ARIADNE - Exploiting A New Generation Of Intelligent Buildings.
G. T. Foster
D. E. N. Wenn
J. P. N. Glover
Distributed Systems Research Group
Department of Cybernetics, University of Reading.
Whiteknights, Reading, UK, RG6 6AY
Tel: +44 1189 316793
Fax: +44 1189 318220
email: grantfoster@cyber.reading.ac.uk.
Summary
This paper is an overview of the current technical developments of the EU Telematics Initiative for Disabled and Elderly people (TIDE) sponsored project DE 3201 "ARIADNE, Access, Information and Navigation Support in the Labyrinth of Large Buildings". The introduction of new networked technologies and Smart Cards are creating a new generation of Intelligent Building that, along with ergonomic considerations, can provide services to improve the mobility of people with special needs whilst providing building operators with the tools required for building management.
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Introducing the ARIADNE project
The ARIADNE project aims to produce a broad impact on the mobility of disabled and elderly people by providing appropriate technological support for navigation, physical access and provision of information within buildings. Mobility studies have shown that there is a need for such systems as many people do not venture far beyond their domestic environment due to difficulties in accessing public transport and public access buildings. ARIADNE provides navigation, information and support services within the built environment that enhance confidence and mobility and demonstrates service provision in three areas:
Access
- Directing people through ergonomic access points.
- Providing support where no alternative access point is available.
- Providing Access information and control to building operators.
- Overcoming architectural difficulties such as open plan areas, changing environments, stairs, escalators and emergency exits.
Information
- Provide information for users and building operators.
- Seamless provision of information from IO on the network to high level user interfaces
Navigation
- Navigation and orientation through open plan spaces in the built environment.
- Navigation through corridor type environments.
- Emergency evacuation routes.
- Responses to queries.
The ARIADNE consortium consists of user groups, technology providers and architects. The project is coordinated by the Department of Cybernetics at the University of Reading UK who are acting in the role of system integrator. Other technological resources are provided by Projectos Desenvolvimento E Technologia LDA. from Portugal and the Norwegian transponder providers MicroDesign SA. User involvement is being provided by SINTEF Unimed Rehab. from Norway and the Royal National Institute for the Blind. London, UK. Building design issues are being addressed by the centre for Non-Handicapping Environments at the Dept. of Construction Management and Engineering from the Uni. of Reading, and through the Italian architects Ipostudio Architetti Associati.
The ARIADNE project consortium employs the USERfit methodology to facilitate the user centric design philosophy. [USER96]. This methodology allows scenario based developments, the results of which are to be evaluated at the Baerum Council premises near Oslo in Norway. Following successful evaluation the ARIADNE system will be installed as a demonstrator at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.
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Technological Overview
The fundamental concept of the ARIADNE technological developments is having the ability to locate a particular user to a particular place in the building. Once the needs of a User are known then information and other services can be provided directly and personally to exactly the right location. The mechanism for achieving this is through the User carrying a unique identity tag consisting of a smart card which contains personal details and a suitable transponder to allow contactless operation. The ARIADNE project is using the user preferences model resulting from the TIDE SATURN project [GILL96] to code information relating to user requirements rather than user disabilities.
A microwave based transponder system from MicroDesign is being used as the basis of the ID system. The use of a microwave transponder has several benefits in that data can be read at a considerable distance (up to 50m indoors), multiple tags can be detected, a respectable bandwidth is available for communications and receiver areas can be tuned quite precisely to fit the building environment.
To locate Users throughout the building a network of Reader nodes are employed, which are placed at strategic points in the building. As can be seen in the diagram opposite total site coverage is not achievable, rather Reader nodes are located at strategic decision points in the building. The network itself acts as an information integration infrastructure, so the presence of a person can be propagated across the network and similarly information can be supplied directly to the user. The network is based upon standard networking protocols that are the basis of the new generation of HVAC, access control and security systems currently available.
Once a person is detected at a specific location the system is able to do many things. At a basic level a default action may be required, for instance an increase in lighting levels [BRIG95]. For the ARIADNE system this is achieved by passing default requests to another network node known as the Access Node. The Access Node is a device capable of multi-modal information presentation and is physically installed in the building close to the Reader Node. So the presence of the User may trigger the access node to switch on a spot light to increase lighting levels. Also the interoperable nature of the network could mean that a request is generated to the lighting control system.
The access node is also able to activate a variety of different actuators including directional buzzers, lights, door openers, LED signs etc. In addition the access node has the capability to play pre recorded aural messages so can be used as a talking sign. These functions can be triggered through the network or via configurable external IO.
So the ARIADNE system has the ability to present multi-modal information directly to the user in two main ways. Firstly through the access node information is linked closely to the building installation, e.g. a directional buzzer can be activated over a building resource such as the toilet door. Secondly information can be routed directly to the transponder carried by the User. ARIADNE supports a variety of user devices as the ID tag. The most sophisticated of which has a LCD panel for text messages, a vibrating buzzer and switches to activate certain functions. So a private message can be directed directly to a particular user and displayed on the LCD panel.
Also connected to the network are man machine interfaces in the form of PC based front end software. Front end support is provided to the building operator in a set of tools that allow the system to be configured and also allow the building operator to monitor the usage of the facilities. The User is able to access the network through multi-media information points.
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Network Services - Navigation and Searching.
Given the highly flexible and powerful information infrastructure provided by ARIADNE, complex services are available to the User. One of the major facilities to be used will be the navigation and searching service [FOST97].
For each area within the building a nominated access node will effectively holds a local object model of the environment, that is a list of resources in that area which may be static access objects such as the name of the room but also transient objects such as tagged users or facilities. In this way a User would be able to search the ARIADNE network to locate a particular thing.
Once the location of the target has been established a distributed search can be initiated. [FOST97a] details two agent based approaches for this, one that returns a selection of routes to the User, the second that effectively leaves signposts across the network to direct the user to a particular place - these signposts are effectively implemented by the access node as the user moves through the building and enrols with different readers.
This model of navigation takes into account the path taken between rooms or areas in the building. This is done by assigning link connections between the strategic points in the building, these connections have weights are associated with the transition, for instance assigning a value for the distance between the rooms and a value for the physical difficulty in making the transition, i.e. a transition down a flight of stairs would have a large difficulty weight associated with it. It is also possible to represent security and access information within this framework. A typical connection between rooms x & y may be 
where the weights 
represent the distance measurement , difficulty level and security levels accordingly. In this way a path can be evaluated by producing a cost function from summing the associated weights or by recording the largest level associated with a move.
This navigation facility can be seen in practice with the basic scenario of finding the nearest accessible toilet. The User initiates a 'navigate to the nearest accessible toilet' command which is a default button on the transponder tag. This initiates a search on the network for the nearest suitable facility and the user then either gets a prompt from the Access node or directions on the personal device. The User then moves further into the building and if unsure of the route simply initiates the search again.
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Conclusions
The ARIADNE consortium intend to exploit the new technologies of smart cards, transponders and networking so that the requirements of disabled and elderly people are encompassed within products for mainstream intelligent buildings. This design for all approach ensures that products resulting from the project are not seen as niche products but rather as enabling technologies, promoting equal access to facilities and workflow processes within the building. It is important to note that for a wide impact the technological approach presented in this paper must be integrated closely with the architectural considerations of the building [BRIG98] and subsequent results being actively promoted as standards or specifications for best practice.
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References
[BRIG95] K.T. Bright, G.K. Cook, & J. Harris. "Developing Non-Handicapping Environments" Chartered Surveyor Monthly, 4 (7), May 1995, p28-29
[BRIG98] K.T. Bright & S. C Flanagan. " ARIADNE - Supporting Access, Navigation and Information Services in Labyrinth of Large Buildings." Proc. 9th International Mobility Conference , Atlanta, July 1998.
[FOST97a] G.T.Foster, J.P.N. Glover. "Supporting Navigation Services within Intelligent Buildings" Proc. First Mobinet Symposium. Athens May 1997.
[FOST97b] G.T.Foster & L.A. Solberg. "The ARIADNE Project. Supporting Access, Navigation and Information Services in Labyrinth of Large Buildings." Proc. 4th European Conference for the advancement of Assistive Technology. AAATE'97. Thessaloniki, Sept 1997.
[GILL96] J.Gill, Ed. "Smart Card Interfaces for people with disabilities" pub. RNIB ISBN 1 86048 007 1
[USER96] "USERfit, A practical handbook on user-centered design for assistive technology" ECSC-EC-EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg 1996.
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The ARIADNE Project is funded under the Telematics Initiative for Disabled and Elderly People. DE 3201. 1997-2000
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