Two faculty speakers detailed two more SURF-IT projects for a lunchtime crowd yesterday at Calit2 at UC Irvine.

Computer science professor Sharad Mehrotra explained his approach to retrieving and managing multimodal data streams in sentient, or smart, spaces. These spaces, which can cross physical boundaries, contain a variety of sensors: cameras, loop sensors, mesh routers, RFID tags, heat sensors and the like. Consequently, techniques are needed to annotate and synchronize these data streams, and support search and browsing capabilities.

The team, which includes SURF-IT students Zohrab Basmajian and Phong Pham, are building the required software layer. The SATware, as Mehrotra calls it, must leverage the space's infrastructure, provide a powerful programming environment, be adaptable to physical changes in the environment and support the implementation of privacy measures.

Although his primary interest lies in emergency management, Mehrotra said his students are exploring models from a "smart classroom" environment, which employs multiple information sources such as slides, audio, video and interactive applications to capture the essence of a lecture. "The goal is to leverage the existing infrastructure to deliver information that can lead to action," he said.

 Liane Brouillette, associate professor of education, is guiding SURF-IT student Dean Bottino as he designs a computer game that will teach ethical behavior to children in first and second grades.

Her recent research has focused on using existing technology to help school-age kids better understand issues, including California wildfires and Hurricane Katrina, but Brouillete is shifting her focus.

TV shows like Sesame Street teach new concepts to children, but they're too passive a medium for teaching social skills, Brouillette said. In addition, kids' social horizons continue to shrink.

Brouillette and Bottino, with project collaborator Kristen Monroe, political science professor and director of UCI's Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality, are constructing the game around typical playground encounters, like bullying.

The challenge: to create a non-violent game that will keep kids interested.
 
In the future, the game will incorporate audio tracks in addition to text, and could be expanded into a multiple-player game.