Title: Field experience and user evaluation from a real-world internet application in an urban-scale environment

Authors: Dimitrios Ringas; Eleni Christopoulou; Michail Stefanidakis

Addresses: Department of Informatics, Ionian University, 7 Tsirigoti sq., GR49100, Corfu, Greece ' Department of Computer Engineering and Informatics, University of Patras, Rio Campus, GR26500, Patras, Greece ' Department of Informatics, Ionian University, 7 Tsirigoti sq., GR49100, Corfu, Greece

Abstract: In this paper, we present experience and evaluation results from an urban-scale real-world internet application deployment. Our application invites people to share memories, relate them to the city space, form a collective memory by identifying relations among them and finally, to interact with it via diverse interfaces dispersed in the physical city landscape. We have followed an iterative development and research process, starting with a web-based internet application, moving to a mobile app and finally, deploying it on an array of interactive pervasive displays. On each iteration, we have conducted user evaluations in the physical landscape of a city. Our findings shed light on how users perceive diverse interfaces, on how to blend digital layers of content with the physical landscape, and on how a real-world internet application can foster social interactions.

Keywords: urban computing; smart cities; collective city memory; long-term real-world deployment; field experience; HCI; human-computer interface; user interfaces; mobile apps; interactive public displays; user evaluation; memory sharing; collective memory; interactive displays; urban landscape; internet applications; social interaction.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIEI.2015.069884

International Journal of Intelligent Engineering Informatics, 2015 Vol.3 No.2/3, pp.144 - 165

Received: 16 Jan 2014
Accepted: 02 Nov 2014
Published online: 15 Jun 2015 *

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