DIEM is one of the Tekes-TIVIT ICT-shok projects launched in 2008. The project in general focuses in smart environments where interoperable devices and services provide new kinds of information ecosystems. The project targets to enable news services and applications that are based smart environments that comprise of digital devices containing relevant information for different purposes. The key is interoperability between devices from different domains. From the user point, continually evolving information and communication technologies touch nearly every aspect of our everyday life. In the ambient services that use ubiquitous technologies, this human technology interaction will be in nearest future and extend much more complex field of everyday life.
More information about the project overall can be found from tivit website and diem website.

IHTE is taking part in two of the five work packages in the DIEM entity: Mobile Mixed Reality (MMR) and User Interaction & UI.

Mobile Mixed Reality (MMR)

Mixed reality, i.e. the integration and merging of physical and digital worlds, has become an integral part of the research agenda of ubiquitous computing. By interconnecting of the real and virtual, MMR has a huge potential to provide new ecosystems with pleasurable and rich user experiences.

The concept of mixed reality refers to the integration and merging of the real and virtual worlds where physical and virtual objects interact with each other. Broadly defined, mixed reality is understood to cover the extensive continuum between the two opposite discrete ends of reality and virtuality. In practice, it is often considered as augmented reality (AR), where the real world is augmented with digital (virtual) information, and augmented virtuality (AV), where a virtual world is augmented with real-world information. All this is done in order to create rich information, environments, and service ecosystems. We focus especially in mobile mixed reality (MMR), particularly with means of augmented reality. MMR content and information can be, for example, virtual objects aligned on top of physical places, objects or even people. This augmented information can be observed from, for example, a mobile phone camera view. With AR, perception of the environment can be enhanced, enriched and be made more transparent to the surrounding data (e.g. information, advertising and resources related to places, objects and situations).

Interaction & UI

User Interaction (UI) is a joint work package combining the efforts of researchers at VTT, IHTE, University of Tampere and TKK. User Interaction work package works in close co-operation with the other work packages in DIEM; Interoperability, Mobile Mixed Reality, Public Spaces and Building Automation. As such, UI focuses on proving methods for design and evaluation for the other work packages as well as in more academic pursuit on defining user experience variables for smart environments and methods development.

From the user point of view, the DIEM smart environment may appear quite complex. The smart environment does not necessarily relate to a certain physical space; instead, it can be a moving, changing, and the boundaries of the space are not necessarily determined by physical boundaries, such as walls of buildings. The DIEM smart environment is an enabler for many kinds of tasks and activities performed with space but available local resources.

The main considerations of DIEM that will affect user experience and thus are in the focus of UI work package attention are as follows:

• Openness and information sharing: The environment can be created, for example, ad hoc to consist of any type of devices and anywhere in the world. Devices may enter and leave the environment, bringing information and resources with them. Users may add new information into the environment or modify the information in the environment.


• Change and development: The environment is dynamic and evolving in nature: new devices can join it, bringing their information and services in, and then leave the environment; application designers can test new applications, elaborate them, and then remove them.


• Security and trust: For instance, interoperability may make it difficult to perceive where the information is from, how it is built up and can it be trusted.


• Multimodality and usability – simplicity and easiness of use: Multimodal user interaction methods may create rich user experience but consistency between interactions on different modalities must be taken care of. One basic question is that how does the user know what information and services are available in the environment, and how to grab and control those.