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:: Research Group Embedded Interaction :: Media Informatics :: Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

Student Project
December 2005

Environment Based Messaging

Thomas Kraus
Supervisors: Paul Holleis, Enrico Rukzio

Abstract

In domestic surroundings and corporate workspaces, like in a flat-sharing community or an office, it is common to use notepads, pinboards or other equipment to leave messages for absent people. The contents are mostly reminders, requests, information or personal greetings. All these usual methods for leaving messages do not realize the possibility to define them from the outside. Furthermore it is not possible for the addressee to answer directly to questions. Therefore the return path to the sender is not available. MessageBoy was developed and implemented as a prototype to upgrade this type of communictation in a ditigal way without the mentioned limitations. Displays in a wide range of quality are used in more and more commercial products and in research projects. MessageBoy also uses a display to chance the handwritten communication to a digital way. Small screened displays are used, which are distributed in rooms (e. g. flat-sharing community or collaborating workspace). Therefore MessageBoy has to have a wireless transmission hardware on board. Messages can be created by a website with the cellphone- or PC-browser on the way. A special feature is the control of MessageBoy. Inside of the displays case accelerometers are integrated to support a method of controlling by tilting the device. By this kind of physical interaction a member of the flat or office could choose a predefined answer from a displayed question on MessageBoy. 

Download Report

Environment Based Messaging (in German only): (pdf)

Final Presentation (English): (pdf)

Implementation

The source implementation is free to download.
Installation Instructions (currently in German only): (txt)

• PHP Sripts for ContentServer: (zip)
• Java Source Code for ControlServer: (zip)
• SQL Script for Database: (zip)
• Executable File for DisplayServer (see also DisplayServer Project): (exe)
• PHP Sripts for WebInterface: (zip)

Publications

• Accepted at the Workshop on Pervasive Display Infrastructures, Interfaces and Applications in conjunction with Pervasive 2006, May 2006, Dublin

Contact

For more information please contact
Paul Holleis (paul @ hcilab.org, http://www.hcilab.org/paul) or
Enrico Rukzio (Enrico.Rukzio@ ifi.lmu.de, http://www.rukzio.de/)