Idea: Surfaces as networked clients

The people at Embedded Data Systems will shortly be introducting the HA7NET 1-Wire Host Adapter. It will be replacing the HA5 - which I have been using to drive the latest Pin&Play prototype - as their flagship 1-Wire controller. The basic functionality remains the same, providing a simple text interface and the ability to pump additional power into the network. The difference is that instead of an ASCII RS-232 serial interface it will have an Ethernet connector and a TCP/IP interface. This could be used to create an interesting application model for Pin&Play surfaces. The idea is that a single server in the local network runs provides the application and control of the board, and any number of boards can make use of this application by simply plugging them into the LAN. It would remove the need to have a dedicated controller PC per board, while at the same time allowing for the more powerful applications that are difficult to achieve using an embedded device such as a Smart-Its as a network controller.

Notice Board Application Demo

The Notice Board application was demonstrated last Monday at the Equator All Hands Meeting. It had a good reception, people that saw it liked the new hardware and seemed to relate to the application.

The notice board allows notes and documents to be attached onto it by using pins. The pins are colored either red, orange or green - corresponding to three different levels of priority one would assign to a document that was posted on a notice board. This allows a way for the user of the notice board to inform the system when she would like to be reminded of the existence of the document, and the need to pay attention to what it contains. When this time expires, a small light built onto the pin will begin to flash to display this fact. The user must then unfasten the document from the board in order for the pin to stop flashing. Information about when documents were posted, their level of priority and how much time they have before their reminder expires is displayed on a screen nearby. This information can also be accessed via a web interface.

This demo has been submitted to this years European Symposium on Ambien Intelligence (EUSAI 2004), which takes place early November.