<p>This thesis presents a mobile multimodal service platform, which enable users to interact with automated services using a standard mobile terminal in a user friendly and efficient way. The concept of multimodality was introduced to the world of mobile devices and services because one saw the limitations that conventional interaction methods posed. There is a merging trend that people want to be more mobile and have access to different services when on the move. To adapt to the user needs, the service providers try to develop mobile services. The problem is that these services are becoming ever more complex and requires more interaction from the user. The paradox is that the mobile devices these new services are accessible from has not evolved in the same speed. Most of the mobile devices sold on the market today basically comprise of a display and a simple keypad. Thus, to navigate in and operate a mobile service, requires both patience and handiness using a mobile handset. The multimodal system worked on in this thesis is a speech-centric multimodal platform based on a client-server architecture. The user connect the multimodal client part with the multimodal server part and can thereafter interact with a multimodal service using both speech commands and touch-sensitive display to point at objects etc. in the graphical user interface. As a response to the user queries the system can present the results using both graphics and synthesized speech. This may not sound as a revolutionizing new concept, but what the multimodal interface provides is the possibility to give simultaneous input. I.e. the user may point at a icon on the display while simultaneously input speech commands. These two inputs interpreted one by one will give no meaning, but interpreted together they constitute a reasonable user query. In this way, the user can do interaction based on own preferences. The result of the query is also multimodal, i.e. the system present the results according to the user preference, and the user will hopefully have a better user experience. The thesis look into multimodality and relevant technology. Further it specifies requirements for the mobile multimodal service. Based on the requirements, a mobile multimodal solution is elaborated. The implementation and the presented solution elaborated in the thesis is based upon a multimodal platform which among others Telenor R&D has contributed to. The original multimodal platform base the communication between client and server on a WLAN connection. To improve the mobility, functionality for connecting client and server using third generation mobile network technology referred to as 3G, or more specific UMTS, is implemented. Further an analysis on how well the implementation cover the specified requirements is performed. Finally, considerations about the multimodality and the presented solution is discussed, with emphasize on reliability, usability and openness.</p>

<p>The explosive growth, in both the size and complexity, of communication and computing systems has made it increasingly difficult to manage and configure these. In today’s ever-changing environments, systems frequently need to adapt and reconfigure their components to suit the restrictions imposed on them by the same environment. However, such configuration tasks may be quite time consuming and is often suited only for trained personnel. If the complexity continues to grow, it will at some point grow beyond any human’s ability to manage. Consequently, there have recently been great interest in making computer systems more autonomic, thus giving them the ability to configure themselves. The purpose of this master’s thesis was to assess how one could create such self-configuring systems using Semantic Web technologies to classify and recover from pre-defined error scenarios. The Semantic Web is an effort to give meaning to information in a machine-readable way, through the use of a knowledge-representation technique known as ontologies. Ontologies are formal and explicit specifications of shared conceptualisations [103] that can be used to model and represent an entire domain, including its units and relations. This is useful in self-configuring systems as such world models are considered good starting points for reasoning as well as error solutions [3]. The thesis describes how one can utilise these ontologies encoded using the Web Ontology Language (OWL) combined with another Semantic Web technology, the Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL), in order to classify the pre-defined error scenarios. This classification is suggested realised using three separate steps: first, the given domain is modelled and an OWL-encoded ontology is created, then necessary unit information is inserted into the ontology by the use of ontology instances. Finally, SWRL’s horn-style rules are used to determine which error scenario the given situation should be classified as. It is further suggested using an event-based monitoring solution to decide when such a classification is needed. The thesis also shows how one can use the OWL service specification ontology, OWL-S, to specify and describe which actions a failed unit should take in order to recover from an error. In addition to a thorough theoretical assessment on how Semantic Web technologies could be used in self-configuring systems, an architecture design for the realisation of such a system is proposed. The proposal includes block diagrams, state machines describing functionality, and message sequence charts. All conforms to the UML2.0 standard. The use of such formal modelling languages allows for easy translation into an executable framework to which the more specific functionality may be added (including OWL-S execution etc). To test the feasibility of the suggested approach, two experiments were designed and conducted. These set out to test whether SWRL rules could classify error scenarios and if it was possible to execute repair procedures encoded in OWL-S. Although some of the sub-tests failed due to the immaturity of the Semantic Web field and its technologies, the approach seemed to be promising. A complete realisation of the architecture will however require that underlying technology issues are resolved.</p>

<p>This thesis is the result of a thorough process that started the fall of 2005. It began with a brief study of the possibilities offered by NFC, and continued to look at the technology from the perspective of using the mobile phone as a smartcard for payment and ticketing. The process then continued with a thorough study of existing smartcard standards, communication protocols and technology for realizing a solution. The work continued with an analysis of the problem at hand and exploring the requirements such a system would have to meet. The analysis led to a design which has been implemented into a working prototype. The development process of the thesis has followed the outline given in section 1.5. The evaluation and conclusion steps are carried out in regards to the result of this thesis. They are not the result of an evaluation and conclusion regarding the complete electronic ticketing system. The discussion and conclusion sections will still include elements from the complete system, but they can not be considered results from the design science process. The described system and implementation can be analyzed in many ways, but two important ones are part of the thesis discussion. Section 8.1 provides a discussion of the technical solution and the choices that will guide further development. Section 8.2 looks at the system from a more commercial view. The system is based on an analysis of user needs, and the accuracy of these analyses most likely has impact on the user adoption and commercial success of the system.</p>

<p>This report contains an introduction to graphics and video technology. Furthermore the game Avatars-Online, which is a massive multiplayer online game is presented. Avatars-Online introduces a new concept of handling player-to-player interaction, which involves 3D-sound. The report contains the answers to the tasks presented in the assignment and which was carried out successfully. Furthermore the work of this report has lead to two interesting ideas that should be further explored: • Interactive meeting rooms using graphics and 3D sound • Rapid construction of high quality 3D models</p>

<p>PAN, Personal Area Network, may be described as the connection of personal devices, allowing information exchange over short ranges. This term is used on several of todays short range wireless technologies like Bluetooth, ZigBee, Infrared etc. In this thesis we look in to how Bluetooth as a PAN technology may be used to enrich context information to a person. Context is information that can be used to characterize the situation of an entity. It may be acquired in many ways, e.g. from user input (status in an IM client), sensed (temperature, location, heart rate), or derived (e.g. combination of location and time of day). Several scenarios showing the benefits of context aware computing will be presented, and proposals on how Bluetooth may fit in as an enabling technology will be evaluated. In the end, a design and implementation showing Bluetooth in context acquisition will be presented.</p>

<p>This master thesis has been written in connection with the ongoing Sea Cage Gateway (SCG) project, a project investigating the possibility of remotely administering fish farming facilities. These facilities consist of sea cages placed offshore and connected to the mainland through wireless communication technologies. The sea cages all contain a number of sensors optimizing production and increasing safety. Not only must this sensor data be read, it must also be transported, collected, interpreted, handled, saved and retrieved. In addition, it is necessary to provide backup communication links in case of failures in the main communication systems. The system should be as autonomous as possible, allowing it to be unmanned for longer periods of time. This thesis has further investigated the possibility of remotely controlling and administering a fish farm through distributed nodes over wireless communication links. As a basis for this thesis domain descriptions from previous master theses written in connection with the SCG-project have been used. This thesis has also aimed to collect inspiration from other domains and concepts which have similarities with the SCG-project. With the increasing numbers of nodes and communication links present at the fish farm installations, areas such as grid computing and sensor networks have many applicable principles for the SCG-system. These principles have been integrated into the system design to give the basis for further such functionality in the SCG-domain. In addition to the areas of grid computing and sensor networks, the current and latest wireless communication technologies available for providing the services required by the SCG-system have been presented. The communication links also influence the system design since their connection types must be handled by the SCG-system elements. The SCG-system proposed has been designed and implemented with ActorFrame. The implemented system has functioned as a demonstrator for the main principles presented in the design. It has incorporated a GPS-receiver and a GPRS-modem to represent a sensor on a sea cage and a redundant communication link. The system implemented reports GPS-data to a central unit and issues alerts upon sensor data deviations (sea cage out of position). Furthermore, the demonstrator can detect a failed communication link and switch to the backup GPRS-modem, generate alarms, and continue to provide basic services. All elements and their status are reported and registered in a database and are presented through a dynamic web interface. The demonstrator has shown that ActorFrame can be utilized to provide the necessary functionality the SCG-domain requires. A few improvements are proposed for the framework to increase the flexibility and performance of the system, especially in the area of handling the distribution of actors on independent nodes and how the heterogeneous network technologies present in SCG-system require a higher-level of network-awareness on behalf of the application. This thesis has also suggested several possible extensions and future areas of work.</p>

<p>This Master's Thesis is built around the concept of fleet management, focusing on designing and implementing a solution for such a purpose. As a target domain for this proposed system snow clearing has been chosen, and it is presented as background for the system realisation. An important feature in a fleet management system is route optimisation. Estimations based on real-world data can be used to construct more effective routes. This optimisation process is not straightforward though, as it belongs in a domain called Vehicle Routing Problems. These problems effectively becomes unsolvable for realisticly sized datasets using traditional optimisation methods, and the reasons behind this and alternative solution approaches are presented in this text. Enhanced fleet monitoring is another target for a fleet management system, and this requires modern localisation technology. To continuously be aware of every unit's position, an accurate tracking mechanism is necessary. Such mechanisms are also presented, focusing mainly on the Global Positioning System (GPS). To create the actual solution, a thorough design phase was necessary. The results of this process, including a requirement specification, a design model and a test plan, are included in this report. Based on the design phase parts of the system have been implemented, such as the graphical user interfaces and communication. The main focus of the implemetation has been on the optimisation process though, and several approaches have been tested. All implentation results, including testing results based on the test plan, can be found in this report. To offer operators a clear view of the positions of the fleet's units, a part of the system will need to work as a geographical information system. This functionality has not been implemented, but its requirements are discussed as well. To add a market perspective to this thesis a business model for a company developing the proposed solution is presented, along with a view on how the solution may affect the business model of companies that implement it into their operations. The last part of the report presents a discussion around the proposed solution. This discussion focuses on the qualities and shortcomings of the solution, how it compares to already existing solutions in the market, and what future work is necessary for the system to be completed.</p>

<p>This thesis presents an analysis of 184 of the best selling PC games from 1985 to 2009. Results show that 92% of the analyzed games support singleplayer game mode, and roughly 7% are massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs). The latter game type is represented by 100% role-playing games. The action and strategy genres are each represented as the primary game genre in around 1/3 of the games. Results indicate that the popularity of game genres vary with game platform (PC vs. consoles). Moreover, franchises, games with expansion(s) or in series, dominate the compiled best seller list. Furthermore, this thesis contributes with case studies explaining the business models of three different games (World of Warcraft, Anarchy Online and FarmVille), created by three distinct game companies (Blizzard, Funcom and Zynga). The three business models are presented using the business model ontology defined by Osterwalder in his PhD dissertation. The product, customer relationship, infrastructure, and the various revenue models available to game publishers, are among the elements explained and studied in detail.</p>

<p>Oppgaven har sett på hvordan man kan organisere metadata om musikk på en måte som tillater deling av denne informasjonen med andre. Som et hjelpemiddel til organiseringen av metadata har denne oppgaven benyttet emnekart for å kunne illustrere og organisere data på en måte som ikke bare er forståelig for datamaskiner, men som også kan visualiseres og forstås av mennesker. Det har blitt lagt ned en del arbeid på tilpassingen av en grunnmodell som benyttes som et utgangspunkt for videre arbeid med metadata om artister og deres verk. Denne grunnmodellen baserer seg på FRBR-modellen og vil bli spesialtilpasset til formålet i denne oppgaven. I løpet av prosjektperioden har denne oppgaven også sett på hva som finnes av musikkinformasjon på Internett. Vi har sett på musikkformater og metadata tilknyttet til disse. Oppgaven presenterer teoribakgrunnen for disse formatene, og foreslår hvor vi kan gjenbruke formater og andre modeller slik at disse også blir en del av en ny og oversiktelig modell for musikkmetadata. Den praktiske delen av oppgaven har gått med til å teste ut ulike metoder for informasjonsdeling. Når vi skal dele informasjon med andre brukere over et nettverk, kan vi benytte vidt forskjellige utgangspunkt for kommunikasjon. I denne oppgaven har vi sett primært på hvordan vi kan slå sammen to emnekart, hva resultatet av dette blir og hvordan vi videre kan raffinere denne sammenslåingen ved å definere gitte parametere. Vi har sett at det ikke er så enkelt å jobbe med konseptuelle modeller, der vi må forsøke å spesialtilpasse disse til et spesifikt formål. Resultater fra ulike tester har både vært positive og negative i forhold til hva ulike verktøy tillater oss å arbeide med. Til programmering har det blitt benyttet rutiner i Java, og det har blitt skriptet i XML. Det har blitt gjort nytte av standardiserte verktøy i så stor grad som mulig, spesielt med tanke på applikasjoner og andre verktøy som vi har benyttet i løpet av prosjektperioden. Det er nevnt i oppgaveteksten hvilke applikasjoner det gjelder og kildelisten peker videre til disse. Resultatene etter testing viser at det er mulig å inkorporere ulike standarder, modeller og teknikker i en felles modell for informasjonsdeling, men at dette også krever noe disiplin på brukerens side. Det er mulig å benytte denne oppgaven som teoretisk bakgrunn for videre arbeid med nye applikasjoner som benytter lignende metoder for metadatadeling mellom brukere.</p>

<p>Emnekart er et hjelpemiddel for å navigere blant ressurser, men har i utgangspunktet ingen bestemt struktur for hvordan informasjon bør struktureres. Oppgaven tar derfor for seg ulike formater, som er benyttet for strukturering av informasjon, for å se om disse kan være til hjelp ved implementasjon av emnekart. Det er også slik at mange ressurser allerede har metadata knyttet til seg, eller er strukturert i standardiserte modeller, eller klassifisert etter gitte systemer, og det kan da være av interesse å fortsette og nyttiggjøre seg av denne informasjonen og struktureringen selv om man tar i bruk en standard som emnekart. For å undersøke dette er Dublin Core, Dewey og FRBR-modellen implementert i emnekart standarden. Det er også i oppgaven sett på sammenfletting av forskjellige emnekart, og om en standardisering av emnekart kan gjøre sammenflettingen bedre. Det er testet både sammenfletting med to emnekart basert på samme struktur, i tillegg til sammenfletting på tvers av strukturer.</p>