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Dr.-Ing. Lübomira Spassova

	Address: Saarland University FR 6.2 - Computer Science P.O. Box 15 11 50 D-66041 Saarbruecken, Germany Coordinates: Building E 1 1 , Room 123 Numbers: Tel: +49 681 302 - 2865 Fax: +49 681 302 - 4136

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Projects

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• FLUIDUM   2002-01-12 – 2005-03-12
• IRL   2007-10-01 – 2010-09-30

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Publications

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2010

The Shopping Experience of Tomorrow: Human-Centered and Resource-Adaptive
Wolfgang Wahlster, Michael Feld, Patrick Gebhard, Dominikus Heckmann, Ralf Jung, Michael Kruppa, Michael Schmitz, Lübomira Spassova and Rainer Wasinger
Matthew Crocker and Joerg Siekmann (eds). Resource-Adaptive Cognitive Processes. Cognitive Technologies Series. Springer Verlag Berlin, 2010, pp. 205-237

Innovative Retail Laboratory - Investigating Future Shopping Technologies
Antonio Krüger, Lübomira Spassova and Ralf Jung
it - Information Technology, Volume 52, Issue 2, Oldenbourg Verlag, pp. 114-118
show abstract
The Innovative Retail Laboratory (IRL) is an application-oriented research laboratory of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) run in collaboration with the German retailer GLOBUS SB-Warenhaus Holding in St. Wendel. In this living lab, we conduct research in a wide range of different domains all connected to intelligent shopping consultants, which range from a virtual assistant responsible for matters of dieting and allergies, over a digital sommelier, to personalized cross and up selling, smart items with digital product memories as a further development of the RFID technology, indoor positioning and navigation as well as new logistics concepts, to see if they are suitable for everyday life and useful for customers. New ways of customer interaction are developed and tested for implementation. The range varies from personalized shopping assistants to “talking” products and intelligent shopping carts, which plan and show the way through the store according to your shopping list. Furthermore they can give advice on what to buy for the recipes you have in mind, they compare products, point out special offers in a personalized way and give additional information about the products. However, the concepts and technologies that regard the self-service store of the future as a place for shopping are not IRL´s only focus. The relation between the store and its customers begins way before the shopping trip itself takes place. It starts with an individual shopping preparation and a personalized presentation of offers at home and will be continued afterwards through advice that is given about purchased goods and information about their use.

2008

Beam-Its – Virtual Sticky Notes in the Real World
Lübomira Spassova and Andreas Butz
Adjunct Proceedings of Pervasive Computing 2008
[pdf] [BibTeX] show abstract
We present the concept, design, and implementation of Beam-Its, a virtual version of sticky notes, which can be placed in the physical environment. Beam-Its are created on a PDA and placed on objects or surfaces in the environment, where they are currently displayed by a steerable projector. Beam-Its can contain handwritten text and sketches, just as physical Post-Its, but also photos and sound recordings made on the PDA, thus extending the functionality of physical Post-Its. They can also appear or disappear depending on context, which enables additional usage scenarios.

Three Output Planning Strategies for Use in Context-aware Computing Scenarios
Gerrit Kahl, Rainer Wasinger, Tim Schwartz, and Lübomira Spassova
Proceedings of the AISB 2008 Symposium on Multimodal Output Generation (MOG 2008), April 3 - April 4, 2008, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
[pdf] [BibTeX] show abstract
In everyday life, it is useful for mobile devices like cell phones and PDAs to have an understanding of their user's surrounding context. Presentation output planning is one area where such context can be used to optimally adapt information to a user's current situational context. This paper outlines the architecture of a context-aware output planning module, as well as the design and implementation of three output generation strategies: user-define, symmetric multimodal, and context-based output planning. These strategies are responsible for selecting the best suited modalities (e.g. speech, gesture, text), for presenting information to a user situated in a public environment such as a shopping mall. A central point of this paper is the identification of context with finite resources to obtain a private and/or public output. We show via a wording demonstrator the extent to which such factors can, with readily available technology, be incorporated into a system. The paper also outlines the set of reactions that a system might take when given context information on the user and the environment.

2007

Interacting with Projected Displays by Means of a 3D Interface and an Instrumented Bracelet
Lübomira Spassova
IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces
[pdf] show abstract
This paper introduces a 3D user interface and a concept for an interaction device that we refer to as an instrumented bracelet. Both interfaces are purpose-designed to facilitate user interaction with the AR projection system Fluid Beam. The 3D interface is a desktop application that enables the creation and manipulation of projected displays (virtual displays) in the environment. With the instrumented bracelet, the user will be able to interact more freely and more intuitively with the projected displays using arm movements and speech.

2005

The Virtual Room Inhabitant – Intuitive Interaction With Intelligent Environments
Michael Kruppa, Lübomira Spassova, Michael Schmitz
Proceedings of the 18th Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI05)
[pdf] [BibTeX] show abstract
Abstract. In this paper we describe a new way to improve the usability of complex hardware setups in Intelligent Environments. By introducing a virtual character, we facilitate intuitive interaction with our Intelligent Environment. The character is capable of freely moving along the wall of the room. The character is aware of the users position and orientation within the room. In this way, it may offer situated assistance as well as unambiguous references to physical objects by means of combined gestures, speech and physical locomotion. We make use of a steerable projector and a spatial audio system, in order to position the character within the environment.

Product Associated Displays in a Shopping Scenario
Lübomira Spassova, Rainer Wasinger, Jörg Baus, Antonio Krüger
4th IEEE and ACM International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR 05), 2005, pp. 210-211.
[ DOWNLOAD NOTE ] [BibTeX] show abstract
In this paper, we introduce the concept of Product Associated Displays – PADs – as a way of providing visual feedback to users interacting with physical objects in an instrumented environment. PADs are projected public displays created at locations that can be intuitively associated with the objects they show information about. The concept is illustrated in a shopping scenario.

The Virtual Room Inhabitant
Michael Kruppa, Lübomira Spassova, Michael Schmitz
2nd Workshop on Multi-User and Ubiquitous User Interfaces (MU3I)
[pdf] [BibTeX] show abstract
In this paper we describe a new way to improve the usability of complex hardware setups in Instrumented Environments (IEs). By introducing a virtual character, we facilitate intuitive interaction with our IE. The character is capable of freely moving along the walls of the room. In this way, it may offer situated assistance to users within the environment. We make use of a steerable projector and a spatial audio system, in order to position the character within the environment. Our concept of a virtual character “living” within the IE, and thus playing the role of an assistant, allows both novice and advanced users to efficiently interact with the different devices integrated within the IE. The character is capable of welcoming a first time visitor and its main purpose is to explain the setup of the environment and to help users while interacting with it.

2004

Fluid Beam - A Steerable Projector and Camera Unit
Lübomira Spassova
Student and Newbie Colloquium at ISWC/ISMAR
[pdf] [BibTeX] show abstract
This paper presents an approach of using a steerable projector and camera unit in order to augment instrumented environments with projected virtual objects. The environment appears to be covered with a kind of invisible virtual layer on which images, texts, videos, computer desktops and other virtual objects can be placed. By steering the projector beam on particular surfaces the objects placed on them are made visible as if the projector were a virtual torch light.

Fluid Beam -- Konzeption und Realisierung eines Display-Kontinuums mittels einer steuerbaren Projektor-Kamera-Einheit
Lübomira Spassova
[pdf]

SearchLight - A Lightweight Search Function for Pervasive Environments
Andreas Butz, Michael Schneider, Mira Spassova
Pervasive Computing, Second International Conference
[pdf] [BibTeX] show abstract
We present a lightweight search function for physical objects in instrumented environments. Objects are tagged with optical markers which are scanned by a steerable camera and projector unit on the ceiling. The same projector can then highlight the objects when given the corresponding marker ID. The process is very robust regarding calibration, and no 3D model of the environment is needed. We discuss the scenario of finding books in a library or office environment and several extensions currently under development.

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Lectures

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