It is composed of a set of physical tokens that are set up on an interactive tabletop surface. Via iconic labels, each token represents a specific activity (e.g., watching TV, doing the laundry), and users create their household routines by configuring these objects on the tabletop’s surface. The application provides real time feedback and recommendations relating to the objects arranged on its surface, including an overall score representing resources consuming by the entire schedule. Users can to set the system to display these cues as either ecological or financial messages (e.g. by displaying the CO2 footprint or expenses accumulated).

The application relies on the the ReacTIVision tracking software, using the TUIO message protocol. The tokens used in the system were 7 by 7 by 2.5 centimeters wooden cuboids with iconic labels affixed to their uppermost surface and ReacTIVision markers on their base. 27 tokens were deployed, representing 13 unique activities.

Eco Planner

Specifications

- The interactive surface was 78 by 57 centimeters in size and composed of a diffusing layer (5mm thick Evonik ACRYLITE 7D006) placed on top of a sensing layer (10mm thick Evonik Endlighten).

- The sensing layer was wrapped with a string of 850nm IR diodes and a near throw projector and IR camera positioned underneath the plastics such that both could address the full area of the interactive surface.

- Infrared Flat Camera for Multitouch Screens (850 nm bandpass filter) with a vari-focal IR Lens, 2.6-6 mm, m12 (Board) Mount.

- Hitachi CP-AW100N projector.

Inside the ITS

ITS

Interaction

In collaboration with students at KAIST, a short project resulted in the decoupling of the MoleBot’s controls. This allowed for it to be controlled remotely over an UDP connection, enabling the quick deployment of new input devices, such as Android smartphones.

Materials

- Dimmable Infra Red LED Light Bar (11.8 inches = 300 mm) (Infra Red 850 nm) (2x)
- Infrared Flat Camera for Multitouch Screens (850 nm bandpass filter)
- Vari-Focal IR Lens, 2.6-6 mm, m12 (Board) Mount
- MP160 Projector from 3M (plus included tripod)
- Thick diffusor
- Plexiglass (optional if the diffusor is thick enough to support interaction)
- LEGO
- Fabric and velcro (optional, use what’s available)

Instructions

- Create a LEGO structure with 47x37x94cm
- Cover it with the desired material (e.g. attach fabric using velcro)
- Hang the LED light bars on the sides of the structure, so that they stay perpendicular to the floor

Multitouch table

It was classified with an 18 out of 20, and was the winner of the Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge 2010. A short paper derived from this thesis was also accepted into NordiCHI 2010.

Thesis

reacTIVision framework diagram

TUIO was the library that served as backbone for the multi-touch interaction. The TUIO protocol allows the transmission of an abstract description of interactive surfaces, including touch events and tangible object states. This protocol encodes control data from a tracker application.

Initial setup

Screenshot

It’s a Saturday morning, and John is browsing through his friends posts on Facebook. He notices that a couple of his close friends have some iconic updates related to an application called Eco Planner. His friend Jonathan recently shared that he’ll starting doing his laundry only with cold water. Another of his friends, Quentin, committed to using the bus to work. All these updates are accompanied with how much Green Points both his friends have since they started using Eco Planner.

Being aware that both he and his wife don’t worry about saving energy, and knowing about the ever-growing problem of sustainability, John reads into this Eco Planner application to see if there are many disadvantages in using it. Eco Planner is composed by an interactive table and a series of tokens. John is informed that he can request the Eco Planner for 3 months without charge, and then decide if he wants to keep it. John calls Susan upstairs to show her what he found. After explaining to her what Eco Planner his, they decide to request one from the Facebook page.

Two weeks later Eco Planner arrives at John and Susan’s house. Susan is at work in the city center, working as a high-school English teacher. John is working from home today; being a college professor gives him some flexibility in his schedule. Curious about the new technology, John takes a break from his work to set everything up. He’s surprised Eco Planner has only one wire, the power outlet. Being slick and good looking, he plugs it in the living room without even reading the manual first – he feels confident around computers and gizmos. After turning it on for the first time, he’s asked to configure the wireless settings and enter his Facebook account details.
John then begins to remove the tokens from the plastic bag they came wrapped in. He notices an area of the Eco Planner screen that represents the different areas of the house, each with a different color. John places the tokens that represent the difference activities that happen in his house in the different areas of the screen (e.g. the token that represents “watching TV” in the green area, that represents the living room).

John decides to read the manual and continue to work while his wife doesn’t arrive. A couple of hours later, Susan arrives from work. She immediately notices the slick Eco Planner table in her living room, calling John while walking towards it. John explains his wife that he has everything set up, while showing her the tokens he set up on the table. John explains to her the meaning of the tokens that came with the Eco Planner. They start by defining their actual routine. Susan gets ahead, placing the laundry token on right side of the screen. John understands that she meant that their routine includes washing their clothes later in the day, and checks to see if the time displayed is correct.

When they finish adjusting token, they place the laundry token on the “Change activity options” area of the screen, choosing which options they use when they do their laundry. John and Susan start debating about these options for the first time, being aware of how they usually wash their clothes. Susan picks the options “Hot water” and “Half tank”. As they place the tokens on the main part of the screen they notice tips have appeared indicating greener options for doing the laundry. On the right side of the tokens there are also iconic representations of the options John and Susan chose. John and Susan continue to set every activity for a while, and after they are finished, John taps on the commit icon. They are then notified that a Facebook update was posted on their Walls, saying they have committed to their first routine.

Since both John and Susan have been exposed to tips as they built their routine, they have some small changes they can commit to without causing them too much hassle in their lives. John starts by committing to turn the TV off instead of setting it to stand-by. Susan commits to changing the fridge settings to a less cool temperature. By incrementally changing these options on the Eco Planner, a plus icon appears at the end of the routine, indicating that they are taking greener steps. They are again notified that a Facebook update was posted on their Walls with this information. John and Susan go to fix dinner after turning the Eco Planner off.