Introduction
The Authors
Aradhana Goel, Michael Higgins, Mickey McManus, Marc Peterson from MAYA Design
Special thanks to Mathilde Pignol, and the client that inspired this work: the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
Interactive Information, Inexpensively: The Future of Signs
We’ll start with a tour of the space, showcasing the different interactive waypoints.
Then we’ll discuss the architecture of the system in more detail, and highlight some of the features that are now possible.
But first, some motivation…
System Goals
Learn more about designing interactive physical environments
Provide solutions to wayfinding problems in our office
Provide access to other information through the physical space of our office
Do it all inexpensively and with a minimum of exotic technology
Demo
Let’s watch a movie
Entrance to MAYA
The Lobby
Barcode reader
Projector
Read the newspaper
LED display in the library
Detail of the station
Cards have bar codes that cane be swiped at the bottom right. In this part of the film we demonstrate the interaction.
System Diagram
Data Sources
Middle Tier
Display and UI
Anatomy of a Sign Client
Content Management System
The Guts
Old Laptop
Cover
Clip 1: Map of MAYA
Conference room availability
Featured Projects
You are here
Clip 2: Schedule of conference rooms
Today’s schedule
Dynamic update
Clip 3: MAYAns out of office today
Who is out?
Clip 4: Food in the Kitchen
Email notification
Clip 5: Featured Projects at MAYA
Slideshow of projects
Projects & Process
Clip 6: Fresh produce at MAYA
Slideshow of images
Work in Progress
Clip 7: Visitors at MAYA
Image changes with weather conditions
Visitor’s Schedule
Flight and weather information
Lessons Learned: Successes
It's easy to add lots of content
System supports guided tours very well
Users find the newspaper interface charming
Minimal expense in new hardware
Lessons Learned: Failures
Flash is tricky to program robustly, and sign downtime is embarrassing
Laptop LCD screens are very small and not legible from a distance
Our information design is optimized for close-up viewing
Most users do not discover the card-reading interface; they have to be shown it.
Cards can be tricky to manage. They get lost, or fall on the floor.
Dependency on external data sources has to be managed carefully.
Cards Flying Off
Future Work
Redesign to improve legibility and attractiveness at a distance
Add more “charming” and non-standard user interfaces; perhaps something further into the tactile or ambient UI space than the newspaper
Integrate public instant messaging
Other suggestions or questions?
See the magic!
System Diagram
Data Sources
Clients
Database
CMS OrbitzPAT Transit
LED DisplayKiosk Kiosk Kiosk
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
MAYA Design’s office space can be somewhat confusing for new visitors. It has a complex layout, with many obscured sight-lines. Traditionally, architects overcome such difficulties by adding a simple information layer to the space: signs. This works well; but why not make the signs interactive and database driven? If we can do that, we enable a host of other applications. This demonstration shows a prototype dynamic wayfinding system deployed in our offices at MAYA.
Locating each waypoint
