The Smarcos newsletter covers the Consortium activities around the project. This fourth issue reviews Smarcos progress during the second year of the project (March 2011 - 2012)

1. ISSUE 4 March 2012
IN THIS ISSUE: The Smarcos newsletter covers the Consortium activities around
the project. This fourth issue reviews Smarcos progress during
the second year of the project (March 2011 - 2012)
Introduction
Progress
Overview Introduction
The Smarcos Consortium aims to help users of interconnected
embedded systems by ensuring their interusability. Our results will
be applicable to all embedded systems that interact with their
users, which is a substantial fraction of today’s market.
This fourth issue contains valuable and updated information on
Smarcos work-packages (WP) progress and latest results. It ´s
highly relevant to mention that the Smarcos Consortium has
reinforced its expertise from 2012 with the joining of 3 new Finish
companies: IXONOS, NEMEIN & OFFCODE.
This newsletter edition covers also main dissemination activities:
latest events, presentations and new promotion materials.
SMARCOS has also jointly participated within the ATC 2011 (Artemis Technological
Conference 2011) with SOFIA and CHIRON projects and prepare with them materials

2. ISSUE 4 March 2012
Progress Overview
and evaluation. A prototyping tool is being
SMARCOS has had a productive second year, developed for different aspects of inter-
the project has progress fluently and any usability as well as using the scenarios from
deviation have been overcome and dealt with the Smarcos applications domains to the
efficiently by the Consortium. Thanks to the approach of the developed methods
hard work invested by project partners, whom evaluation.
were busy working on the different aspects to
be researched and developed, many benefits
have been drawn from the targets
accomplished, which have set the scenario to
build on for the last period of the project.
The progress is analyzed below listing the
benefits achieved, making special emphasis on
what has been done and how is being done:
User Interaction thoughtful Analysis User friendly multiple device system
methodology
UI focus on establishing experimental design
methods not based on traditional concepts: User’s context knowledge and feedback on
multiple devices, involving large number of performance was obtained in an unobtrusive
user stories/situations, a set of research manner, calculating context-tailored advice
methods were used, from interviews to and feedback on performance from this
surveying and from design workshops to sensed context and presenting advice as well
benchmarking of existing services and as feedback about the user’s performance in
products. several health domains in a user-friendly way.
To overcome these challenges, a system is
Inter-usable UI interfaces and context- devised that uses sensing devices that the
based functionalities models user is already using; a mobile phone, a
computer, a television, a pill dispenser, an
These models enable the support for multiple activity monitor. These devices are connected
interaction modalities and multitude of to one Smarcos system, where they share
devices, seamless context negations and UI their information.
adaptation mechanisms
Previous proposal was extended to better
address the issues raised by multi-device
environments, with particular attention to the
aspects necessary to model the scenarios
considered in the applications
Development-cycle of inter-usable
systems span & evaluation of developed
methods and tools
The development of tools for processing both,
design and runtime enabling quick and cost
efficient functionalities for UI composition and
context processing.
The main focus was on the three stages of
development phase: design-time, run-time

3. ISSUE 4 March 2012
Cross-project cooperation & extension of
Development validation, evaluation of the expected dissemination activities
context-based awareness cue and users
techniques The project results were disseminated
through a great variety of channels and
To achieve a seamless and ‘natural’ resources were produced to support the
interaction between the employed technology project at different events.
and its users, with the main objective of
enhancing and enriching their lives. The
work has been carried out iteratively in rapid
cycles of concept creation, design,
implementation and testing. All major
developments are incrementally validated in
small scale trials.
Brand new devices built & marketable
products results
Pilots will provide the basis for several
marketable products. Research of forefront
technologies and progress in the
development has led to technological
evolution of the current pilots. Several Smarcos has achieved cross-project
technologies were integrated in the pilots, collaboration (mainly with SOFIA and
including those to implement long-distance CHIRON projects) a number of events,
communication using proprietary technology conferences and workshop had been
in the Vehicles pilot; those to allow the attended were the project was presented
interaction of visually-impaired people with and was able to reach a wider audience.
a smart phone; and several to improve the Material such as a brochure, posters, videos,
cartographical features of the Aviation pilot. etc. has been produced to reinforce the
Smarcos message. All of them are available
through the project website at
www.smarcos-project.eu) and social
networks:
- Facebook:www.facebook.com/smarcospr
oject.eu
- Twitter: @smarcosproject.
This newsletter is published every six months. It informs the members of the Smarcos and the general public about the progress of the project.
Contact: Dr. Jani Mäntyjärvi (Jani.Mantyjarvi@vtt.fi)
Any questions or suggestions? Please contact us!
//www.smarcos-project.eu/

4. ISSUE 4 March 2012