Test Beds & Living LabsTest Beds & Living Labs

Jo Pierson

IBBT-SMIT-VUB

What is happening in the ICT world…?

2005

Disruptive technologies - Doom

2006

Users as innovators - Boom

Answers

1. Test and Experimentation Platforms

2. IBBT iLabs2. IBBT iLabs

3. Projects

Test and Experimentation Platforms (TEP)

� TEP = All facilities and environments for (joint) innovation including testing, prototyping and confronting technology with usage situations (Ballon, Pierson & Delaere, 2007)

� IBBT aims at sharing it’s knowledge and expertise on stimulating valorisation and innovation through testbeds and living labs

iLab.o: Mission

� IBBT iLab.o – Open innovation in ICT� Contact: prof. Jo Pierson & Pieter Ballon (pieter.ballon@vub.ac.be)

� Mission: Lab and competence center for multi-stakeholder innovation, policy and experimentation of services and technologies

� Essential policy and strategy issues� Stimulating open innovation

� Building strong partnerships and networks� Building strong partnerships and networks

� Reaping rewards from Web 2.0 innovations

� Closing the digital divide

� Safeguarding privacy and trust

� Methods� Experimental, multi-stakeholder analysis and co-design with users, policy and business partners

� Use of various simulation tools and Living Lab settings

� Co-operation� Interdisciplinary involvement of various IBBT research groups

� i-City Living Lab; ITS Belgium; VKOA

iLab.o: Outdoor setting

�Full mesh WiFi network with WiMAX backbone set up by Brussels Region

� 0.5 km2 outdoors and indoors coverage (end 2006 - end 2008)

� Mobile VOIP tests on-going

� Multi-stakeholder tools and application development for mobile Web 2.0

�Currently up-scaling CampusLab in co-operation with Brussels Regional authorities

� Wireless internet access on campus

� App. 11,000 users (students -personnel) with 500 dedicated

iLab.u: Mission

� IBBT iLab.u – User experience design and evaluation

� Contact: prof. Dirk De Grooff (dirk.degrooff@soc.kuleuven.be)

� Goal: Observation of user experiences� To observe reactions and experiences of users of new ICT applications

� To identify problem areas so that usability experts can suggest improvements in user experience

� Usability

� Accessibility� Accessibility

� Functionality

� Emotional experiences (likeability)

� Stationary lab� Reproduces a living room or an office environment

� Evaluation of ICT applications on a wide array of carriers, including (interactive)TV, games, computer hard- and software, etc.

� Portable lab� Evaluation of ICT applications in real-life environment

� Mobile lab� Evaluation of mobile devices

iLab.u: Equipment

� Evaluation of mobile devices

� Eye tracking� Records precisely what users are looking at

� Psychophysiological measurement� Measuring emotional reactions of users

� Galvanic skin reader, heart rate monitors, …

iLab.t: Mission

� IBBT iLab.t – Technology center

� Contact: prof. Piet Demeester (Piet.Demeester@UGent.be)

� Mission: Support of research projects by providing lab infrastructure to evaluate technical feasibility, performance and service quality of ICT innovation

� iLab.t has a wide range of advanced equipment, including:

� Wired and wireless measuring equipment to evaluate networks, audio � Wired and wireless measuring equipment to evaluate networks, audio

and video quality, wireless applications, …

� A general testing environment with more than 100 nodes (terminals,

servers, routers) to imitate and evaluate networks, services and

applications (virtual wall)

� A wireless testing environment with 200 nodes (wireless sensor lab)

� A wide diversity of terminals and appliances such as PDAs, mobile

phones, smart phones, …

� Efficient internet connectivity through Belnet with a capacity of 1Gbit/s to

facilitate experiments requiring high band-width

iLab.t : Overview

10

500 m2

Approx. 100 racks (~ 4000 units)

iLab.t : Virtual Wall

� Servers (100x)

� Dual CPU, dual core

� 4GB RAM

� 4x 80GB harddisk

� 60x 6 and 40x 4 network interfaces� 60x 6 and 40x 4 network interfaces

� Central switch: Force 10 networks

� 576x Gb/s port

� 8x 10 Gb/s port

� 1.6Tb/s backplane

� Displays+VGA

� Full Automatic Install and Remote Access

iLab.t : Wireless Sensor Lab

� 200 nodes in office environment

�Every node is generic and is equipped with � 1 or 2 Sensor node IEEE802.15.4 (+ embedded sensors: Temp, Light,

Humidity)� 2 WiFi IEEE 802.11 radios (a/b/g)

� Extendable: Bluetooth, Software Defined Radio, …

Class Room

Corridor

Sensor Sensor + i-node

� Extendable: Bluetooth, Software Defined Radio, …

�Environment emulator� Battery power

� Sensor signals

� FAI and Remote Access

Project snapshots: Interactive television

ConsortiumTelenetInterkabelVRTVMMaVT4

� Development of interactive

television in Flanders

� 300 households

� 1 year trial

� 2003-2004

� Introduced by Cable Operator

CUOEDMMICTSMIT

Project snapshots: e-Paper

ConsortiumBelgacomDe TijdHypervisionI-MergePhilips

� World’s First development of a digital newspaper on a specific e-Reader device

� Business Models and User Research

� 200 users

� Trial of 2 months

� March - May 2006

� Entire value chain involved: OEM, Media Conglomerate, Digital Advertiser

CUODistriNetINTEC-IBCNIMECMICTSMIT

Project snapshots: LLECOS

ConsortiumMS Researchi-City

SMIT

� Living Lab Exploration of Community Services (LLECOS)

� New multiplatform communication and broadcast tool

� Virtual co-presence

� i-City living lab environment

� Ongoing project

� Start July 2007

� Contractor: Microsoft Research Cambridge

Ideas on potential e-health living lab

� Rationale

� Potential of ICT in health and health care sector for efficiency and effectiveness

� Emerging new industry – Atypical business model

� E-health living lab

� Natural user centric test environment

� Brings stakeholders together in common horizontal platform� Brings stakeholders together in common horizontal platform

� Industry potential

� Transmural communication and data sharing

� Home care

� Medical imaging

� Hospitals, social profit and other organisations

IBBT iLab conclusion and opportunities

� Diverse test and experimentation facilities supporting research as well as innovation process on technological and socio-economical level

� Tools for strengthening ICT research and development in each stage (concept – experimentation – evaluation)

� iLab infrastructure open to scientific, public and private stakeholders

� IBBT aims at sharing it’s knowledge and expertise on stimulating valorisation and innovation through testbeds and living labs

Q & A

� Thank you

� Any questions?