S M A R T - I T S   W o r k s h o p   3
  Oulu, Finland
November 28-29, 2001
 
  ATTENDEES  

 

Petteri Alahuhta, Stavros Antifakos, Christian Decker, Per Jacobsson, Jouni Kaartinen, Oliver Kaster, Peter Ljungstrand, Esko Malm, Florian Michahelles, Ramia MazÈ, Bernt Schiele, Martin Strohbach, Elena

S e s s i o n  O v e r v i e w :
  GOALS  

 

coming soon . . .
 

  SESSION SCHEDULE
.

coming soon .. .
 

  CONCLUSIONS
 

coming soon. . .



B r a i n s t o r m i n g :
    The first half of the day was spent brainstorming in three smaller groups around the conceptual areas of (1) ambiance, (2) supply and delivery, and (3) food preparation. Video clips from movies and mini-ethnographic studies at PLAY acted as inspiration and stimulus for the brainstorming. These helped to provide understanding about real sequences of action in such activities as the chef preparing a plate or the complex interweaving of service, advice, and selection in making a purchas at a fish market. They also helped identify the role of props, artefacts, and tools, such as scales and waiter's order slips, and the environmental factors that make up various ambiances.

The outcome of the brainstorming was a series of analyses around activities. Each group, having identified key activies in their conceptual area, described them in terms of: Motivations for the user (customer, chef, waitress, deliver person etc) ; Characteristics of the place or time ; Artefacts nearby or involved in the activity ; and Other factors.
             
   
Group 1
 
Group 2
 
Group 3
             
   
Getting attention

Motivations: Paying, ordering, complaining, getting seated

Characteristics of place or time: at the table, at the wardrobe, in the queue

Artefacts: hanger, hook, floor, plate, silverwear, chair, table, cold food

Other:
scheduled - entrance, paying, leaving
event-driven - fork is dirty

Balancing reservations and queuing

Motivations: maitre'd planning

Characteristics: how long people have been waiting, how long people inside are sitting

Artefacts: hangers, lists, podium

Celebrating a birthday

Motivations: making it fun, efficient service not so much concentration on the menu, getting a cake and singing

Characteristics: planning ahead

Artefacts: candles, cake, singers, party hats

Other: about a mood, it could be a surpise

Staff/kitchen planning

Motivations: streamlining stock of food, staff schedules, waitress routing

Characteristics: time of week, special holidays, what's in season, booked event hosting

Artefacts: reservation book, table groupings, special event props

 
Determining price and value

Motivations: Best value for money

Characteristics of place or time: freshness and expiration, availability and seasons, special holiday or events

Artefacts: food, farms/factories/fishing boats, special containers, refrigerated transport

Other: fluxuation among competitors

Ordering a delivery

Motivations: Planning to have the right amount in stock at all times

Characteristics: freshness, different foods at different times (fresh vegetables and oysters vs potatoes and rice vs washing liquid)

Artefacts: tools, ovens, appliances

Getting together an order for delivery

Motivations: Sorting goods efficiently and quickly, preventing mix-ups

Characteristics: Different compartments in the truck, different storage temperatures, getting from outside to inside

Artefacts: goods, truck, fridge/cooler, crates

Pre-preparation of foods (such as sauces in Asian cooking)

Motivations: To have it ready on time, only one ingredient of final dish, having special ingredients on hand

Characteristics: Preparation of sauce way ahead of time for many kinds of dishes, needs to be stored beforehand, but then needed to hand

Artefacts: kitchen, appliances, ingredients, timers

Unloading an order

Motivations: Needs to be fast, easy (not too heavy), signing forms and approvals, finding orders

Characteristics: In between truck and kitchen

Artefacts: lifter, pallet truck, barcode reader/scanner, labels, gloves, phone, forms, pens

Other: Several people involved, security and approval, authentication


Stocking shelves

Motivations: Preventing mix-ups and things are easy to find

Characteristics: Old stuff in front, cold and very cold, stinky, by item/date/quality, keeping spagetti sauce near spagetti

Artefacts: fridge, freezer, goods, transporation
 
Filling an order

Motivations: Preparing and delivering orders efficiently, in the proper condition, without waste

Characteristics: Things prepared very differently have to be ready at the same time, things are served at different temperatures, orders could contain cocktails and food

Artefacts: Fridge, oven, counter, order slip, waitress tray, garnish containers

Other: Needs communication waiter->chef->waiter

Monitoring customer satisfaction

Motivations: Measuring status in order to provide or predict how to deliver the best service

Characteristics: Measuring level of irritation

Managing and delivering multiple orders

Motivations: Quality of service, easy flow, doing the job well, customer satisfaction

Characteristics: Under stress, many things to manage

Artefacts: order slips, peg at counter, dishes, ingredients, trays

Other: Special orders and changes in orders

Monitoring popularity

Motivations: Keeping things in stock, rating restaurant, knowing which restaurant to go to, menu planning, staff planning

Characteristics: See what others are eating/have eaten, how long they spend eating, if food gets cold (is not eaten), seasonal dishes

Artefacts: other plates, orders, ingredients



T h e m e s :
    After brainstorming, we looked at the activities in terms of sequences of actions, and tried to format and draw them as storyboards. This generated further ideas and started to highlight some themes overarching ideas within conceptual areas and accross them. The discussion around themes also tried to identify which were most interesting and unique for Smart-Its and this project in particular.

The themes, discussed at the end of the first day are below. Under the main headings, there are examples from the brainstorming above of specific instances of these activities. Activities begin to emerge as more general ways of understanding specific scenarios - they also suggest means for relating Smart-Its technology to the bigger domain picture outside the restaurant context.


PLANNING AND PREPARATION
for instance...		   examples from brainstorm ideas above:
pre-preparation of orders

- menu planning organizes and orders items at the appropriate time
- garnishes, wine stock, special cutlery are ordered/washed/chilled ahead of time
flow planning for events, staff, and orders - food stock and staff schedules reflect time of year, time of day, popularity of dishes
- wait staffing and reservations coordinated
managing stock and supplies

- stocking items on a shelf for convenience and to keep the goods moving
- predicting need for goods calculated automatically (ie., oyster and washing liquid supply are managed differently)
- amount in stock and expiration of goods informs menu planning


MONITORING THE BIG PICTURE
for instance...		   examples from brainstorm ideas above:
knowing the status of an establishment (for management and clientele)

- 'efficiency' profile built from matching stock ordered, dishes ordered, profit gained
- popularity profiles built for particular dishes, can affect planning, pricing and reputation
- customers survey surrounding tables for recommendations for popular dishes and dish/beverage combos
- ordering/waste proportion measured
keeping track of efficiency and satisfaction - effectiveness of staff members monitored over time
- overall monitoring of customer satisfaction (amount of waiting, food actually eaten, irritation levels)
keeping tabs on the status of multiple items/orders   - maitre'd overviews and assesses queue, reservations, and how far each table is into the meal
- waitress' orders reflect priority, impatience of customers, when orders are ready
reporting authenticity and quality - prices and menus reflect competition, seasonal conditions, 'eco'-status
- reporting efficiency and customer satisfaction to restaurant guides etc.


REAL-TIME MANAGEMENT OF GOODS AND SERVICES
for instance...		   examples from brainstorm ideas above:
calculating price and value dynamically

- items are priced by freshness, distance traveled, availability, season
- quality is assessed by competition, how similar goods sell in other places, conditions of transport, conditions of farm/fishing boat
- authenticity and 'eco-friendly' aspects of origins and transport monitored by products themselves (self-displaying labels?)

processing and unloading a delivery

- items in an order keep together at the moment of processing even when in different compartments in the truck
- arrival of delivery truck signals appropriate moving equipment and staff
alerting attention - customers behavior/mood acts as a cue for the waiter's attention
- completed orders (dishes, cocktails, temperatures etc) alert waitress
coordinating multiple activities and items

- a birthday event triggers waiters to sing, cake to be ready, lights to go down
- special/changed orders
- guests arrival maps them to a scheme for seating, level of service
- a change in the situation (changed order, guest arrival) calculates amount of wait and flow planning for chef




E x a m p l e   C o n t e x t   A r c h i t e c t u r e s:
    On the second day, we randomly chose specific activity scenarios from the first day to evaluate the Context Architecture structure proposed by the VTT team. While this is not the place to look into this comprehensively, my personal notes are below to refer to if needed.

Processing and unloading a delivery
    
eggs, frozen fish, palette of beer

subscribe to the truck's positioning system (or the other way around)

truck publishes context of arrival to the restaurant (including list of objects)
objects in restaurant (fridge, shelves)   query goods about storage properties, exchange private data
unloading area (doors, pallette truck, gloves)

query goods in truch for characteristics (weight, destination in kitchen), exchange private data


Delivering an order
    
order makes friends of the plates
plates waiting to be served signal waitress

query context based on friends
recognize context - check if backbone is needed to provide an answer to the request


Preparing an order
    
"When is the dish ready?" order slip querries items

problems:
what if an item is out of communication range
no error handling (assumes error-free communication)
practical or resource problem
"Where are the ingredients I need?"

problems:
300 things (everything in the kitchen) must be asked if they are spagetti
where does the knowledge reside? in the fridge, each item in the pantry...
where doees the Genie reside at the end of the day? distributed?




A p p l i c a t i o n   P o t e n t i a l s :
  In synthesizing and drawing out the essentials from the workshop session, I have 'grown' a list of several possible applications. These may come directly from activity scenarios explored in the workshop or may be an amalgam of several ideas. In order to flesh out application areas most promising for Smart-Its and which seem grounded in our group work, they are chosen from within the 3 main thematic areas.

I have tried to pull out the most interesting aspects of each from a Smart-Its point of view, highlighting, for instance, characteristics and requirements for each. For instance, when artefacts have to work with other appliances, know their history, and modify their environmental conditions (important for both percepts, context architecture, etc.). Naturally this is only suggested and not comprehensive until we select 1 (or more) of these to go for and work through thoroughly. Additionally, from a strategic 'story' point of view, I have sugested possibilities for a wider domain applicability on the far right column.

Our next step should be to select 1 (or 2) of these to go for and really delve into. Of course even a single application may seem quite big and complex. Naturally we will not be able to implement a whole application, but rather smaller examples within an application, with the application as a bigger story to build future functionality within and to explain future potentials of Smart-Its. We should chose among these based on what we are inspired by, by what seems to illustrate the unique promise of Smart-Its technology (collective perception, context sensitivity, generic, cheap, and ubiquitous, etc.)
         
PLANNING AND PREPARATION
         
  menu planning artefacts/characteristics requirements
(application needs to...)		 wider applicability
(domains other than restaurants!)
  - organize the items needed
(ingredients to be delivered, suggested wines, garnishes to be chilled, extra wait staff for holiday meals, washing special cutlery needed)

- suggestions made in planning
( based on surplus of items in stock, on sale, or seasonally)		 - various time scales
(items ordered 1 week ahead, special menus seasonally, items such as sauces prepared ahead of time heated just before serving)

- various types of items
(hot and cold foods, cultural and seasonal associations, perhaps accompanied by special ambiance)

- associated with other applications
(reservation planning, event planning, local produce specialities each season, specialties available unpredictably, price of menu calculated dynamically)

- suggestions linked to bigger networks
( monitoring quality of stock in markets, vinyards etc)		 - know what goes with what
- know what needs to be ordered when
- what's already in stock
- a calendar
- pricing strategy
- storage information for each item

- for specialty retailers with changeable stock (such as florists)
- for 'package weekend deals' offered by hotels
- for supermarkets making suggestions to customers
- for stadiums hosting sports events
- self-regulating amusement parks
         
  stocking items artefacts/characteristics requirements
(application needs to...)		 wider applicability
(domains other than restaurants!)
  - locating items in the store
(associated items stocked together, perhaps special/surplus given visible places)

- putting them in a proper order
(old items in front etc, indicating when expired)

- automatic ordering depending on demand

- perhaps related to time of year, day of week

 - monitoring freshness
(associated with expiration date, storage and transporation conditions, temperature)

- items linked to each other
(suggestions made in traveling through store)

- associated with bigger networks
(automatic ordering and pricing depending on availability) 		- know what goes with what
- know what needs to be ordered when
- what's already in stock
- a calendar
- some self-organization or display of how to be organized
- it's own history

- retailers
- recycleable goods
- luggage routing systems
- collectibles like records, valuable books
- museum navigation?
- pharmacies and hospital storerooms
         
         
MONITORING THE BIG PICTURE
         
  monitoring eco-friendliness artefacts/characteristics requirements
(application needs to...)		 wider applicability
(domains other than restaurants!)
  - ordering/waste proportion monitored
(inventory is self-reporting in and out of the building)

- channeling recyclables properly

- self-regulating appliances
(fridges and containers behave differently depending on the amount and needs of contents)

- intelligent order placing
(local goods, conditions monitored) 		- items report their history
(from origin to arrival on the plate)

- items determine their treatment
(storage temperature etc, could be associated with menu planning so things could be deep frozen or not refrigerated depending on when to be used)

- associated with other applications
(menu planning and popularity of certain dishes)

- suggestions linked to bigger networks
( local products self-report their status, delivery and garbage collection planned only when necessary)		 - know what goes with what
- items associated with appliances
- a calendar
- same item knows if it's being stored or recycled
- it's own history
- it's recommended treatment

- supermarkets
- homes
- car dealerships
         
  popularity profiles artefacts/characteristics requirements
(application needs to...)		 wider applicability
(domains other than restaurants!)
  - suggestions for menus
(dishes and beverages based on what others are doing

- history and customer satisfaction over time

- associated items recommend themselves together
 - dishes publish their popularity
(satisfaction of people ordering them, history over time)

- variable quality monitored
(conditions for each ingredient's history and preparation makes up an overall quality report)

- suggestions linked to bigger networks
(menu planning, wine suggestion, restaurant guides, seasonal/local specialities)
 - know what goes with what
- time of day, calendar
- self-knowledge on many levels (items, dishes, menus)
- measure satisfaciton of people (whether it's left cold on a plate etc)

- supermarkets
- library books
- wine merchants
- fashion advice in stores
- tourist bureaus publishing instant guides
         
         
REAL-TIME MANAGEMENT OF GOODS AND SERVICES
         
  'stock market' value for food artefacts/characteristics requirements
(application needs to...)		 wider applicability
(domains other than restaurants!)
  - price calculated at point of purchase
(depends on distance traveled, availability, season and weather predictions, how the competition is selling, what the demand is for associated products, eco-factors, fluxuating taxes, popularity)

- goods routed depending on demand
(fishmarket charges higher prices and gets fresher goods)

- service factored into price
(care taken in transportation, storage, handing over to customer is factored into price)

- price depends on venue
(same product sold in corner-store or harrods)
 - items determine their own quality
(treatment, rarity, freshness/expiration, eco-friendliness)

- items associated with one another
(price of french fries determines price of ketchup)

- special deals calculated
(for bulk items, particular menus, amount ordered, 'eco' status on multiple items could get you a tax break)

- linked to bigger networks
(competition, popularity, border/import taxes, weather predictions, 'eco'status)		 - knows associated items
- know history of treatment
- know if it's in demand
- competitive strategy
- customer satisfaction/popularity
- context of point of purchase
- measures satisfaction during consumption and reports?

- wines
- flowers
- cars
- antiques
- insurance coverage on shipped goods
- customs control at borders
- admission prices to exhibits
- prices for lottery tickets
         
  processing orders artefacts/characteristics requirements
(application needs to...)		 wider applicability
(domains other than restaurants!)
  - items coordinated at key points
(when loaded off a truck, when distributed into storage, when being cooked or prepared)

- people signalled of appropriate treatment
(on arrival to a delivery point, which items distributed together, when an order is 'ready' in terms of different treatments of component items)

- appliances behave accordingly
(special equipment notified if there are special items from pallette trucks for heavy items to special cutlery for special orders)
 - items know associated equipment
(appliances, shelves, temperatures, unloading tools, cuttlery)

- items associated with one another
(different items may be associated at different times)

- context specific treatments
(in the truck versus in the kitchen vs on the counter for the waitress)

- linked to bigger networks
(menu planning, staffing at different times of the day)		 - knows associated items/equipment/people
- knows different contexts
- knows how it should be treated

- baggage handling
- ups and post
- antiques
- garbage collection
- pharmaceuticals
- zoo animals and pets