/ArtificialEmotionEngine.pdf
From Motion Control to Emotion Influence: Controlling Autonomous Synthetic Characters in a Computer Game
http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceedings/aamas/2004/2092/03/20921302.pdf
The sythesis of emotions in artificial intelligences: an affective agent architecture for intuitive reasoning in artificial intelligences (it's a website with many useful links, not only one articla related)
http://search.arrow.edu.au/main/results?c_subject0=Other+Artificial+Intelligence+(280213)&start=0&tc_subject=intelligence
INTERACTIVE AGENTS FOR MULTIMODAL EMOTIONAL USER INTERACTION
http://dmi.uib.es/~ugiv/papers/07/maxine_iadis_07.pdf
Emotional intelligence for computer-based characters?
http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm?section=news&tpl=article&ID=77083
Useful Roles of Emotions in Arti_cial Agents: A Case Study from Artificial Life
http://cogs.indiana.edu/cogx/emo.pdf
Dialogue in Computer Games (University of Queensland, school of IT and Electrical Engineering. lots of articles in pdf can be downloaded)
http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~pennyd/CompGamesSummaries.htm#DoyleSummary
Lessons from Emotion Psychology for the Design of Lifelike Characters
http://people.ict.usc.edu/~gratch/GratchMarsellaAAI05.pdf
Interactive Agents with Artificial Mind
http://www.waset.org/ijci/v1/v1-4-35.pdf
Digital Characters as Affective Interfaces
http://www.emotion-in-hci.net/workshopHCI2005/Graf_DigitalCharactersAsAffectiveInterfaces.pdf
Synthetic Character Fidelity through Non-Verbal Behaviour in Computer Games
http://www.emotion-in-hci.net/workshopHCI2005/Graf_DigitalCharactersAsAffectiveInterfaces.pdf
Emotional Storytelling
http://imve.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/files/18-EmotionalStorytelling-VR2005-BlomBeckhaus.pdf
HCI and the Face: Towards an Art of the Soluble
http://www.bartneck.de/publications/2007/faceSoluble/index.html
Passionate Engines: What Emotions Reveal about Mind and Artificial Intelligence
http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=1153
Narrative User Interfaces
http://www.sapdesignguild.org/community/design/narrative_interfaces.asp
Panel on “Artificial Agents for Psychotherapy”
http://psychometrixassociates.com/SS04HudlickaE2.pdf
Emotion-aware
http://www.acm.org/crossroads/xrds3-1/emotware.html
PLANNING CHARACTERS’ BEHAVIOUR IN INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING
http://www-scm.tees.ac.uk/f.charles/publications/journals/2002/jvca2002.pdf
examples of emotion-aware applications
http://emotionalapplications.syntheticspeech.de/
Emotion in Human-Agent Interfaces
http://www.companions-project.org/downloads/Companions_SoA3_Emotion.pdf
Affective affordances: Improving interface character engagement through interaction http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1161668.1161675&coll=GUIDE&dl=GUIDE&CFID=8307135&CFTOKEN=85347751

The above links and articles are mostly say the Artifical Characters has posstive influence to users. I tried to search some negative opinions (for ex. why people hate or dislike AC, or how AC bothering users...), but only got one...

Affective affordances: Improving interface character engagement through interaction
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1161668.1161675&coll=GUIDE&dl=GUIDE&CFID=8307135&CFTOKEN=85347751

ABSTRACT
The nature of humans interacting with interface characters (e.g. embodied agents) is not well understood. The I-PEFiC model provides an integrative perspective on human-character interaction, assuming that the processes of engagement and user interaction exchange information in explaining user responses with interface characters. An experiment using the Sims2 game was conducted to test the effects of aesthetics (beautiful versus ugly, as engagement factor) and affordances (help versus obstacle, as interaction factor) of interface characters on use intentions, user engagement, and user satisfaction. Results of the experiment showed that
(1) people tended to use helpful characters more than obstructing characters,
(2) user engagement was enhanced by beauty and perceived affordance of the character whereas
(3) intentions to use the character were not affected by good looks, and
(4) the most satisfied users were those that were engaged with the character as well as willing to use it. This stresses the importance of enhancing affordances so to increase user engagement with interface characters. The I-PEFiC model provided a valuable framework to study the (interdependent) effects of relevant factors in human-character interaction. (this article is not free on-line, after I registered, I found it costs high, so i just keep the abstract for our reference first)

The above are all my findings. Besides, during the research, I found related terms, such as "User-Friendly Character", which are the characters that feature on the webcomic User Friendly. Although it's for web design, i will try to search for more about interface character.

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Interactive map or GPS system

2008-06-06T01:16:00.000-07:00

1) In Beijing:

The users can use finger directly to write the place they want to go (in Chinese), then the system give suggestions.

2) 3D interactive map - OeirasParque/Mundicenter

3) 3DVU Image Navigation fuels Kenwood Systems in Japan

4) SANYO Mini Gorilla NV-M15DT (Japenese GPS)

5) Real 3D Navigation 2 (Korean)

6) MioMap 2008 - Budapest...

7) NAV4D

8) Mio C620 New 3D Maps

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Issues of London Underground

2008-06-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to some stations to quick view the existing London Underground and see what kind of info. I can get. Basically, I am not familiar with tube because I usually take buses.

So, being a foreigner and tourist (it's also my first time to go Stratford, for olympic 2012) here are my observations. Here just few photos I choosed as illustration.

Generally, the info. I can get is in the entrance and no digital interface or any service system. The info. only limit in tube map, bus map, the ticket info and the tube service delay or cancel info. I don't know any interesting places I can go on Jubilee line. When I asked the service guy, is any interesting place on Jubilee Line, he seems no suggestions to me. So, I choosed to go Stratford directly.
Most info. are offered by leaflet in the entrance, only Picadilly has bigger travel info. office. I can get more event info. from there. Some info. office are closed, i don't know where can i get the info. I need.
Some stations has digital board to show the tube line services, but I found, rare people notice it.

as to other detail observations, I put on the jpg as below:

===============================================================

TFL map & Interactive Map

2008-06-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

1) Here is the an existing TFL's Online Interactive Map.
Each tube station you can click and get info. such as local area street map... etc.
Once we decided the line we want to focus, we can get the content we need from this map.

for ex., the ''Opening Hours of information center and ticket office'' can give tourists information for their traveling plan.
As a tourist which is not familar with London, i think i need this info. in case i missed last tube.

2) Here is another link of Interactive Map, once click the station, you can see the outside view.

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Virtual Piano

2008-06-02T19:59:00.001-07:00

Although I really want to own a virtual piano, this idea is already thinking by someone on Youtube... it's a pity...

links of this video:

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links of "smart film"

2008-06-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

the links of "Smart film"

It's a very thin film and can be applied in rooms, windows, screens... etc.
The original idea is to combine with Architeture, to be an electric curtain, or interior decoration for office or house.

http://www.polytron.com.tw/product.php?lang=2&id=10&send=second

examples of conference room, car sky window, rest room, combine with LED,

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=5Oesr8tSk6Q (Video from Youtube)
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=LnWVx1s9Vj4 (Video from Youtube)

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