Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
In the context of a traveler information system, we cannot only rely on abstract
motifs: it is necessary to present information that is clear and comprehensible to all.
Therefore, if we retain the concept of interaction that involves the device only when
the user approaches it, we need to imagine new solutions for the issue of respecting
privacy. An assessment of this point will be given in the conclusion of this chapter.
10.3. Targeted characteristics of the system
10.3.1.
Opportunism
From the point of view of the user, our system will need to be capable of
providing him with relevant information during his journeys. The fact that this
presentation of information is done in a
fortuitous
manner, over the course of the
movements of the user is called
opportunism
. The information will be provided via
appliances that we call
presentation devices
, which are already available in public
spaces: video screens, loudspeakers, lit signs, etc. Nonetheless, we could also
imagine private presentation devices, such as for example an earpiece.
This opportunism involves the availability of means to detect users: the system
must, for example, be able to determine who is in front of a screen. Various
technologies can be used: detection of Bluetooth appliances [EAG 05], cell phones,
specialized localization systems such as Ubisense [STE 05], or radiofrequency
identification (RFID) sticker reader situated in the tickets themselves. Without
making a technological choice, we simply presume in what follows that the notion
of proximity between two objects is known to the system in a reliable manner.
10.3.2.
Multimodality
People who have a sensory handicap, especially visual, are often treated
separately in order to offer them solutions that are adapted to their sensory abilities
[JAC 04]. In contrast, an ambient environment aims to interact with its users in a
natural manner, so most often uses multimodal interfaces. Under these conditions, a
handicapped person, for example, no longer constitutes a separate case, but simply
one user profile
among others
[EMI 05]. Our system will therefore be multimodal,
so as to treat all users on an equal footing.
In the domain of multimodality, we use Bellik's vocabulary [BEL 95]: a
mode
corresponds to the nature of a means of communication, therefore to one of the
human senses - visual, auditory, tactile, etc. A modality is a practical form of a
mode. For example, using the auditory mode, we can give the following modalities:
speech, sound, song, etc.
