Is it possible to create a computer which can interact with us as we interact each other? For example imagine in a fine morning you walk on to your computer room and switch on your computer, and then it tells you “Hey friend, good morning you seem to be a bad mood today. And then it opens your mail box and shows you some of the mails and tries to cheer you. It seems to be a fiction, but it will be the life lead by “BLUE EYES” in the very near future. The basic idea behind this technology is to give the computer the human power. We all have some perceptual abilities. That is we can understand each others feelings. For example we can understand one semotional state by analyzing his facial expression. If we add these perceptual abilities of human to computers would enable computers to work together with human beings as intimate partners. The “BLUE EYES” technology aims at creating computational machines that have perceptual and sensory ability like those of human beings. How can we make computers "see" and "feel"? Blue Eyes uses sensing technology to identify a user's actions and to extract key information. This information is then analyzed to determine the user's physical, emotional, or informational state, which in turn can be used to help make the user more productive by performing expected actions or by providing expected information. For example, in future a Blue Eyes-enabled television could become active when the user makes eye contact, at which point the user could then tell the television to "turn on". This paper is about the hardware, software, benefits and interconnection of various parts involvedin the “blue eye” technology.
Introduction:
Animal survival depends on highly developed sensory abilities. Likewise, human cognition depends on highly developed abilities to perceive, integrate, and interpret visual, auditory, and touch information. Without a doubt, computers would be much more powerful if they had even a small fraction of the perceptual ability of animals or humans. Adding such perceptual abilities to computers would enable computers and humans to work together more as partners. Toward this end, the Blue Eyes aims at creating computational devices with the sort of perceptual abilities that people take for granted Blue eyes is being developed by the team of Poznan University of Technology& Microsoft. It makes use of the “blue tooth technology developed by Ericsson.
Parts of BLUE EYE System:
The major parts in the Blue eye system are Data Acquisition Unit and Central System Unit.
The tasks of the mobile Data Acquisition Unit are to maintain Bluetooth connections, to get information from the sensor and sending it over the wireless connection, to deliver the alarm messages sent from the Central System Unit to the operator and handle personalized ID cards. Central System Unit maintains the other side of the Bluetooth connection, buffers incoming sensor data, performs on-line data analysis, records the conclusions for further exploration and provides visualization interface
The HARDWARE:
Data Acquisition Unit :Data Acquisition Unit is a mobile part of the Blue eyes system. Its main task is to fetch the physiological data from the sensor and to send it to the central system to be processed. To accomplish the task the device must manage wireless Bluetooth connections (connection establishment, authentication and termination). Personal ID cards and PIN codes provide operator's authorization.
Communication with the operator is carried on using a simple 5-key keyboard, a small LCD display and a beeper. When an exceptional situation is detected the device uses them to notify the operator. Voice data is transferred using a small headset, interfaced to the DAU with standard mini-jack plugs. The Data Acquisition Unit comprises several hardware modules
- Atmel 89C52 microcontroller - system core
- Bluetooth module (based on ROK101008)
- HD44780 - small LCD display
- 24C16 - I2C EEPROM (on a removable ID card
- MC145483 – 13bit PCM codec
- Jazz Multisensor interface
- Beeper and LED indicators ,6 AA batteries and voltage level monitor
Central System Unit:
Central System Unit hardware is the second peer of the wireless connection. The box contains a Bluetooth module (based on ROK101008) and a PCM codec for voice data transmission. The module is interfaced to a PC using a parallel, serial and USB cable. The audio data is accessible through standard mini-jack sockets
To program operator's personal ID cards we developed a simple programming device. The programmer is interfaced to a PC using serial and PS/2 (power source) ports. Inside, there is Atmel 89C2051 microcontroller, which handles UART transmission and I2C EEPROM (ID card) programming.
The SOFTWARE:
Blue Eyes software's main task is to look after working operators' physiological condition. To assure instant reaction on the operators' condition change the software performs real time buffering of the incoming data, real-time physiological data analysis and alarm triggering. The Blue Eyes software comprises several functional modules System core facilitates the transfers flow between other system modules (e.g. transfers raw data from the ConnectionManager to data analyzers, processed data from the data analyzers to GUI controls, other data analyzers, data logger etc.).
The System Core fundamental are single-producer-multi-consumer thread safe queues. Any number of consumers can register to receive the data supplied by a producer. Every single consumer can register at any number of producers, receiving therefore different types of data. Naturally, every consumer may be a producer for other consumers. This approach enables high system scalability – new data processing modules (i.e. filters, data analyzers and loggers) can be easily added by simply registering as a costumer
.Connection Manager is responsible for managing the wireless communication between the mobile Data Acquisition Units and the central system.
The Connection Manager handles:
- communication with the CSU hardware
- searching for new devices in the covered range
- establishing Bluetooth connections
- connection authentication
- incoming data buffering
- sending alers
Data Analysis module performs the analysis of the raw sensor data in order to obtain information about the operator’s physiological condition. The separately running Data Analysis module supervises each of the working operators. The module consists of a number of smaller analyzers extracting different types of information. Each of the analyzers registers at the appropriate Operator Manager or another analyzer as a data consumer and, acting as a producer, provides the results of the analysis. The most important analyzers are:
- saccade detector - monitors eye movements in order to determine the level of operator's visual attention
- pulse rate analyzer - uses blood oxygenation signal to compute operator's pulse rate
- custom analyzers – recognize other behaviors than those which are built-in the system. The new modules are created using C4.5 decision tree induction algorithm
Visualization module provides a user interface for the supervisors. It enables them to watch each of the working operator’s physiological condition along with a preview of selected video source and related sound stream. All the incoming alarm messages are instantly signaled to the supervisor. The Visualization module can be set in an off-line mode, where all the data is fetched from the database. Watching all the recorded physiological parameters, alarms, video and audio data the supervisor is able to reconstruct the course of the selected operator’s duty. The physiological data is presented using a set of custom-built GUI controls:
- a pie-chart used to present a percentage of time the operator was actively acquiring the visual information
- A VU-meter showing the present value of a parameter time series displaying a history of selected parameters' value.
BLUE-EYES Benefits:
Prevention from dangerous incidents Minimization of ecological consequences financial loss a threat to a human life BlueEyes system provides technical means for monitoring and recording human-operator's physiological condition.
The key features of the system are:
- visual attention monitoring (eye motility analysis)
- physiological condition monitoring (pulse rate, blood oxygenation)
- operator's position detection (standing, lying)
- wireless data acquisition using Bluetooth technology
- real-time user-defined alarm triggering
- physiological data, operator's voice and overall view of the control room recording
- recorded data playback
Blue Eyes system can be applied in every working environment requiring permanent operator's attention:
- at power plant control rooms
- at captain bridges
- at flight control centers
Conclusion:
In future it is possible to create a computer which can interact with us as we interact each other with the use of blue eye technology. It seems to be a fiction, but it will be the life lead by “BLUE EYES” in the very near future. ordinary household devices -- such as televisions, refrigerators, and ovens -- may be able to do their jobs when we look at them and speak to them.
References:
- joseph j.carr & johnm.brown,”introduction to blue eyes technology”,published in ieee spectrum magazine.
Technical Paper on Blue Eye
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