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The Smart-Flow URC Project (NIST)
The NIST SmartSpace is a work environment with embedded computers, information appliances, and multi-modal sensors allowing people to perform tasks efficiently. It uses the NIST Smart Data Flows technology, a middleware capability that moves large data flows between “clients”. The clients can process, produce and consume these streams of data called “The Flows”.
In our prototype, the user is provided with an interface to the SmartSpace Speech Recognition Service based on the Smart-Flow architecture. This service allows users to capture a transcription of any speech while attending a meeting. The audio flow of a speaker becomes a text flow after the speech is transcribed by the Speech Recognition ViaVoice Client. In actuality, this flow is processed by several clients of the SmartFlow.
The URC framework allowed us to improve the interactivity between the users of the SmartSpace and the Meeting Room environments. Through the use of the URC technology, interfacing with the SmartFlow Service does not require programming skills. The user simply turns on and off the Smart Flow service. For example, an attendee who enters the Meeting Room can turn on the Smart Flow service using his laptop or PDA and have notes captured automatically on his laptop or PDA. Optionally, the user can request that the transcription be written to a text file and sent to his supplied email address. The socket gives also feedback on the powering of the service and on the number of people controlling the socket at the same time.
Listed below are some benefits that using the URC technology within the SmartSpace allows:
- Generating interfaces according to users’ needs through use of the URC Presentation Templates
- Presenting user interface options in multiple languages
- Using multiple URC platforms
- Simultaneous user control of SmartFlow services
Architecture
