Korozi, M., Stefanidi, E., Samaritaki, G., Prinianakis, A., Katzourakis, A., Leonidis, A., & Antona, M. (2019) Shaping the Intelligent Classroom of the Future In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 200-212). Springer, Cham. Vancouver

DOI: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-30712-7_27

Abstract

This paper explores the general concept of the classroom of the future from a technological perspective, and proposes a set of indicative key facilities that such an environment should incorporate. Over the years, there has been an abundance of related research work aiming to build a “smarter” classroom, initially incorporating distance learning, educational games, and intelligent tutoring systems. More recently, many approaches have revolved around the advancements in the domains of Ambient Intelligence and Internet of Things, resulting in the enhancement of the traditional classroom equipment and furniture with processing power and interaction capabilities (e.g. intelligent desk, smart whiteboard) and the integration of emerging solutions in teaching and learning methods (e.g. AR, VR). The proposed intelligent classroom though is a holistic approach towards a student-centric educational ecosystem, which will incorporate state-of-the-art technologies to support (among others) alternative pedagogies, learning through immersive hands-on experiences and collaboration via flexible class layouts. To that end, this paper reports the various ambient facilities of the classroom and the accompanying software, while a prototype of this environment is currently under development in the AmI Facility of FORTH-ICS.

Plexousaki, A., Korozi, M., Leonidis, A., Kouroumalis, V., Stamatakis, E., Stivaktakis, N., Evdaimon, T., Katzourakis, A., & Stephanidis, C. (2019) Vesti-AmI: The Intelligent Wardrobe The Intelligent Wardrobe. 12th FORTH Retreat, ICE-HT, Patras, Greece, 15-16 October.

DOI: https://10.13140/RG.2.2.11173.17122/1

Abstract

The selection of clothes and accessories is part of the daily routine of individuals [1]; however, it is not a straightforward process for people with large inventories or limited time, while it is a challenging task for user with disabilities. In the recent past, the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Ambient Intelligence (AmI) have been enhancing the domestic environment with new connected devices, appliances, and smart furniture, aspiring to assist independent living [2]. Building upon these developments, this work proposes Vesti-AmI; an intelligent wardrobe which, in cooperation with the existing technological infrastructure of the Intelligent Home, aims to assist people in getting ready for their various activities in a context-sensitive, user-friendly and intelligent manner. With respect to the target audience, the facilities of Vesti-AmI are foreseen to accommodate a wide variety of users, including adults, children, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Indicatively, Vesti-AmI permits end-users to: (i) browse clothing items manually or digitally, (ii) preview their choices on a Smart Mirror, (iii) retrieve and store clothing items (semi-)automatically, (iv) get outfit recommendations based on contextual information, and (v) keep their garments odor-, mold-, moisture-, and moth-free with the help of appropriate sensors and actuators that monitor the interior of the wardrobe. Vesti-AmI features a full-height hanging space appropriate for storing clothing like shirts or skirts, but also longer garments such as dresses. An electrically-powered closet rod automatically raises and lowers the clothes so as to bring them closer to the user, while a sophisticated mechanism permits the system to identify each hanging item and present it to the user upon request. The next two compartments contain shelves and drawers in order to provide organized storage solutions for folded clothes and accessories, and a custom-made in-closet steamer that permits users to freshen up their clothes. Sophisticated mechanisms permit the shelves and drawers to move in a vertical fashion (like a carousel), making the stored items easily accessible. Additionally, cameras hidden on the top of each drawer and shelf permit Vesti-AmI to be aware of their contents, while light and sound cues in combination with vibration feedback are employed to assist users (especially blind or visually challenged individuals) to locate the required items inside the wardrobe. In order to maximize time efficiency, an embedded "Smart Mirror" allows users to virtually try their clothes on in an immersive way. Vesti-AmI promotes multimodal interaction that includes touch interaction, air gestures and voice interaction, which can be used complementary to support all users (including those with disabilities). For example, voice interaction can be used by blind or visually challenged users to ask for certain items, while motion-based interaction and gestures can enable users to naturally select the outfit they wish to try on the “Smart Mirror”.

A. Zacharopoulos, K. Hatzigiannakis, P. Karamaoynas, V. Papadakis, M. Andrianakis, K. Melessanaki, X. Zabulis (2018) A method for the registration of spectral images of paintings and its evaluation Journal of Cultural Heritage

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2017.07.004

Abstract

This work concerns the automatic registration of spectral images of paintings upon planar, or approximately planar, surfaces. An approach that capitalizes upon this planarity is proposed, which estimates homography transforms that register the spectral images into an aligned spectral cube. Homography estimation methods are comparatively evaluated for this purpose. A non-linear, robust estimation method that is based on keypoint features is adopted, as the most accurate. A marker-based, quantitative evaluation method is proposed for the measurement of multispectral image registration accuracy and, in turn, utilized for the comparison of the proposed registration method to the state of the art. For the same purpose, characteristic for this application domain, benchmark datasets that are annotated with correctly corresponding points have been compiled and are publicly availed.

Ntagianta, A., Korozi, M., Leonidis, A., & Stephanidis, C. (2018) A Unified Working Environment for the Attention-aware Intelligent Classroom In L. Gómez Chova, A. López Martínez, I. Candel Torres (Eds), Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN18), Palma, Spain, 2-4 July (pp. 4377-4387). Published by IATED Academy.

DOI: https://library.iated.org/view/NTAGIANTA2018AUN

Bouloukakis, M., Stratakis, C., & Stephanidis, C. (2018, April) (2018) AmI Garden: building an IoT Infrastructure for Precision Agriculture Ercim News, Special Theme: Smart Farming, 113, 18-19.

DOI: https://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en113/special/ami-garden-building-an-iot-infrastructure-for-precision-agriculture

Abstract

ICS-FORTH has recently initiated AmI-Garden, a smart farming project in the framework of its Ambient Intelligence Research Programme. A small experimental IoT greenhouse has been constructed and equipped with polycarbonate cover sheets and all the necessary infrastructure and hardware (automatic window-roof opening/closing, sliding door, fan installation for heating/cooling, vegetable breeding lamps etc.). Inside the greenhouse, a network of wireless sensors is used to measure environmental conditions and parameters, such as air/soil temperature and moisture, sunlight level, soil conductivity, quality and level of chemical ions in irrigation water, etc. The sensors communicate through IoT gateways to the greenhouse’s data centre for storage and post-processing. The system comes with pre-installed agricultural scenarios, a set of activity flows based on environmental conditions that are ideal for each plant species and are monitored in the greenhouse as explained above. The scenarios currently contain parameters to predict common diseases of the plants, as well as unexpected changes in the greenhouse’s microclimate. For example, the irrigation process is built as an agricultural scenario using data from current plant status and past data in order to establish the optimal amount of water to irrigate. The parameters of this scenario are based on specific plant breed and environmental variables. The intelligence behind the scenarios is based on critical limits and thresholds to create cultivation rules. On top of this rule based process, event-driven activation of various automations in the greenhouse is provided, for example, automatic humidity/temperature control, soil fertilisation (hydro fusion) and precise irrigation. Various sets of raw data are produced and ingested into the system, as the life cycle of each one of the plants evolves, in order to be used as the main input for the system’s actuations based on the agricultural treatment scenarios.

Anyfantis, Nikolaos, Evangelos Kalligiannakis, Achilleas Tsiolkas, Asterios Leonidis, Maria Korozi, Prodromos Lilitsis, Margherita Antona and Constantine Stephanidis. (2018) AmITV: Enhancing the Role of TV in Ambient Intelligence Environments. PETRA (2018).

DOI: https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3201548

Abstract

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and services and their integration in Ambient Intelligence (AmI) Environments revealed a new range of roles that TVs are expected to play so as to improve quality of life. This work introduces AmITV, an integrated multimodal system that permits end-users to use the TV not only as a traditional entertainment center, but also as (i) a control center for manipulating any intelligent device, (ii) an intervention host that presents appropriate content when they need help or support, (iii) an intelligent agent that communicates with the users in a natural manner and assists them throughout their daily activities, (iv) a notification medium that informs them about interesting or urgent events, and (v) a communication hub that permits them to exchange messages in real-time or asynchronously. This paper presents two motivational scenarios inspired from Home and Hotel Intelligent Environments and the infrastructure behind AmITV. Additionally, it describes how it realizes the newly emerged roles of TVs as a multimodal, intelligent and versatile interaction hub with the ambient facilities of the entire technologically-augmented environment.

Karouzaki, E., Partarakis, N., Antona, M., & Stephanidis, C. (2018) BubbleFeed: Visualizing RSS Information in Public Spaces In Interactivity, Game Creation, Design, Learning, and Innovation (pp. 151-161). Springer, Cham.

DOI: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-76908-0_15

Abstract

Public interaction displays contribute to upgrading the quality of public spaces since they attract many users and stimulate social interaction. In this paper, BubbleFeed is presented, a system for visualizing RSS news from multiple sources in public spaces. RSS news headlines are displayed inside virtual interactive bubbles ascending from the bottom of a vertical screen to the top, resembling the bubbles formed in a glass of soft drink. Besides touching the bubbles to expand and read the respective news stories, playful user interaction is supported to promote better engagement and motivate multiple users to participate. To support custom news feeds and Facebook posts in addition to RSS feeds, we have built a tool and a library that produce RSS files from the respective sources. BubbleFeed also supports displaying weather information, hosting media galleries and providing useful information such as Wi-Fi hotspot maps.

Kalaitzakis, M., Bouloukakis, M., Charalampidis, P., Dimitrakis, M., Drossis, G., Fragkiadakis, A., Fundulaki, I., Karagiannaki, K., Makrogiannakis, A., Margetis, G., Panousopoulou, A., Papadakis, S., Papakonstantinou, V., Partarakis, N., Roubakis, S., Tragos, E., Ymeralli, E., Tsakalides, P., Plexousakis, D., & Stephanidis, C. (2018) Building a Smart City Ecosystem for Third Party Innovation in the City of Heraklion In A. Stratigea & D. Kavroudakis (Eds.), Mediterranean Cities and Island Communities: Smart, Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient (pp. 19-56). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 2018.

DOI: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-99444-4_2

Abstract

This paper describes the implementation of an Internet of Things (IoT) and Open Data infrastructure by the Institute of Computer Science of the Foundation for Research and Technology—Hellas (FORTH-ICS) for the city of Heraklion, focusing on the application of mature research and development outcomes in a Smart City context. These outcomes mainly fall under the domains of Telecommunication and Networks, Information Systems, Signal Processing and Human Computer Interaction. The infrastructure is currently being released and becoming available to the municipality and the public through the Heraklion Smart City web portal. It is expected that in the future such infrastructure will act as one of the pillars for sustainable growth and prosperity in the city, supporting enhanced overview of the municipality over the city that will foster better planning, enhanced social services and improved decision-making, ultimately leading to improved quality of life for all citizens and visitors.

Ntagianta, A., Korozi, M., Leonidis, A., Antona, M., & Stephanidis, C. (2018) CognitOS: A Student- Centric Working Environment for an Attention-Aware Intelligent Classroom In C. Stephanidis (Ed.), HCI International 2018 - Posters Extended Abstracts, Part II, Volume 29 of the combined Proceedings of HCI International 2018 (20th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 15-20 July (pp. 102-110). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG (CCIS 852).

DOI: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-92285-0_15

Abstract

The emergence of Intelligent Classrooms, and in particular classrooms equipped with facilities for identifying the students’ attention levels, has raised the need for appropriate student-friendly tools that not only facilitate application hosting, but also acts as the means to re-engage inattentive students in the educational process. This work presents CognitOS, a web-based working environment that hosts several types of applications (i.e., exercises, multimedia viewer, digital book) that are utilized as channels to present interventions dictated by the intelligent decision-making mechanisms of the attention-aware classroom. This paper presents the functionality of CognitOS and the design process followed for its development.

Grammenos, D., Zabulis, X., Antonis, C., Stefanidi, Z., Adami, I., & Neroutsou, V. (2018, June). (2018) COIN-O-RAMA: Designing an Interactive Exhibit for Exploring and Engaging with Coin Exhibitions In Proceedings of the 11th PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments Conference (pp. 38-45).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3197768.3197770

Abstract

This paper presents COIN-O-RAMA, an interactive exhibit designed for exploring and further engaging with coins in physical exhibitions. The key motivation was to create an appealing and user friendly system, augmenting and complementing the overall experience of visiting the exhibition, also offering the means for creating a personalized digital souvenir (a coin with the user's head engraved on it), working as a post-visit link to the exhibition and to related information, as well as an artifact to share with friends and the social media. In this paper the requirements and preferences upon which the creation of COIN-O-RAMA was based are presented, followed by an account of the conceptual and interaction / user interface design of the system. Subsequently, a technical description of the process followed to achieve the engraving effect used for creating the personalized digital coin is offered. Then, the results of an expert evaluation of a fully working prototype of the system are reported, comprising issues raised by the evaluators and the corresponding re-design of the system. The paper wraps up with some conclusions and pointers to future work.