The Unique Ubiquitous Oulu Was Released

12 UBI HotSpots have been installed to the city centre of Oulu, Finland, and they provide an opportunity to a new and unique way to interact in urban environments. The most visible part of the UBI HotSpot is the large public interactive UBI display. The HotSpot is 2 meters high and 1.5 meters wide and it contains, for example, a 57 inch touch screen display and access points for three different wireless networks. The functionality of the UBI displays will be finalized over the first two weeks of June. Simultaneously, the large-scale UBI Pilot 2009 field test is launched which will last until the end of August. This first installation of the open ubiquitous Oulu was built in cooperation of the UBI (UrBan Interactions) Program, coordinated by the University of Oulu, and the City of Oulu. It was released on June 2nd 2009 in the 1st Open Ubiquitous Oulu Seminar at Cultural House Valve.

UBI HotSpots are based on a novel kind of infrastructure which consists of large public UBI displays and different types of wireless information networks. In the first phase, altogether 12 UBI HotSpots are being installed. Six displays will be installed to the public spaces of the City of Oulu, and the other six will be installed to different parts of the pedestrian street Rotuaari and the market area. There are one or two 57 inch LCD panels with a touch screen display in each UBI HotSpot and each panel has a controlling computer, hard drive, loudspeaker, cameras and an NCF/RFID reader. The HotSpots also include access points for panOULU WLAN, panOULU BT (Bluetooth) and panOULU WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) networks. Separate panOULU BT and panOULU WSN access points will be installed to different parts of the city centre during this summer and autumn.

The opportunities provided by the new infrastructure are being demonstrated with the prototype services created in the UBI Program. In the first phase, two services are offered on the UBI displays, UBI Channel and UBI Portal. The UBI Channel is used to the non-commercial communication of the City of Oulu and its partners and to commercial communications. Practically, the UBI Portal consists of web pages which the user can browse with the touch screen display. In the beginning of the Pilot, the UBI Portal includes a service directory based on Google Maps, a multimedia item and “Oulu Today” news service. Due to facial recognition, the UBI display can move from the passive status into the interactive status automatically as the user arrives at the display. The user can also activate the screen with her RFID identifier or by touching the screen.

The third item of the UBI display is a mobile application window which can be used with a mobile device. Mobile devices have a significant role in the interaction of the digital urban environment formed by the citizens and the UBI HotSpots. As a user registers herself as a ubiquitous citizen she will receive a downloadable UBI Mobile Program to her mobile phone, and a UBI Jewel that includes a RFID identifier. By touching the NFC/RFID reader of the UBI display with the UBI Jewel, the user can ‘take over’ the UBI display and she will receive information to the UBI Mobile Program on what kinds of services are available in that certain UBI HotSpot.

The first open ubiquitous Oulu installation which was now published will be tested until the end of August in the UBI Pilot 2009 field test. The customer service of the field test is located in Oulu10 (Torikatu 10) where everyone can register as test user. The customer service team will also be on call at other UBI HotSpots. 17 students of the University of Oulu, Oulu University of Applied Sciences and Oulu Vocational College are responsible for the functionality of the field test. UBI Program offers them a challenging and interesting traineeship for this summer. The purpose of the field test is to collect research data of the technical functionality of the infrastructure and services and of the experiences of the users.

One of the core themes of the UBI Program is openness. For example, any public web sites that have been designed to function with a touch screen can be brought to the UBI Portal. This is how the “Oulu Today” item produced by Kaleva Digital has been attached to the UBI Portal.

UBI Program strives to build a sustainable operations model which enables the execution of the public service duty, commercial business and the development and maintenance of infrastructure and services in the future. The first investment to the infrastructure will be made with the funding provided by the European Regional Development Fund, the State Provincial Office of Oulu and the City of Oulu. Tekes, the Council of Oulu Region, companies and the City of Oulu have funded the development of the prototype services. To cover some of the use expenses of the UBI infrastructure, a part of the UBI Channel’s capacity will be sold to commercial usage. The purpose of the infrastructure is also to offer new opportunities of commercial activity, especially to SMEs. For example, several small advertising agencies produce spots for the UBI Channel.

The UBI Program combines traditional research with the societal service duty of universities in a dignified way. The researchers of the UBI Program have produced ca 50 international scientific publications so far and many of them in leading international conferences of the topic. Alongside with research, the UBI Program makes a significant contribution to the urban environment of Oulu.

The open ubiquitous Oulu was released today in the 1st Open Ubiquitous Oulu Seminar organized in Culture House Valve. The international keynote speakers of the seminar were Japan’s leading expert in ubiquitous information processing, Professor Hideyuki Tokuda from Keio University, and the Head of the Department of Architecture in Newcastle University, Dr. Alessandro Aurigi. Aurigi specializes in utilizing ICT technology in urban planning. Videos and slides of the speeches performed in the seminar are also available in http://www.ubioulu.fi/node/77. Photos of the UBI displays for the press and the location maps of the displays, more information on the infrastructure of the ubiquitous Oulu, services and the field test is available in www.ubioulu.fi.

Background information:

The multidisciplinary UBI (UrBan Interactions) research program consists of three projects; UbiCity, UbiLife and UbiGo. In addition to the University of Oulu the following are involved in the UBI Program: Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, University of Lapland, Oulu University of Applied Sciences and University of Art and Design Helsinki. The UBI Program is funded by Tekes, European Regional Development Fund, State Provincial Office of Oulu, Council of Oulu Region, City of Oulu, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Nokia, TeliaSonera, Digia and Sensinode.

More information:

University of Oulu
Professor Timo Ojala, timo.ojala@ee.oulu.fi, +358 40 5676646

City of Oulu:
Data Administration Manager Ilari Heikkinen, ilari.heikkinen@ouka.fi, +358 44 7031677

Bluegiga Oy:
CEO Petri Salonen, petri.salonen@bluegiga.com, +358 50 5941510

Galaxo Oy:
CEO Tapio Siurua, tapio.siurua@galaxo.fi, +358 44 5515110

Kaleva Digital:
CEO Juha Väyrynen, juha.vayrynen@kaleva.fi, +358 40 5343932

Sensinode Oy:
Technology Manager Zach Shelby, zach@sensinode.com, +358 40 7796297

Symbicon Oy:
CEO Pasi Karppanen, pasi.karppanen@symbicon.fi, +358 40 3004810

Visidon Oy:
CEO Markus Turtinen, markus.turtinen@visidon.com, +358 40 732 2281