Department of Science and Technology
Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap
LiU-ITN-TEK-A--08/014--SE
The design of an RFID-based
interaction system at ICEHOTEL
Tomas Henriksson
LiU-ITN-TEK-A--08/014--SE
The design of an RFID-based
interaction system at ICEHOTEL
Examensarbete utfört i medieteknik
vid Tekniska Högskolan vid
Linköpings unversitet
Tomas Henriksson
Handledare Arne Bergh
Examinator Matt Cooper
Norrköping 2008-02-08-15:00
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Sammanfattning
ICEHOTEL ¨ar ett mycket kreativt och innovativt f¨oretag som g¨arna utforskar vilka m¨ojligheter till f¨orb¨attringar som interaktiv informationsteknik kan ge. De har s˚aledes p˚ab¨orjat ett samarbete med institutionen f¨or informatik vid Ume˚a universitet(UmU) som handlar om ”interaktions design i kalla milj¨oer”. Denna uppsats ¨ar en del av det samarbetet, tillsammans med ytterligare projekt ifr˚an UmU.
Den h¨ar uppsatsen fokuserar p˚a anv¨andningen av RFID teknik f¨or design av ett interaktions-system och gr¨anssnitt p˚a ICEHOTEL. Anledningen till att RFID ¨
ar ett b¨attre val f¨or ett s˚adant system i j¨amf¨orelse med andra befintliga l¨osningar ¨
ar att RFID ¨ar v¨aldigt robust, enkelt, flexibelt och relativt billigt.
RFID ¨ar baserat p˚a ¨overf¨oring av information via radiosignaler mellan s¨arskilda l¨asare och transpondrar (taggar). L¨asarna ¨ar l¨atta att koppla ihop med vilket system f¨or interaktion som helst. Taggarna kan placeras inuti handskar som ICEHOTELs bes¨okare b¨ar, vilket ger handskarna en annan funktion ¨an bara som skydd fr˚an kylan.
Det resulterande interaktions-systemet skulle bli ett intuitivt och l¨attanv¨ant gr¨anssnitt baserat p˚a handr¨orelser. Detta kan fungera utomordentligt bra, s˚a l¨ange som systemet och hur det anv¨ands ¨ar noggrant designat och anpassat f¨or varje situation, vilket detta arbete inneh˚aller f¨orslag f¨or.
Ytterligare en m¨ojlighet som taggarna erbjuder, f¨orutom ett enkelt gr¨anssnitt, ¨
ar automatisk identifiering av anv¨andare. Det ¨ar m¨ojligt tack vare de unika ID nummer som varje tagg har och som automatiskt ¨overf¨ors till l¨asarna n¨ar de har kontakt. Detta och m¨ojligheten att spara ytterligare data i taggarna ska-par m¨angder av m¨ojligheter f¨or att g¨ora service, som ges genom interaktions-systemet, mer personlig. Olika s¨att att g¨ora detta p˚a, och hur implementationer kan se ut p˚a ICEHOTEL ¨ar viktiga delar av denna uppsats. Identifiering av bes¨okare ¨ar inte helt utan problem dock. Lagring av personlig information kan inneb¨ara risker f¨or kr¨ankning av den personliga integriteten, och kan ¨aven in-neb¨ara s¨akerhetsm¨assiga problem.
Tekniken testades med en prototyp, och det visade sig att tekniken var v¨aldigt v¨al l¨ampad att anv¨anda i ICEHOTELs speciella och kr¨avande milj¨o. Ytterli-gare test b¨or dock genomf¨oras innan n˚agon mer omfattande implementation av systemet genomf¨ors.
ICEHOTEL, being a very creative and innovative company, wants to explore various possibilities of improvements and enhancements through the use of in-teractive information technology. They have thus started a cooperation with the department of informatics at Ume˚a university(UmU) about ”interaction design in cold environments”. This thesis is a part of that cooperation, together with some other projects and theses from UmU.
This thesis focuses on the use of RFID technology in the design of an inter-action system and interface at ICEHOTEL. The reason why RFID is the best choice for doing so in comparison with other existing solutions is its strong com-bination of robustness, simplicity, flexibility and cheapness.
RFID is based on radio signals transmitting information between special re-ceivers and transponders (tags). The rere-ceivers are easy to connect to any system that offer interaction. The tags would be placed inside the gloves that visitors carry at ICEHOTEL, giving the gloves another purpose than to just protect from the cold.
The resulting interaction system would offer a very intuitive and easy inter-face based on hand gestures. This can work very well as long as the uses of the tags and the interface are carefully designed and adapted. Which this thesis proposes ways of doing.
Another great thing that the tags offer, in addition to a possibility for an easy to use interface, is identification of users. This is due to the unique ID number that every tag has and which it automatically transfers to the receivers when they are in contact. This and the capability for additional data to be stored in the tag gives lots of opportunities for personalising the service offered through the interaction system. Suggestions on how this can be used at ICEHOTEL and how to design such implementations are an important part of the thesis. The identification process is not free from problems though. The storage and possible retrieval of personal information presents privacy and security issues. The technology was tested through the development of a prototype, and it was proved that the technology is very usable and functions well in the special environment at ICEHOTEL. Some further testing of the proposed system would be required however, before any bigger implementation is performed.
Foreword
I am very thankful for the opportunity to do this project at ICEHOTEL, I have had a great time and I would like to thank everybody whom I would never have been able to conduct the project without. Thank you so much!
Yngve Bergkvist, Founder of ICEHOTEL - For believing in the idea and sup-porting me all the way.
Arne Bergh, Artistic Director - My great supervisor at ICEHOTEL, always giv-ing a helpgiv-ing hand whenever needed.
Lena Kistr¨om, Lead artist of the Linnaeus Ice Project and the one whom I worked most with. She and the other artists gave lots of invaluable creative suggestions, support and friendship.
Patrik Dallard - The artist together with whom I made the prototype.
Janne Hagl¨of - Who helped me and taught me a lot about practical issues com-bining electricity and ICEHOTEL.
All the rest of the personnel at ICEHOTEL - You are a cool bunch, and thanks for all the valuable insights, with an extra nod to the guides.
Dr. Matthew Cooper - For being a great examiner, giving me much freedom and responsibility.
NVIS - just for being cool and inspiring.
Fredrik Stenling and Ume˚a University - For great help and support, introducing me to the ICE-project and the scholarships, and giving me travel allowance, and somewhere to belong. Thanks!
Dr. Mikael Wiberg - For help with some technical issues and having very good and inspirational thoughts and ideas. And for managing the ICE-project. My ”student-colleagues” from Ume˚a University - It was fun and inspiring to meet you and get insight into your parts of the ICE-project as well.
Thorbj¨orn Johansson at Innovation Impact - For being a good contact with good advice and good help in the start-up phase, I hope we can collaborate more!
Sparbanksstiftelsen Alfa - For believing in the project and giving me a great incentive through a scholarship.
And of course my parents who hosted me during the project and kicked me out of bed every morning and sent me of to work with some good parental advice and a smile on their lips.
1 Introduction 7
1.1 Background . . . 7
1.2 Purpose and problem definition . . . 8
1.3 Work method . . . 9
1.4 Report . . . 10
2 ICEHOTEL 11 2.1 What is ICEHOTEL . . . 11
2.1.1 History . . . 11
2.1.2 Staying at and visiting ICEHOTEL . . . 13
2.2 The needs of ICEHOTEL . . . 14
2.2.1 Practicalities . . . 15
2.2.2 Art and design . . . 16
2.2.3 Service and information . . . 17
3 Technology 19 3.1 Interaction technologies . . . 19 3.1.1 Webcam . . . 21 3.1.2 CyberGlove . . . 21 3.1.3 Lasers / beams . . . 21 3.1.4 Microphones / sound . . . 22
3.1.5 3D mice, wands and tracked gloves . . . 22
3.2 RFID . . . 24
3.2.1 How does RFID work . . . 24
3.2.2 History of RFID . . . 25
3.2.3 RFID and ICEHOTEL . . . 26
4 System design and use 27 4.1 System layout . . . 27
4.2 Guest identification . . . 29
4.2.1 The database and data fields . . . 29
4.2.2 RFID identification for doors and luggage . . . 33
4.2.3 RFID identification at restaurants and activities . . . 34
4.2.4 RFID identification as payment . . . 35
4.2.5 Other benefits of RFID identification . . . 36
4.3 Interaction and interface . . . 37
4.3.1 User terminals . . . 37
Section CONTENTS CONTENTS
4.3.3 Basic interface . . . 38
4.3.4 Video / audio controller . . . 40
4.3.5 Screen navigation . . . 42
5 Test case 46 5.1 Test Background and purpose . . . 46
5.1.1 Test requirements . . . 46
5.2 Design of the test case . . . 47
5.2.1 Practical use . . . 47 5.2.2 Presentation . . . 48 5.2.3 Interface . . . 48 5.2.4 Physical design . . . 50 5.3 Practical work . . . 51 5.3.1 Equipment used . . . 51 5.3.2 Hardware - Phidgets . . . 52
5.3.3 Software - The code . . . 53
5.4 Result of test case . . . 54
6 Issues and conclusion 56 6.1 Issues . . . 56
6.1.1 System design . . . 56
6.1.2 Hardware . . . 57
6.1.3 Gloves . . . 58
6.1.4 Privacy and Security . . . 59
6.2 Future Work . . . 61
6.2.1 Other suggested projects . . . 61
2.1 Three of the public areas at ICEHOTEL. . . 12
2.2 Map of Icehotel season 2007/2008 . . . 13
2.3 Six of the art suites from 2007 . . . 16
4.1 The schematics of how the system is connected . . . 28
4.2 A table over the datafields suggested for use for identification and enhanced service . . . 30
4.3 The basic interface, colour and placement . . . 39
4.4 A first look on the intended interface . . . 41
4.5 Two symbols suitable as markers for volume adjustment and ”jumping” . . . 42
4.6 The complete interaction figures . . . 42
4.7 Actions for a screen navigation system . . . 43
4.8 A series of images describing a suggestion of the menu design . . 44
5.1 A sketch over the inside of the ship Endeavour . . . 49
5.2 Images of the ship Endeavour where the prototype was placed . . 50
5.3 The phidgets RFID reader and tags . . . 53
1 Introduction
The department of informatics at Ume˚a university (UmU) has started a project called ”xID - Interaction Design in eXtreme environments”. It consists of several subprojects within different extreme environments, both industrial and natural that can be found in the northern parts of Sweden. The projects aim to in-troduce various improvements through the use of IT and modern interaction technology in those environments. One of these subprojects focuses on cold, snowy and icy environments, and is conducted together with the Art and De-sign group of ICEHOTEL. It is aptly called the ”ICE” (”Interaction in Cold Environments”) -project. Basically the ICE-project is about how IT and in-teraction technology could be used to enhance the experience and service of ICEHOTEL.
This thesis was conducted as a part of the ICE project and is a collaboration between UmU, Link¨oping’s Institute of Technology (LiTH) and ICEHOTEL and has its main focus on an RFID based interaction system that can introduce personalised user controlled and automatic services for guests at ICEHOTEL. The system should also work as a basic interface for a general control and in-teraction system to other technical applications and services that will / can be introduced at ICEHOTEL.
1.1
Background
In the early 90’s when the concept of ICEHOTEL was just starting to take form, most things about it were still just wild ideas and dreams in the head of a few visionary people. But they were mostly met by scepticism and doubt by local companies and decision makers. Even most people regarded the idea as just some crazy talk and childish play with snow. But through lots of hard work the founders succeeded to make their ideas come true. Now 15 years later thanks to lots of innovative ideas, and ”crazy talk”, ICEHOTEL is one of the most known attractions in Sweden. In the approximately 150 days it was open in 2007 it had over 14.000 guests staying in cold accommodations (aka the actual ICEHOTEL), and around 20.000 in ”normal” warm accommodations. With al-most 50.000 additional day visitors. Nowadays ICEHOTEL is world renowned for fresh and unique ideas and is also quite respected in the art and design field. Most people and companies has also changed their minds and many fruitful cooperations are in place with ICEHOTEL today.
The people at ICEHOTEL are not content with what they have or what ICE-HOTEL is , they want to keep evolving and adopt new ideas and stay ”crazy”. ICEHOTEL is all about creativity, new experiences and being visionary. There would not be an ICEHOTEL if not for the ”out-of-the-box” thinking of its founders and employees. It is that kind of thinking that has brought about their success and this thesis.
One great way of enhancing and creating new experiences out of the ordinary, is to present visitors with new, and useful services. If the services themselves, or the way to take advantage of them, are an experience in itself, all the bet-ter. This is why ICEHOTEL has turned their attention towards modern IT-technology and the field of interaction design, where this thesis and the other ICE projects are a first step, evaluating and testing the possibilities.
1.2
Purpose and problem definition
The main purpose of this thesis is to present the theoretical basis and interface of an interaction system that would enable a range of various new and helpful technical services and enhancements at ICEHOTEL. The thesis also includes a brief analysis of the workings of ICEHOTEL and how and why they could benefit further from other additions and implementations of IT- and interaction technology as well.
ICEHOTEL represents an extreme environment in the ”Interaction in Extreme Environments” -project, being a cold and harsh area, totally made out of snow and ice. However, it is extreme in more ways as well. ICEHOTEL is in many ways an artificial environment, created by artists and designers. Its form and purpose are more like an artwork than an actual hotel, and thus everything in-side it has to conform to the artistic ideas and vision. It is also an ever changing environment, nothing is permanent at ICEHOTEL. The hotel and all the art melts and disappears every summer, to be reborn the next winter in a different and new form, with new ideas, new guests and maybe even some new technical systems.
Every project conducted at ICEHOTEL has to take all the extremes of its en-vironment into consideration as well as the normal requirements for a project, so the practical requirements on the interaction system are that it:
Environmental - Extreme winter conditions
Can handle very cold temperatures as well as big temperature changes. Is not affected by water or snow.
Section 1.3. Work method Chapter 1. Introduction
Environmental - Artistic
Is essentially non-intrusive in the artistic and carefully designed environ-ments.
Feels like a natural part of the environment.
Is very flexible in its form. Movable and not dependent on some certain setup.
Is easy to upgrade with new functions and to adapt to other systems.
Practical- Interface Has actual real practical use.
Is fast to learn, and easy and intuitive to use.
Can not be used wrongfully in a way that causes problems.
1.3
Work method
This thesis started as a project exploring different possibilities at ICEHOTEL for technical solutions and implementations in general, and Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) techniques especially. The first step in this was naturally a brief analysis, singling out the areas and tasks that could benefit most from an introduction of some clever technical IT solutions (more about this in chapter 2). This was done both by following and trying some of the day to day activities and routines performed by different groups at ICEHOTEL, including the guests. And also through discussions with said groups about problems and their ideas and thoughts about activities and functions. This gave some very useful insights into how ICEHOTEL runs and how to make it a little smoother by applying some technical innovations and knowledge. All facts and statements about ICEHOTEL are taken from the experience of working there and personal relations and meetings with employees and others.
The next step was to identify and come up with ideas. Through various dis-cussions a few project proposals were produced. Further research was then conducted to see how realistic and useful the ideas could be, how the technical difficulties could be solved and how to implement them. In the end the RFID based interaction system really stood out as the best option for this project. It was then, naturally, became the focus of this thesis and a more detailed tech-nological analysis and design were done.
As the last step of the thesis, a simple prototype was created with success, showing and testing the use of an RFID based interaction system.
1.4
Report
The report is written in LATEX, with the free open-source multi platform editor,
Texmaker, on a Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn system. The report structure is as follows, chapter by chapter:
1 (Introduction) Is the general introduction about what the thesis is about, its background, its structure and how it came into being.
2 (ICEHOTEL) Is dedicated to ICEHOTEL and how it can be technically enhanced to improve services etc. The chapter starts with an analysis of functions and activities and the needs this creates.
3 (Technology) Introduces the RFID interaction system this thesis is about. The chapter explains how it works, why it is proposed and the technology behind it.
4 (System design and uses) Shows how the RFID interaction system should and could be used and how to implement it.
5 (Test case) Is about the construction of a small-scale prototype that was used to test the interaction system presented in 3 and 4.
6 (Issues and conclusion) The last section is about the main issues with the system. The chapter also contains thoughts on future work, including briefly descriptions of two of the other proposed ideas and scenarios that was thought of during the preliminary work. The chapter ends with a short summary of the results of the thesis.
2 ICEHOTEL
This chapter explores ICEHOTEL, how it functions, what it aims at and how IT can be utilized for improvements. The chapter has a brief outlook and analysis of the needs and requirements of ICEHOTEL, and also contains a more detailed presentation of ICEHOTEL for a better understanding of the situation.
2.1
What is ICEHOTEL
ICEHOTEL is a structure completely made out of snow and ice. It is located in Jukkasj¨arvi outside of Kiruna in the very north of Swedish Lapland, and is the main business of the company ICEHOTEL AB. It works as a snow / ice art exhibition during daytime when visitors can walk around inside the large maze-like snow-structure, enjoying a multitude of ice- sculptures, art, and in-stallations. In 2008 it extended over 5000m2. After 18.00 it takes on the roll as
a hotel. 90 rooms were available for guests in 2008. Of these 31 are unique art / design suites. The ICEHOTEL also hosts a legitimate Lutheran / Evangelic church that conducts about 150 marriages and 30 christenings each season. The church is completely made out of snow and ice of course, just like the hotel’s bar, the original Absolut Icebar. All of this only exists for around five months a year during the winter when the weather allows. The yearly life cycle starts in the beginning of December, and ends under the uncompromising spring sun in the end of April. Images from the church, the main hallway and the bar 2007 can be seen in figure 2.1.
This is not all there is to ICEHOTEL though. Apart from the hotel-complex in itself, ICEHOTEL has a full range of both winter and summer activities fitted for the wilderness, nature and special climate in the northern Lapland. ICE-HOTEL AB also run an ice industry that produces, refines and exports ice, ice art and especially ice glasses. These go to the other Absolut Icebar franchises, and the many special events ICEHOTEL AB help to organise in all around the world. Since 2005 there is also a building called Icehotel Artcenter. Which ba-sically is a 1500m2freezer that is open all year and where ice exhibitions, events
and activities are held.
2.1.1
History
ICEHOTEL AB has its roots in the early ’80’s when it, as Jukkasj¨arvi Hem-bygdsg˚ard AB, took care of the tourism in the area. The people behind it were already quite innovative and liked new ideas at that time. For example they
(a) The church (b) The main hallway (c) The bar
Figure 2.1: Three of the public areas at ICEHOTEL.
were among the first in Europe to offer white water rafting. However they only offered activities in the summer. They tried to change this in the late ’80s. After inspiration from the Japanese snow festival in Hokkaido they built their first snow structure in 1990. It was an igloo on 60m2 (compare with the over
5000m2 today), and they called it Arctic Hall and used it as an art gallery.
Their first exhibition was with ”ordinary” art, but still was a success due to the extraordinary environment!
In 1992 the first ”hotel” made out of snow and ice emerged, which received much praise from media everywhere. It was the world’s first successful imple-mentation of this rather unique concept. The founders changed the name of the company to ICEHOTEL AB and kept developing the idea. The big break-through of ICEHOTEL came 1994 with the opening of the worlds coolest (pun intended) bar, created together with the Swedish vodka brand Absolut. This cooperation between two companies famous for creative and innovative ideas is the secret behind much of the fame and success of both brands. The fruits of the Absolut Icebar union can now be found in six (as of December 2007) selected fashionable cities around the globe, with more to come.
During the years since, ICEHOTEL has expanded to the massive experience that it is today. The founders early understood that the ice is their strongest trademark, and adopted a strategy of ”letting the ice speak for itself”. Icehotel use the fact that the pure ice is very fascinating, and special events and clever product placement draw lots of attention from media and people, creating both advertisement and the product in one go. [1]
ICEHOTEL is very keen on the genuineness and exclusivity of its product. All ice used in all their activities all over the world actually come from the Torne river outside of Jukkasj¨arvi, to keep the quality right they say. The ice is harvested each spring (approximately 2000 tonnes in 2007), and stored and processed (cut, sculptured etc.) in Jukkasj¨arvi. An 3000m2”ice factory” was
Section 2.1. What is ICEHOTEL Chapter 2. ICEHOTEL
2.1.2
Staying at and visiting ICEHOTEL
The area outside and around the hotel, and the church, and the bar can be visited for free. An entrance fee only exists for visiting the actual hotel / main exhibition area. Visitors can also participate in the various activities that can be both pre-booked and signed up for there; snow-mobile safaris, cross country skiing, dog sledding, Sami culture experiences, reindeer racing, ice sculpting, and more are available during the winter. Two restaurants are also open for a taste of Laplandic and Sami gourmet food. Guests staying overnight at ICEHO-TEL, both in warm or cold accommodations, get to borrow a full set of warm, practical clothing during their entire stay. All guests also have access to two saunas and a relaxation compartment.
When staying in an snow room the guests get special sleeping clothes and a sleeping bag to endure the cold. But, since the rooms are below zero degrees Celsius and do not have anything in them except for ice art and a bed, guests do not really spend any time inside them, except while sleeping. Instead there is a adjacent warm waiting area / lounge accessible for guests, where they spend most of their time when not out on activities or hanging out in the n’ice bar (the warm normal indoor bar in the restaurant). In this waiting area, toilets and changing rooms are also available. Guests also gets a personal storage compartment where personal items and clothes can be kept during their stay since nothing really can be kept in the actual ice rooms. Figure 2.2 shows an approximate map over the hotel-complex 2008.
2.2
The needs of ICEHOTEL
Visiting ICEHOTEL is supposed to be an out of the ordinary experience, they have four conceptual pillars that they strive to uphold[1] :
”Sensuality; to experience Icehotel with all four senses, hear the silence, even taste Icehotel, drink from ice glasses, eat from ice bowls, feel the coldness, see it, to invite all the senses.”
”Cleanliness; the clean nature, clean and simple shapes and forms of art, to show the material, impress with ice portraits, busts, not blend different materials as wood and stone in Icehotel, only snow, ice and water.” ”Genuineness; to acquire a feeling in the stomach, the village Jukkasj¨arvi,
the culture with the Sami and the history of the land one is standing on. Everything that is acted is genuine not commercial.”
”Exclusivity; The uniqueness, exclusiveness that is not found anywhere else. What Icehotel does is something unique, special and exclusive.” Creativity and innovation are two very important factors at ICEHOTEL, but they should always support and not undermine the atmosphere that the above mentioned pillars support. This atmosphere is what both sets the basic needs and imposes the strictest requirements. The talk about Sensuality creates a demand on creative, artistic solutions for practical matters, and is thus a great source for innovation and inspiration. The talk of exclusivity puts high demands of really good service, which is arguably one of the biggest needs. The talk about cleanliness and genuineness is what mostly puts the limitations on what can be created.
A very prominent feature of ICEHOTEL is the art, this is what really embodies the concepts. Not only are there a multitude of art objects to be found inside and outside of the hotel, but the area and the hotel in itself can be considered a huge artistic creation. It really is immersive art since people are walking around inside of it, not actually being a part of the artwork themselves but looking at it from the inside. Visitors are transported into an another magical world. This illusion is a very important aspect of the overall experience for the visitors, and any ways of enhancing it, with for example light effects, are very positive. Even more important, however, is that as little as possible should break the spell and the cleanliness. Therefore both creating ”magical” effects and camouflaging them and any other artefacts from services are crucial. Nothing can be allowed to feel rushed, incomplete or out of place.
Apart from improving the atmosphere there are other practical aspects of ICE-HOTEL as well, and those can always be improved. ICEICE-HOTEL is today a quite large enterprise with an average of 110 full time employees (the 55 per-manent employees are the only ones working in the low season while around 200 are present during high season). The jobs and tasks performed in front of and behind the scenes at ICEHOTEL are very diverse and involve many dif-ferent people and branches. As might be expected this often results in lots of confusion, last minute solutions and unnecessary work. The personal effort and involvement of employees often becomes the make or break factor.
Section 2.2. The needs of ICEHOTEL Chapter 2. ICEHOTEL
So introducing ways of making the work easier, more convenient and more ef-ficient through, for example, better communication and planning is of interest. Since most of the people working at ICEHOTEL are not hired for the full year and the rotation of employees is quite high, any kind of helpful solution would have to be very easy to learn and use. ICEHOTEL also evolvs all the time and things are changing often, both structural and organisational things as well as physical features, so robustness and adaptability to new situations are very important factors to any system there.
There are too many examples of technical innovations designed to help, but that actually cause more trouble than they solve due to miss-uses, errors, changed circumstances, or simply implementations just not thought through thoroughly enough. So easy, efficient and flexible methods and tools could be very helpful, but should be introduced carefully.
For simplicity, the areas in need of enhancements have been sorted into three general categories, based on the conceptual pillars and practical workings de-scribed above. These categories have no real connection to any real organisa-tional matters at ICEHOTEL, they are purely made for giving the report some better structure and allowing for a logical line of thought. They are:
Practicalities - The Ice production and processing involved in the practical preparations and building of the ICEHOTEL area and products and the maintenance and all the other work performed behind the scenes to keep the show on the road.
Art and design - The look and feel of ICEHOTEL.
Service and information - The treatment of guests, and what they have access to.
Much can be said about requirements and needs, but this thesis and the gov-erning ICE-project is about using IT and interaction technology so that is what is being explored in the following sections. The focus of this thesis ended up being mainly on the service area and to some extent also art and design, the reason behind that is also explained below.
2.2.1
Practicalities
The production consists of everything done in the actual practical creation and building of ICEHOTEL, from harvesting ice to cutting ice glasses and trans-porting ice and material around the world. This area was looked into the least. A necessity for limiting the thesis and lack of industrial and constructional ex-perience made it a low priority. It is also an area more closely related to logistics and would probably benefit easier and more directly from industrial efficiency and flow analyses than IT-related interaction design. Interaction design has a place in the ice industry though since there are a lot of tools being interacted with and usability is very important in industrial work.
Working with ice in this matter is a relatively new thing, and ICEHOTEL AB, being a pioneer, have had to develop nearly all of the tools and working
principles by themselves. The people working there have to invent something new or change something old all the time to be able to do what they want. So improving the production could prove a really interesting field of research later on.
The main improvements in this field involving IT techniques, however, would be the introduction of a more efficient communication channel. For example digital planners / scheduler with automatic synchronisations etc., and maybe an ”intelligent” meeting room. The kind of IT system needed for improving the production is however nothing especially unique for ICEHOTEL, and thus not of so much interest for this thesis. The actual effort in introducing such things compared to the actual benefits might also not really be worth it in this stage, but might prove necessary later if the production is to grow.
2.2.2
Art and design
The art section of ICEHOTEL is a very big field. The artworks are different each year, and created by many artists. A multitude of applications are received each year from artists from all over the world who wish to work at ICEHOTEL (in 2007 around 150). Around 50 of them are chosen, usualy a healthy mix of artists who have been there before, and thus know how to handle snow and ice, as well as inexperienced artists who never before have worked with ice. In a few cases artists are selected who have never even seen snow before. What matters is their visions and designs, what thoughts and feelings they want to create. It has to be something new and exciting, never the same as anytime before. ICEHOTEL is thus similar, but still unique and fresh each year. It is this pool of ever changing design, additions of new fresh ideas and willingness to try new things that makes the ICEHOTEL art and design scene such a creative and alluring place for artists. For examples of how the specially designed rooms can look see figure 2.3.
Figure 2.3: Six of the art suites from 2007
The most obvious introduction of IT technology here would be with interactive art, using IT and electronics to create various controllable effects. With cre-ativity IT can really be used to heighten the sensuality and immersion of the art. Some interactive art has been tried during the years with varying results, by among others, Interaktiva Institutet, Innovation Impact and UmU.
Section 2.2. The needs of ICEHOTEL Chapter 2. ICEHOTEL
The main ”pro” about the art and design field is also the main ”con”. The field is very innovative and there is a strong willingness to try new things, so making interactive art would be easy and welcome but, on the other hand, it would be something old the next year. So any interactive art would get attention and be interesting but probably only temporarily. Therefore the main attention for any technology additions in the art and design field should be towards either some new art feature that would always be present, or preferably something that is reusable in many different installations. Developing some kind of toolkit for artists, that allows them to easily design and add various interactions and effects to their creations, could be a very rewarding but difficult challenge. Light is a very important factor to get ice art to look right, nowadays mostly Light Emitting Diodes (LED) lights are used due to their minimal heat emis-sion. The builders at ICEHOTEL have lots of experience with doing the light settings, but making the use even easier and adding possibilities for more cre-ative ways of using and maybe interacting with the light would be appreciated by some artists. Especially having easy to use sensors that activate / deactivate the light in special patterns could come in handy. This could also save a lot of energy not having to have the lights on all the time, which would also reduce the damage on the snow due to the warmth.
The main feature of the ICEHOTEL art scene is the specially designed suites. In 2008 there are 31 unique rooms with very different themes. But also the church, the bar, the main hall and the area outside are carefully designed. They are just a little bit more limited in artistic freedom since they have other prac-tical purposes as well as being pieces of art. So when it comes to interactive art the suites are the most suitable for different installations, not only because of the greater freedom offered in their creation, but also since they can be more personal. It is more natural to design interactive art for just one or two people as the targeted audience in a room. It would be more difficult to do that in a natural way anywhere where many people are moving around. The public areas might instead be better suited for information and service implementations.
2.2.3
Service and information
It is in the service and information field that IT technology can be of the most use. Because of this the biggest focus of both the ICE project and this thesis is in the service area. Service not only consists of how employees treat the guests, but also what conveniences the guests have access to and how they access them. Having easily accessible information about things, and having the general flow of actions running smoothly, greatly affect the impression of a visit. Guests and visitors should be met by something that makes them feel special and chosen. Of course good service is still mostly dependent on the employees. How em-ployees greet and interact with customers and how ”service minded” they act is always the most important part of a guest’s impression of service. IT used for improving the service areas is easiest and most effectively used to offer visitors do-it-yourself services and creating autonomous systems for helping with vari-ous tasks. An IT system supporting employees could also be of very good use though, for example presenting them with more information about the people
they serve, which would make it easier to meet their various demands, before they are even uttered!
One implementation of IT technology could be a portable guide system like the ones found in many museums, and that is used for those visitors who do not take the guided tours. Another sort of portable system with earphones could make it possible for people to freely wander the area and still participate in a guided tour since the audio reaches long distances.
A very useful thing IT could be used for when it comes to introducing self-services is to place out various stations that can be accessed for various in-formation. Anything ranging from information about art and artists to the activities and weather forecast could be offered at information stations depend-ing on their specific context. The looks and interface of such terminals would be at least as important as the information they convey since they have to be a part of the ”clean and genuine” atmosphere inside ICEHOTEL. Also terminals can be used to offer extra non expected services like for example help with taking and uploading digital photos and video, give access to internet, etc. Stations like this are further explored in chapter 4.
Just making things easier and more accessible for visitors is a major win in providing better service and thus for the feeling of exclusivity.
3 Technology
Considering all the different possibilities IT offers, not the least in the service and art departments of ICEHOTEL, choosing what to implement first can be a daunting task. But a common denominator of all usable IT applications is that they need a some kind of interface. So to make implementations easy, it makes most sense to first develop a flexible interaction system that fullfill all the requirements for a system at ICEHOTEL. And then just tailor the interfaces for each application. This way an interaction system could provide the basis for almost any other IT-service, new and old, that is offered to the guests.
That is why an interaction system and the creation of an interface for it, is the chosen main subject of this thesis. In the end a general interaction system is simply the most useful, since it encompasses control of anything else. It also saves a lot of unnecessary work developing different interfaces for different uses, and a lot of trouble for the guests learning them.
All interfaces should be easy to use, intuitive, robust and have a design adapted to fit naturally in the environment, which is of especial importance at ICEHO-TEL. No system can be said to be more useful than it’s interface, and therein lies the very basis for this thesis.
3.1
Interaction technologies
There are uses for interaction also when a screen can not be used as feedback, or the tools normally used for interaction are not available. Especially at ICEHO-TEL, so a more generic but still understandable interface is needed. Technology and knowledge fitted for VR1and AR2are very handy in this situation, since an
important part of those fields is about interacting with a surrounding simulated environment. In the case of ICEHOTEL, the environment is real and physical, but is still in many ways, very reminiscent of the simulated ones.
1Virtual reality (VR) is a technology, which allows a user to interact with a
computer-simulated environment. Most current virtual reality environments are primarily visual expe-riences, displayed either on a computer screen or through special or stereoscopic displays, but some simulations include additional sensory information, such as sound.
-http : //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V irtual reality; 06 : 52, 6J anuary2008
2Augmented reality (AR) is a field of computer research which deals with the combination
of real-world and computer-generated data. At present, most AR research is concerned with the use of live video imagery which is digitally processed and ”augmented” by the addition of computergenerated graphics.
Walking around in a virtual or augmented world, a user will come upon certain objects that can be interacted with via some well designed interface. The same thinking can be applied in ICEHOTEL. Users walk around in this ”artificial” magical world, and come upon objects that can be interacted with. In the vir-tual example, the interactable objects are not real, they are only simulated and thus the user need to physically carry some kind of tool that can interpret what the user wishes to do and relay signals about it to the objects. In the physical ICEHOTEL the restriction of a carried tool does not really apply though, since everything interactable actually can have its own physical interface, like a key-board for example. However, adding a physical artefact for interaction is not really desirable inside ICEHOTEL, since that can easily damage the sensitive atmosphere. Carrying a tool for interaction instead of using physical interfaces present in the environment might thus be the best solution, just like in an artifi-cial world. Also such a system could be hidden and adapted for the ICEHOTEL environment much easier than some physical interface artefact.
This solution also makes a lot of sense in view of having the same basic in-terface everywhere, since that would be the carried tool. This would make it of great importance that the interface is designed so that the same action with the tool produces the same or at least a similar and predictable response from all different objects. Some thoughts are put into this in chapter 4.
Carrying around some sort of tool could be quite annoying and non user friendly though. A carried tool might also be quite easy to lose and damage. This can be remedied however, if the tool is an actual part of the users, like their hands. This can also with some careful design make the interaction very intuitive and easy. There are many different techniques available for hand-gestured interaction, but basically there are three main options:
1) Put sensors that feel and interpret the hand and finger movement di-rectly on the hands.
2) Put some sort of trackable markers on the hands that some sensors can ”see” and thus interpret command gestures by tracking and analysing the movement of the markers .
3) Have remote sensors that can track and interpret hand gestures without anything attached to the hands.
Below, techniques for option 1) and 2) are looked into further. Solutions based solely on option 3) are deemed not precise enough yet for a stable and useful implementation that can be used for different tasks without too much trouble. It is an interesting technology, but probably requires further development. A system based on 3) however, would in the end be best, since that demands the least extra equipment. But option 2) and 1) are not that bad in compar-ison since attaching extra equipment, like sensors or markers, on users hands is not such a big inconvenience at ICEHOTEL as at other places. The average temperature inside ICEHOTEL is -4 degrees C, so wearing gloves inside, even specially equipped ones, is very natural. Below different technologies for inter-action based upon hand gestures is explored. More in depth descriptions of the technologies can be found for example in the book ”Virtual Reality Technology” by Grigore Burdea and Philippe Coiffet[2].
Section 3.1. Interaction technologies Chapter 3. Technology
3.1.1
Webcam
A webcam or other digital video recorder can be used both in tracking and analysing general movements (like the eye-toy[3] for playstation) or for visually tracking certain marks.
+ Cheap. + Flexible.
- It can be hard to get precise control using a webcam to analyse movements, even with tracking marks, due to other things (people, clothes etc.) coming in the way.
- Getting a webcam to function without problems in sub zero temperatures is not too easy. The cameras value as a tracking device is very dependent on the lens, and in a non-office environment it could be quite sensitive. Especially thinking of the all the water, ice, fog, and snow present at ICEHOTEL. A webcam could be used as an extra sensor in cases where communication with other remote people is wanted or in some specific art applications, but it would probably not work very well as the main source of interaction in this environment.
3.1.2
CyberGlove
A cyberglove is basically a glove with lots of sensitive sensors, allowing every finger movement and gesture to be measured and used as a command.
+ Very precise and very versatile.
- Currently way too expensive to equip every visitor with.
- Unnecessarily complex, even with the most demanding real-world application for ICEHOTEL. Something much simpler would be sufficient.
A simple cyberglove version could be of interest as an extra controlling de-vice in some advanced application, but more basic uses should be explored first. As a basis for a general interface cybergloves is of no interest.
3.1.3
Lasers / beams
Lasers and beams refers to systems that reacts when a beam of some sort is crossed.
+ Easy to use.
- Very limited as controlling device, can only be used as on/off without making the interface overly complex and unnatural.
- Sensitive to things like clothes and snow accidentally breaking the beam. Various beams could maybe be used as an extra control, activating other equip-ment and lights as someone enters the correct area (like in a store). This could for example save energy. Beams are probably not a good solution for active interaction, but could have some uses in the ”background”.
3.1.4
Microphones / sound
Microphones could be used as tools for interaction by letting things be con-trolled by sound effects like hand clapping and such.
+ Easy to understand and use.
+ The sound is very damped in ICEHOTEL, and almost no disturbing echoes can be found, making it easier to pinpoint sounds.
- Could be of limited use since making different sounds can be hard, and any-thing involving more than three claps and/or different speeds of clapping might be too complex for simple tasks.
- There can still easily be disturbing sounds like people walking past, talking etc.
- A microphone can cause problems if it is affected by ice and water.
Speech recognition is always an interesting option that in theory can work very well. However, it is difficult to imagine a successful implementation based on any kind of sound interaction in the near future. Especially considering the currently not too stable performances of such techniques and the fact that ICEHOTEL has a very complex sound base, being such a multi user and multi language environment. Sound recognition could offer an interesting extra option in some specific situations such as art and especially in communication between people, but other than that, it is of more interest as a tool for creating atmospheric effects or present information than as an interface.
3.1.5
3D mice, wands and tracked gloves
3D mice or wands as they are also called is basically different tools that mea-sure 3d positions and movements. They are commonly used for interaction with various 3D computer environments, and can be found anywhere, from desktop applications to fully immersive VR-worlds.
Wands are normally tools that have to be carried by the users, and that has already been ruled out as a good interface. However the wand variants shaped as gloves, so called tracked gloves would bypass that problem, thereby making the use of wand technology much less cumbersome and much more interesting. There are many different techniques involved in different variants of wands, but the general idea is that the wand’s location and position are tracked by a combination of outer and internal sensors. Often the outer tracking is based on various wireless technologies such as ultrasound, and the internal tracking is based on measurements with accelerators and gyros.
Generally the following complies to wands:
+ Very flexible, can easily be used for any kind of interaction.
- Some variants might be difficult to use if users are not used to them. - Might be too expensive.
- Is quite technical and requires other equipment to work properly.
Section 3.1. Interaction technologies Chapter 3. Technology
- Some systems can be difficult to relocate freely, since some tracking technolo-gies is dependent on the exact positions of the outer equipment being known. Tracked gloves are simpler than cybergloves, but could still be too advanced for the general needs of ICEHOTEL. They might be useful to have as control devices at certain stations where specific, more advanced tasks can be per-formed. Modified simpler versions of tracked gloves however, might not be too advanced for the needs, nor that expensive. Such gloves could be quite suitable at ICEHOTEL, and should not be too hard to create.
Considering the other interaction technologies mentioned earlier in this chapter, a simple version of a tracked glove seem to be the best solution overall. Most practical tasks needed at ICEHOTEL can be kept quite simple so any gestures the system would need to be able to perform can be kept quite simple as well. A simplified tracked glove could still be versatile enough even after having the capability to measure the exact state (rotation etc.) removed.
However there exists a technology that is very robust and well used in difficult environments and that can act very similar to a simple tracked glove. RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) technology. RFID is based upon radio signals that, when in range, identifies and transmits information between a reader and unique transponders. Generally no distance measurement is involved, so RFID would even remove the 3D positioning system that is usually the base of every tracking system. Reducing it to something that can hardly be called a wand any more, but that can still be very useful.
A transponder, or simply tag, could easily be inserted in any kind of glove, making the use of them dependent on hand gestures. Every tag has a unique identification number that the system is based upon. This makes it possible to associate each tag with a customer, making it very easy to also personalise the services offered while interacting, as an added bonus. Many tags also have an internal memory cell that can hold extra information. RFID is:
+ Very cheap and easy to use.
+ Very robust and insensitive to the surroundings, tags and readers can be completely embedded in snow or ice and still work.
+ Every tag can hold unique information, which can be used for better service. + There is research going on on RFID that can measure the tags distance to the reader, which gives a lot of options for more precise continuous control, giving an RFID-tagged glove virtually the same functions as a simple tracked glove. +- Distance, the tags need a certain proximity to readers to be used. This limits the freedom quite a lot, but also offers easier control.
- RFID can only be on/off so creating more advanced interaction might be hard. The technology is explored further in the next section.
3.2
RFID
RFID is a method for wireless automatic data capture. 3 It uses radio waves
to transmit small bits of information between tags and readers. RFID is widely used in many areas as automatic identification for many various reasons. Often it is used as a more advanced barcode system that does not require line of sight and can contain extra digital data. Lots of development is happening all over the world, improving the RFID technology. New uses emerge almost daily. Most of the information about RFID in this thesis, and much more can be found in the RFID-journal’s FAQ[4] and at wikipedia[5].
3.2.1
How does RFID work
An RFID system consists of a reader, one or more tags, a software interpreter and in some cases a database. The reader sends signals that the tags respond to by sending their stored information back to the reader, which captures and forwards it to the interpreter, that decides what sort of action should take place. Every tag has a unique identification number that is used for deciding the ac-tion. Some tags only hold that number, which can then be used as a key in a database with extra information associated to that ID. Other tags have a built in memory which contain all the extra information. Many systems has both a database and tags with memory, with different information in both, depending on the uses.
An RFID tag consists of a chip, an antenna and in some cases a battery. There are two main types of RFID tags; passive and active. The active ones have their own batteries and passive ones do not. Passive tags do not require a power source to work, instead the energy in the incoming radio waves from the reader are used to power the tags. This works both for accessing any internal memory or other extra functions and to send out the response signal with the tags data content. This is why passive tags have a very long lifetime, can be made very small and are cheap. The effective range of passive systems is natu-rally much shorter than that of active ones since the power output is very limited. Active tags use a battery to power its signal and its internal functions. There are active tags that send out a signal all the time, and others that only do it as a response to a signal from a reader (sometimes referred to as semi-active tags.) Many of the active tags also use the built in battery to power other connected sensors such as temperature and pressure sensors. It is the battery that makes active tags much more expensive since that is the biggest cost of the tag. Tags can hold different types of memory depending on the requirements and uses. There can be storage for only the identification number or for much more data. The memory can be completely editable, partially write protected or
3Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) refers to the methods of
automat-ically identifying objects, collecting data about them, and entering that data directly into computer systems (i.e. without human involvement). Technologies typically considered as part of AIDC include: bar codes, RFID, biometrics, magnetic stripes, OCR, smart cards, and voice recognition. AIDC is also commonly referred to as “Automatic Identification,” “AutoID,” and ”Automatic Data Capture.”
Section 3.2. RFID Chapter 3. Technology
even hardware coded at the creation depending on the situation. The amount of memory a tag can store is also very varied, from a few bytes for the identifi-cation number to several Mb.
It is the memory cell and the antenna that are the main size limiting factors, and in the case of active tags, the battery. The smallest passive tags produced today are 0.05x0.05mm without the antenna[6], but the form and size of tags can easily be adapted to fit any environment they are used in. RFID tags used as key cards and commuter tickets are for example often made in credit card forms, while tags found in logistics or in factories and harsh conditions are often bigger with some very robust cover that can withstand heat, cold, fire, acid etc. The possibilities are almost endless. It is just a question of costs, needs and imagination.
A really important factor with RFID is the range. This is dependent on the frequency used, the size of the tag’s antenna, the tag’s orientation, the power of the reader, the environment and the type of the tag. It can vary from a couple of centimetres to hundreds of meters. The most important factor for the distance is the frequency which also decides the speed of data transfer and the sensitivity to interference.
There are also different types of readers, hand held and stationary ones. De-pending on the standard used some readers can read several tags at the same time, and some can not. This is useful in logistics where a big box full of various items is driven passed a stationary reader and all need to be checked in one go. Here a balance has to be found between the amount of data that is supposed to be transferred from/to each tag, how many tags that can be read at a time, and the need for speed. Various forms of ”collision detectors” are used to distinguish what tag is most interesting to read at the moment. Here a limited range can actually be a very good thing since that can decrease the amount of possible hits quite a lot.
3.2.2
History of RFID
Technology very reminiscent of RFID was first used during the second world war as an identification method on air crafts. The foundation for today’s RFID technology was laid in the 1960’s when the technology started to be used in stores as so called Electronic Article Surveillance - EAS. Which is still used today as the alarm equipment we recognise from almost every store.
The big explosion of RFID use came during the 1970’s and 1980’s as a re-sult of much research in the area. RFID started to be used in automatic road tolls, as key cards, and for tracking of goods, vehicles and pets. This devel-opment continued strongly in the 1990’s and as the market and uses grew, so did the demand for standardisations so that different RFID systems could work together.[7]
Today there exist several standards for RFID and the two biggest areas of use are transportation and logistics. In transportation RFID systems are used as reloadable tickets for commuting and as automatic road tolls. In logistics they
have started to replace bar codes as a much faster, sturdier and more flexible systems that does not require line of sight.
Other common uses today are as automatic electronic keys for both humans and pets and as identification of belongings and locations. RFID tags are also used as a tool helping with cataloguing, sorting, filing and finding for example files and books in libraries and courthouses. Many examples can be found, in most cases the users are not even aware of that they are using RFID, it is a technology usually used behind the scenes.
RFID is becoming more and more widely used, and the future for this tech-nology looks bright indeed. Lots of research is under way, with the main goal being to make it cheaper to produce tags. Research is also under way for making it possible for RFID systems to measure the distance between tags and receivers. This can be useful in many applications. In future interfaces RFID could be used to make continuously navigation in both 2D and 3D possible by measuring the distance between a tag and two or three readers and then use triangulation algorithms.
3.2.3
RFID and ICEHOTEL
In ICEHOTEL a system based on low frequency passive RFID would be most suitable. Several important factors point towards this solution. Not only would it be the cheapest option, but it would result in low range tags, which would fit well into an interface system where ranges longer than a few centimetres would make the interaction much clumsier. Also low frequencies function better than higher frequencies in environments with much water, which ICEHOTEL cer-tainly is. Low frequencies are also less sensitive to other radio wave interference from, for example, cellphones.
The low bandwidth inherit by lower frequencies really does not limit an in-teraction system since the tags would not carry that much information anyway. And the tags will not need to move fast since they will be carried by people and hand-interaction is a relatively slow process.
Naturally readers and tags need to be resistant to cold, humidity and physi-cal abuse, which will not present any bigger challenge to get since that is one of the strongest points of RFID. Readers that can handle multiple inputs are not necessary.
4 System design and use
This chapter describes the uses for an interaction system, and how it should be implemented / designed. The idea is to create a system that would be easy to use, offer better service, be applicable to different tasks and, in some way, be an experience in itself. Every visitor to ICEHOTEL would be handed two RFID equipped gloves at arrival. These would be used for interaction with the various services available and also function as entrance tickets.
This chapter is split into three main sections describing the different uses and functions that are the main reason for, and a direct result of, the RFID based interaction system that is proposed in this thesis.
The sections are:
1) ”System Layout/design” discusses how the system should be put to-gether.
2) ”Guest identification” discusses the possibilities that are a direct result of identifying each guest with the tags.
3) ”Interaction and interface” discusses various possible uses and how to implement them, and the belonging interface in more details.
4.1
System layout
The system would consist of a network connecting various applications for inter-action. Information terminals, interactive art, the reception, ”intelligent signs” etc, almost everything would be connected to the network, either via cable or wirelessly, depending on the different situations. Every ”interaction spot” would consist of a basic RFID enabled interface and some kind of device the interface controls. Either the device in itself gives direct feedback to the user or some other technical solutions complete the system with feedback. Every interaction spot is connected to a computer system that runs the software for the appli-cations. The software translates the incoming signals from the interface and controls the device accordingly.
Each computer can be connected to several interaction spots depending on the physical placement of them and the computers ability to run several interaction spots of those types at the same time. Preferably the same kind of interaction spots would connect to the same computer and be run by the same instance of
software, but flexibility on this is a must for the software and hardware. The layout, design and atmosphere of ICEHOTEL take precedence over everything else, and the system has to be able to adapt to changes. To make this possible the software should be designed as a program that can run different toolboxes, one for every type of interaction, and thus the toolboxes that a certain com-puter need is just added. Another solution would be to insert more comcom-puters or make longer and more advanced network connections. This however would make the maintenance much more difficult, and would also create much more trouble when building ICEHOTEL.
At the heart of the network there should be a database where all the tags would be stored. Guests at ICEHOTEL get their own entry in the database when making reservations, just like today, and these entries then gets linked to the tags. If an application needs some information stored in the database for some interaction, the computer uses the tag IDnumbers to find that information in the database. A schematic view over the system is seen in figure 4.1
Section 4.2. Guest identification Chapter 4. System design and use
4.2
Guest identification
Automatic identification of guests can be considered as the main benefit with an RFID based interaction system, and it could revolutionise the service capabili-ties at ICEHOTEL. But due to security and privacy issues it could also turn out to be the most troublesome part of the system. Interaction with applications and art can be done anonymously and does not raise the same issues as services requiring unique identification of users.
There should be two types of RFID tags used at ICEHOTEL; default, basic ones that can only be used for artistic and informative services and advanced ones, that require some identification of the guest, but offer the full range of personalised service. The tags used would all be the same, just configured dif-ferently. The only real difference between the two types would be the amount of data in the personal identification of the guests. It should be free of charge to upgrade (or downgrade) if someone wants to, and should be performed by employees at the reception.
The basic tag would be the standard given to ordinary day visitors, while overnight guests get the advanced version when they check in. The reason to having two different sets of tags is mainly that most day-visitors will not have any use of the more advanced personal services such as booking activities and entering restricted areas. Since it takes a little extra effort and time to configure an advanced tag, that step is better to avoid if not needed.
The only personal information available in the basic version would be language, and should be set when the tags are handed out. This would of course not identify the actual visitor, only what language the person prefers things to be presented in. Whenever a visitor activates a computer terminal or access some-thing else with the tags, it will be presented in the correct language, and show the correct currency, units etc.
All the extra information available in the advanced version would not neces-sarily have to be stored in the actual tag, but could be stored inside a database instead. Today overnight guests already get their information entered in a database when booking a room. This could be kept as normally and then the database could just link the information to the tags that the guest is given. An advanced tag would thus also imply an active account in the database, and would allow extra things that normally require some kind of ID or key, like unlocking doors and lockers and reserving activities etc. Shopping in the store or in the bar would also be done just by touching a ”pay-spot” controlled by the clerk / bartender.
4.2.1
The database and data fields
Every tag should have an account in the database, since every tag can be both a basic or an advanced tag depending on the user for the moment. All the data fields would exist in both kinds of accounts, but for basic tags all the advanced values are NULL. When a guest registers for an advanced tag the guest’s data is copied or linked to the tag’s account, that thus becomes an advanced account.
The default state of a tag when not in use should, of course, be basic. This would be ensured by strict routines resetting tags when returned after use. In figure 4.2 is the suggested information that would be stored in the tags or in the database. Most advanced fields would not have to be stored in the actual tags, but be stored in the database and connected to the IDnumber of the tag, due to sensitive or large information. The main reason not to have all the data in the database is that to ensure basic usability all the time and remove sensitivity to network trouble. Also not all applications might be connected to the database all the time. There is also the security and privacy issue that can affect how the system should be implemented, this is not considered here though, but is discussed in the final chapter.
Basic data: Advanced Data
In tag In tag In database In either IDnumber (Unique to the tag) Name Luggage ID Bookings Language (default English) Room Contact Payment option
Date Comments
Figure 4.2: A table over the datafields suggested for use for identification and enhanced service
These fields would be used in the following manner: IDnumber
The most important field that identifies each guest is the IDnumber, at least when in advanced mode. In basic mode there is no real use to identify each customer except for booking activities etc, and in that case the tag is upgraded anyway. The field will still exist for basic users, it will just not really be used. The field is unique for each tag and should not be editable since that could result in the wrong tag being linked to a database account.
Language
For most users the language field is the most useful field since it identifies the users chosen language. When receiving the gloves the user should be asked about preferred language, and if it is available it should be saved in the tag immediately. This should not be more complex than that the receptionist place the gloves on an RFID reader connected to a computer and enters a number corresponding to the language according to a list of choices. This should be a part of the process of paying the entrance fee. The chosen language should only be changeable at ”option” stations or at the reception since having a language option menu at every interaction spot is too messy with the limited interfaces available.
In interaction with systems at ICEHOTEL the chosen language will be the one used in the application. However, if many different applications are added to the interaction system later it might turn out that some languages are only available for some applications, in that case English will be used as the default
