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September 16, 2005
ITP Message Board
Introduction
We are proposing display screens which will show a queue of people currently on the floor that need some sort of assistance. These people have a specific question which is preventing them from completing or proceeding with a task. This 'help application' should facilitate physical interactivity. It's important that a person be present on the floor to submit a question (no email via SMS unless we use GPS to verify proximity).
Help Queue
A person adds themselves to the help queue. The system collects their location (main floor, physical computing, etc.), their problem category and the details of their question. As it stands the queue is prioritized by time, it's LIFO (last in, first out). There will be a limit on the queue size. Once the max queue size is hit, any new additions to the queue will bump the last in person off of the list. We might add the ability to then mail the student's question to the itp-students mailing list.
The application is built to facilitate immediate interaction. If a question stagnates in the queue for an hour it is no longer relevant. The individual needed the answer 'now' to get their work done. An hour later is no longer 'now'. For that reason, individuals will be removed from the help queue if they are not helped within a predefined period of time (e.g. ten minutes). This help system will also have to be sensitive to different use traffic volumes.
Physical Device
It's important that the interface to this helper application is a custom physical device and is not confused with an all purpose terminal. It should only contain the functions necessary for the helper application to run. Possible components include a card swipe, buttons which singularly correlate to the functions of the application (add, delete, help, etc.) and a simplified screen and keyboard. Touch screen may also be a possibility.
Having said that, physical device development would definitely be phase two. It would be much easier to rapidly prototype it using existing all purpose technologies.
Posted by mb2811 at September 16, 2005 10:33 PM