Digital Graffiti

Digital Graffiti are messages that can be placed at any location in the real world and addressed to any recipients who are not only identified by (phone) numbers. They specify their visibility by time and are only perceivable in a given context. The content of a Digital Graffito can be smart.

Smartness within a Digital Graffito has different forms: Dynamic content: - Messages contain changeable elements, like a timer showing the remaining lifetime of a message. Influenced content: - The recipient himself can influence the content of a message, like in a poll where he changes the statistical results by his vote. Executable content: - Users are able to trigger actions through interactive elements or the Digital Graffito itself executes code when it is received.

The project "Digital Graffiti" is being developed within the cooperative work of Siemens AG Corporate Technology in Munich, Germany, the University of Linz in Austria and the Ars Electronica Futurelab, also in Linz.

Original Idea: draw virtual pictures (Digital Graffiti) in real locations

Perceive Digital Graffiti in AR-view at the same location

Digital Graffiti can also be included in the AR-INSTAR car navigation system

Digital Graffiti annotate points of interest in an AR-view on PDAs

Key Issues

• Pervasive Computing Techniques
• Localization and Wireless Communication Techniques
• Component-oriented software development
• Innovative Concepts for Unser Interaction
• Limited resources in embedded information appliances

Approach
The software architecture for smart elements within a Digital Graffito considers three fundamental aspects:

Conventional elements (e.g., text, pictures, video, music etc.) and smart elements can be arbitrarily combined within one message. No restrictions prevent the user from creating powerful messages.

The architecture enables third-party developers to easily design their own (smart) elements. As a consequence, the architecture provides an extensible framework structure which is prepared for deriving new elements from given templates.

Self-developed elements can be made accessible to all users without forcing them to download new versions of the client software or to restart their system. The users do not even recognize if an element has just recently been developed by a third party or if it is a basic element like plain text.

Partners
Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik (Project Leader)
o. Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Gustav Pomberger

Ars Electronica Center
Horst HÖRTNER
Dipl.-Ing (FH) Roland HARING
Dipl.-Ing Wolfgang ZIEGLER
Dipl.-Ing. Christopher LINDINGER
Mag. (FH) Reinhold BIDNER

Siemens CT SE1
Dipl.-Math. Dieter KOLB
Dr. Jan WIEGHARDT
Dipl.-Inf. Reiner MÜLLER

Videos: View INSTAR DigitalGraffiti stream

Duration: 2003 - 2005

Staff: Alois Ferscha, Benjamin Mayr, G. Pomberger, Wolfgang Narzt

Contact: Alois Ferscha, Wolfgang Narzt