41544599
RDF: Stores - A Lightweight Approach on Managing Shared Knowledge
One of the central ideas of ubiquitous computing research is to create smart real-world artifacts and environments that can spontaneously cooperate in order to enable novel applications that no single device could provide. A critical factor in such applications is the availability of relevant context knowledge, which may be provided by a variety of different sensors, domain models, and applications. Locating, accessing, and preserving such knowledge is not a trivial task, especially in dynamic environments where new knowledge sources and applications may unexpectedly appear while existing ones may vanish. In this paper we present a pragmatic yet powerful approach to manage shared knowledge by introducing a novel concept called RDF:Stores. We will present the general properties of RDF:Stores and describe how they can be implemented using off-the-shelf software components.
14244499
Recomindation: New Functions for Augmented Memories
Advances in technological support for augmented personal memories make possible new ways of enhancing the process of product recommendation. Instead of simply analyzing information about a user’s past behavior in order to generate recommendations, a recominder system can additionally supply various types of information from the user’s augmented memory that allows the user to take a more active role in the search for suitable products. We illustrate the paradigm of recomindation with reference to a prototype implementation of the system Specter in a CD shopping scenario and the results of a study with 20 subjects, who found most of the recomindation functionality to constitute a useful enhancement of their shopping experience.
14013704
Ambient Intelligence in Edutainment: Tangible Interaction with Life-Like Exhibit Guides
We present COHIBIT, an edutainment exhibit for theme parks in an ambient intelligence environment. It combines ultimate robustness and simplicity with creativity and fun. The visitors can use instrumented 3D puzzle pieces to assemble a car. The key idea of our edutainment framework is that all actions of a visitor are tracked and commented by two life-like guides. Visitors get the feeling that the anthropomorphic characters observe, follow and understand their actions and provide guidance and motivation for them. Our mixed-reality installation provides a tangible, (via the graspable car pieces), multimodal, (via the coordinated speech, gestures and body language of the virtual character team) and immersive (via the large-size projection of the life-like characters) experience for a single visitor or a group of visitors. The paper describes the context-aware behavior of the virtual guides, the domain modeling and context classification as well as the event recognition in the instrumented environment.
5611918
Topological Reasoning for Identifying a Complete Set of Topological Predicates between Vague Spatial Objects
Current implementations of spatial databases are not capable of handling data that is intrinsically indeterminate or vague. The goal of the Vague Spatial Algebra (VASA) project is to define concepts and implementations that will address this problem. In this paper we further develop work on topological predicates between vague spatial objects. The new developments make use of spatial reasoning techniques that provide the necessary tools for the definition of a mechanism to identify a complete set of vague topological predicates. These predicates work on a definition of vague spatial data types defined previously as part of VASA and that are based on well known definitions of crisp spatial data types.
16884861
Design and implementation of finite resolution crisp and fuzzy spatial objects
Uncertainty management for geometric data is currently an important problem in spatial databases, image databases, and geographic information systems. Spatial entities do not always have homogeneous interiors and sharply defined boundaries but frequently their interiors and boundaries are partially or totally indeterminate and vague. For an important kind of spatial vagueness called spatial fuzziness this paper provides a conceptual and an implementation model of fuzzy spatial objects that also incorporates fuzzy geometric union, intersection, and difference operations as well as fuzzy topological predicates. In particular, this model is not based on Euclidean space and not on an infinite-precision arithmetic which lead to lacking numerical robustness and to topological inconsistency of implementations on a computer; it rests on a finite, discrete geometric domain called grid partition which takes into account finite-precision number systems available in computers. Last but not least, this paper is a contribution to achieve a uniform treatment of vector and raster data.
1093396
Partition and Conquer
Although maps and partitions are ubiquitous in geographical information systems and spatial databases, there is only little work investigating their foundations. We give a rigorous definition for spatial partitions and propose partitions as a generic spatial data type that can be used to model arbitrary maps and to support spatial analysis. We identify a set of three powerful operations on partitions and show that the type of partitions is closed under them. These basic operators are sufficient to express all known application-specific operations. Moreover, many map operations will be considerably generalized in our framework. We also indicate that partitions can be effectively used as a meta-model to describe other spatial data types.
8796225
Metric operations on fuzzy spatial objects in databases
Uncertainty management for geometric data is currently an important problem for (extensible) databases in general and for spatial databases, image databases, and GIS in particular. In these systems, spatial data are traditionally kept as determinate and sharply bounded objects; the aspect of spatial vagueness is not and cannot be treated by these systems. However, in many geometric and geographical database applications there is a need to model spatial phenomena rather through vague concepts due to indeterminate and blurred boundaries. Following previous work, we first describe a data model for fuzzy spatial objects including data types for fuzzy regions and fuzzy lines. We then, in particular, study the important class of metric operations on these objects.