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ACCORD Tangible Toolbox User Guide

Introduction

This document is meant as a simple user guide on running some of the implemented services for the ACCORD Tangible Toolbox system. The document explains in more detail than the Quick Start how to run equip/transformers/editors on different computers. This involves:

  1. starting equip server (covered in the Quick Start starting)
  2. starting a number of transformers
  3. starting an editor and creating connections between transformers

For more information on system structure, how to configure transformers etc, take a look at the User Guide Appendix.

Transformers

This chapter only covers how to run the different transformers, for more background info and theories see the included Understanding and Using the Tangible Toolbox deliverable.

The fundamental aim of components in our arrangement is to ensure the convergence of the physical and the digital environment. Thus each component can be though of as a digital/physical transformer that provides a conduit between the real and the digital. Each component has a set of properties that it uses to make information digitally available. The values of these properties are shared through a distributed data space. The data space is dynamic and reacts to changes in the values of properties; propagating these changes to all the components that share these properties.

This section will continue to show how to start some of the transformers, and explain their purpose in the form of scenarios.
Note: if the equip server is not running on the same machine that the transformer is being started on, then exchange 'localhost' with the ip address of the equip server host in the toolbox.settings file in the specific transformers' sub directory (or use the BeanLauncher.bat helper application in accord/apps/transformers/).

Scenario 1

A transformer which handles entering and publishing text and audio reminders is connected to a transformer which controls a browser.

Reminder

Reminder presents a reminder input GUI, manages the reminder alarms, and publishes reminders as URLs when reminder is due.

Start this transformer by going to the Reminder sub directory - accord/apps/transformers/Reminder and double-clicking the Reminder.bat file
or look at the .bat-file to see how to start via command line. For command line options and further detail, see the Reminder javadoc and all help classes javadoc.

KitchenTableDisplay

KitchenTableDisplay controls a web browser via a set of commands and can also display web pages by giving the URL to it.

Start this transformer by going to the KitchenTableDisplay sub directory - accord/apps/transformers/KitchenTableDisplay and double-clicking the KitchenTableDisplay.bat file
or look at the .bat-file to see how to start via command line. For command line options and further detail, see the KitchenTableDisplay javadoc and all help classes javadoc.

Reminder is connected to KitchenTableDisplay, see Figure 1.

Scenario 2

A transformer which gathers news articles on the web and can e.g. be connected to a transformer which controls a browser.

News

News takes a news command string and a profile string, and outputs a new URL to a new news web page.

The News transformer require external services, see User Appendix Services: MoreOver News (cache has to be generated before running transformer).

Start this transformer by going to the News sub directory - accord/apps/transformers/News and double-clicking the News.bat file
or look at the .bat-file to see how to start via command line. For command line options and further detail, see the News javadoc and all help classes javadoc.

The News transformer can be started with a GUI (see the News.bat file for command line options) which consists of three buttons (Next, Previous and Random). The buttons are used to control what articles are selected.

(The TableCommands transformer (see User Guide Appendix), which reads physical "shaker" objects and generates corresponding commands (Next, Previous etc.), can be connected to the News transformer, which then replaces the GUI.)

News is connected to KitchenTableDisplay, see Figure 1. (See scenario 1 for an explanation of and how to start KitchenTableDisplay.)

Editors

This chapter covers how to start and use the different editors for manipulating the components, transformers, within the dataspace:

Jigsaw Editor

The Jigsaw Editor is shown in Figure 1. Users can connect components through a series of left-to-right couplings of jigsaw pieces, like a pipeline of information flow. The Jigsaw Editor is composed of a number of panels: a Menu list of available transformers at the top, an Editor editing canvas in the middle, and a Connections panel at the bottom to store connections. The transformers can be dragged and dropped into the editing canvas or workspace. The editing canvas serves as the work area for connecting transformers together and visualizing their activities. Jigsaw pieces in the Editor which are not used can be dragged and dropped over the trashcan.


Figure 1

Start the Jigsaw Editor by going to the sub directory - accord/toolbox/bin and double-clicking the control.bat file
or look at the .bat-file to see how to start via command line (tip: use '-audio' switch for audio feedback).

A jigsaw piece of each transformer, which has been started, is listed at the top of the editor.

Linker Device

With the Linker Device users can explore what properties a physical device in the home expose and through the Linker Device link these with properties of other physical devices. The basic device consists of an iPAQ that talks directly to the shared data space and a barcode reader that can read barcodes placed on interactive devices (see figure 2). When a user scans a barcode the Linker Editor displays the properties which this device has made availible to the data store. A user can then scan a second physical device bringing up the properties whose type match the selected property. A user can then select the destination property making the link.


Figure 2

How to install the PDA editor step by step:

  1. Make sure that all prerequisits are installed:
  2. Make a directory in /My Documents on the PDA called accord.
    The easiest way to do this is with Microsoft ActiveSync tool and choose to explore the mobile device by clicking the Explore button. After that a window displays the contents of the My Documents folder on the device. Right click and select New Folder and rename it to accord.
  3. Check that the configuration is correct.
    I.e. check that the correct servers are indicated in the toolbox.settings file. If not, change it to the one you have running.
  4. Transfer all files to the PDA.
    Copy all files in the toolbox/export/pda directory to the directory you just created on the device. The files should be:
  5. Transfer all equip classes
    You need all the equip classes as well to run the application. Copy the equip-directory in the Equator\Modules folder into the directory you created on the device.
  6. Transfer all accord specific equip classes.
    Copy the beans-directory in the equip\Modules\accord\classes\equip\data direcotry into the directory \My Documents\accord\equip\classes\equip\data on the device.
  7. Start the application
    Use the File Explorer to start the program. Do the following:

Graph Editor

The Graph Editor is the engineering approach to manipulating the transformers. Actually, it was the first quick prototype to graphically edit the transformers in the data space. The editor offers a more complex view of transformers, their properties, and individual connections. Since we see it as just another example of an editor, not necessarily user friendly, we will just give brief information on how to start it.

Start the Graph Editor by going to the sub directory - accord/toolbox/bin and double-clicking the GraphEditor.bat file or look at the .bat-file to see how to start via command line.


Figure 3

Issues

For more information on system structure, how to configure transformers etc, take a look at the User Guide Appendix.