1. Enhancing Learning Experiences through Context-Aware Collaborative Services: Software Architecture and Prototype System
Nikolaos Dimakis, Lazaros Polymenakos and John Soldatos
Athens Information Technology
19,5 Km Markopoulou Ave.
Peania, GR 19002
{ndim, lcp,

2. 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

3. 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

4. Pervasive-Ubiquitous Computing 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

5. Main application areas
Smart house
Smart office
Health care - telemedicine
Ambient assisted living
Security
E-learning

6. Major Challenges High Distribution Context-Awareness Transparency
Heterogeneity
Software / Hardware
Sensors, Terminals, Devices
Mobility
Personalization
Autonomy
Dynamism

7. CHIL – Computers in the Human Interaction Loop
EU FP6 Integrated Project (IP )
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

8. … 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

9. 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.

10. 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

11. Non-obtrusive interaction
Sensors
Cameras
Microphones
No wearable computers, no RFID tags

12. 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

13. Examples

14. Situation Model for a lecture

15. 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

16. Agent-hierarchy

17. 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?”

18. Specialized Middleware
Glue two conceptually different ends together
IBM’s CHILiX
NIST SmartFlow
Significantly boost distribution

19. Architectural snapshot

20. … 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

21. 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)

22. 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.

23. The Memory Jog (cont..)
It looks like:

24. Memory Jog features for e-learning
The Memory Jog features:
Intelligent Video Recording.
Contextual database search.
Automated notification using Targeted Audio.
Etc.

25. Intelligent Video Recording

26. 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

27. 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%

28. AIT’s Smart Learning Space

29. The End
Questions?