This Goecities web site has been running since 1998, and has given stirling service. Times change, however, and I have outgrown this space. Please visit my shiny new site www.paulrudman.net which is under construction. Meanwhile, I am leaving this space as a snapshot of 2000-2002 when I lived in Birmingham and only hoped to make it to where I am now-with a smart "Dr." title. Ultimately, I will reuse this web space for a new purpose. Watch this space! Paul
"Having gained an MSc in Human-Centred Computer Systems at the University of Sussex, I'm pleased to present here details of the dissertation.
The topic is the human-centred design of a multimedia personal memory aid. Basically, it is a small computer that one wears during one's work or everyday activities. It has a built-in camera and microphone and attempts to monitor the environment on a continuing basis. The main purpose is for the device to give assistance, through an earpiece, in the form of helpful hints relevant to one's current situation. The user group concentrated on is that of the security services. Thus, the helpful hints will relate to the job of patrolling an area, such as the number of the key required to open the door at which one is standing, or directions to the alarm control panel of the alarm currently sounding. The other thing this device will do is to record important happenings to assist in later recall. Thus, if an incident occurs, it will record pictures and sounds which can be viewed later on a standard PC or Mac to assist in writing a report of the incident. A longer abstract is available, as is the full dissertation.
In order to test this concept, I produced a short video at the University's television studios. Entitled 'The Incident', it shows a security officer dealing with intruders. There are also related photos taken from the security officer's viewpoint. These photos, along with audio clips from the video, form the basis of a multimedia presentation as though generated by the proposed device. Thus, user testing consists of showing security personnel the video and then (after a delay) asking them to assess the computer presentation as to how useful it is in helping them to write a report of the incident. A quick-time version of the video is available here (please let me know if you have any problems accessing it, and be warned, it's 8.8Mb so will take some time to download).
The multimedia presentation, written in HTML, is available here.
(Last update 16/02/99)