Enhancing Learning Experiences through Context-Aware Collaborative Services: Software Architecture and Prototype System Nikolaos Dimakis, Lazaros Polymenakos.

Enhancing Learning Experiences through Context-Aware Collaborative Services: Software

Architecture and Prototype System

Nikolaos Dimakis, Lazaros Polymenakos and John SoldatosAthens Information Technology

19,5 Km Markopoulou Ave.Peania, GR 19002+30 2106682759

e-mail: {ndim, lcp, jsol}@ait.edu.grhttp://www.ait.gr/research/RG1/overview.asp

Introduction

• Introduction / Motivation

• Software Architecture for e-learning– Sensors and Actuators– Context-Acquisition– Service tier

• The `Memory Jog’ Service– Applicable to e-learning

• Evaluation results

Introduction

• Introduction / Motivation

• Software Architecture for e-learning– Sensors and Actuators– Context-Acquisition– Service tier

• The `Memory Jog’ Service– Applicable to e-learning

• Evaluation results

Pervasive-Ubiquitous Computing Vision• Vision:

– Transform physical spaces into computationally active and intelligent environments

– Human-Centric services offered transparently regardless of time and end-users location

• Technology Trends - Enablers:– Broadband/ Wireless Networks – Web Services - Top Layer

Interoperability– PDA’s, Mobile Phones– Cheap Multi-Purpose Sensors– Recognition Algorithms– Adaptivity & User Profiling

Technologies

Main application areas

• Smart house

• Smart office

• Health care - telemedicine

• Ambient assisted living

• Security

• E-learning

Major Challenges

• High Distribution• Context-Awareness• Transparency• Heterogeneity

– Software / Hardware– Sensors, Terminals, Devices

• Mobility• Personalization• Autonomy• Dynamism

CHIL – Computers in the Human Interaction Loop

• EU FP6 Integrated Project (IP 506909) • Coordinators: Universität Karlsruhe

(TH) Fraunhofer Institute IITB• Duration: 36 months• Total Project costs: Over 24M€• Goal: Create environments in which

computers serve humans who focus on interacting with other humans as opposed to having to attend to and being preoccupied with the machines themselves

• Key Research Areas:– Perceptual Technologies– Human-Centric Pervasive

Services– Software Infrastructure

… a little more technical

• Introduction / Motivation

• Software Architecture for e-learning– Sensors and Actuators– Context-Acquisition– Service tier

• The `Memory Jog’ Service– Applicable to e-learning

• Evaluation results

Software Architecture

• 3 tier approach– Sensors and Actuators tier

• Cameras, microphones, Targeted Audio, Projectors, Displays, etc.

– Context-Acquisition tier• Body Tracker, Face Identification, Audio Source

Localization, Speech Activity Detection, etc.

– Service tier• JADE Agent Framework.

Context-awareness

• Dey & Abowd (1999)– Context is: “any information that can be used to

characterise the situation of an entity, where an entity can be a person, place, physical or computational object”

• Context-awareness human-centric ubiquitous computing

• “Smart Learning Spaces” a realization of the ubiquitous computing paradigm

Non-obtrusive interaction

• Sensors– Cameras– Microphones– No wearable computers, no RFID tags

Context-Acquisition tier

• a.k.a. Perceptual Components tier.

• Exploits sensor signals to extract elementary context.– Locations of people– Identities of people– Speaker location

• Fusion of PCs Situation Recognition

Examples

Situation Model for a lecture

Service tier

• Following the JADE Framework for distributed agents.

• Each service extends ServiceAgent– Basic functionalities are ensured: Communication,

Message extraction, Database Querying etc.• Situation modeling

– Enables situation recognition, situation model tracking and event notification

• Sensor and actuator control• KnowledgeBase and Database interfacing.• Each user is managed by PersonalAgent

Agent-hierarchy

Knowledge Base

• Directory mechanism, leveraging a knowledge base– “yellow pages” for students, courses, research etc

• Registration repository for existing components

• “Smart queries”– “Which camera faces the door?”

Specialized Middleware

• Glue two conceptually different ends together – IBM’s CHILiX– NIST SmartFlow

• Significantly boost distribution

Architectural snapshot

… The Memory Jog service

• Introduction / Motivation

• Software Architecture for e-learning– Sensors and Actuators– Context-Acquisition– Service tier

• The `Memory Jog’ Service– Applicable to e-learning

• Evaluation results

The Memory Jog

• A lecture, meeting support service. It provides:– Pertinent information to participants– Interfacing with Databases for past event querying– Preferred features, such as:

• Agenda tracking

• Intelligent Video Recording

• Handles mobile participants (PDAs)

The Memory Jog (cont.)

• It exploits:– The whole range of the sensors and actuators– All registered Perceptual Components– Databases for information retrieval and

Knowledgebases for high level reasoning• Both are controlled by specialized agent-members of

the service-tier.

The Memory Jog (cont..)

• It looks like:

Memory Jog features for e-learning

• The Memory Jog features:– Intelligent Video Recording.– Contextual database search.– Automated notification using Targeted Audio.– Etc.

Intelligent Video Recording

Results

• Introduction / Motivation

• Software Architecture for e-learning– Sensors and Actuators– Context-Acquisition– Service tier

• The `Memory Jog’ Service– Applicable to e-learning

• Evaluation results

Focus Groups Evaluation

• 25 people participated– Students

– Engineers

– Management Personnel

– Faculty

Feature Approval Percent

Intelligent Recording 100%Agenda tracking 56%What happened while I was away?

72%

Participants Biography 68%Search past events 84%

AIT’s Smart Learning Space

The End

• Questions?