Mission Statement

TecOs aim is to bring together basic and application oriented research. Therefore TecO drives research projects looking into fundamental questions. Together with our industrial partners TecO applies mature developments in this area leading to full running set-ups, prototypes, demonstrators and joint patents.

TecOs research focuses on how to enable everyday mundane artefacts to provide tasks pro-actively using computing, communication and sensor technology. Such digital artefacts will be embedded into the world without being explicit noticed and may appear either as replacements of existing "dumb" artefacts, introduced as new type of devices or by being embedded into the environment. Artefacts will have an active type of character and are self-dependent enabling them to protect and help themselves to fulfill their task. Complex tasks are solved by spontaneous collaborating in an ecology of artefacts. 

Living in a ecology of artefacts, artefacts can benefit from other artefacts by collaborating with them and by building up ecologies of artefacts. This way artefacts are able to solve complex tasks and  

Humans can profit from such artefacts either traditionally by requesting services using artefact-bound interfaces and new type of personal computing devices. But most profit will not come from explicitly accessing these services but from implicitly being serviced by such a collection of smart, small and calm artefacts.

Research Themes

• Perception of the surrounding environment and own status
  Sensor and RFID Technology, context and location awareness

• Collaboration with other artefacts
  Communication, Collaboration, Networks and Middleware

• Digital Artefacts
  System Design and Engeneering in Pervasive Computing

• Human Computer Interface
  Human-Computer Interaction, Personal Devices, PDAs, Handheld and Wearable Computing
  

Short Overview

TecOs conducts fundamental research in the area of Ubiquitous, Pervasive, Mobile, Handheld Computing and beyond. In 1994 TecO invented the first Web-Browser for a PDA, the PocketWeb on a Apple Newton. With the MediaCup TecO showed in 1998 how to integrated computing, sensing and communication technology in previously "dump" everyday objects and continues this work in a larger and more general setting with the 2001 started project Smart-Its. In 1999 TecO started the HUC/Ubicomp conference series. The Point & Click human-computer interaction paradigm presented at this conference is now widely used to control devices in pervasive computing environments. In the context of the project 1998-2000 running project TEA a method for context fusion and classification was introduced

TecOs researches in application of Ubiquitous Computing as well. TecO showed with AwareGoods - a system running in a sensitive production environment since 2000 - that Ubicomp technology is now ready to be applied. The results of the research project TEA are now gaining influence in current mobile phone developments. New usage potential for RFID systems where shown with the SmartShelf and Wearable Packet Reader industry demonstrations.

Current Research Topics

• Sensor and RFID Technology:
  Topics: Novel type of Sensor and RFID Systems, Sensor Fusion, ID Resolution concepts, RFID based location systems, Massively Tagged Environments
  Projects: DigiClip, Smart-Its, Smart Shelf, Context Label, Wearable Packet Reader
  Research: MediaCup, P2P/RFID
  
• Context and Location Awareness:
  Topics: Situation detection, Multi-sensor Location Detection, Context Recognition, Context Abstraction, Context and Location Aware Applications
  Projects: Smart-Its, Aware Office, RELATE, TEA
  Research: ParticleLocator, Ambient Telepresence, LocationBeacon, RAUM, MediaCup
• Communication, Collaboration, Networks and Middleware in Ubicomp:
  Topics: Low-Power Networks, Personal Area Networks (PAN), Location based Routing and Service detection, Collaborative Environments, Abstract Context Communication, Ubiquitous Services
  Projects: Living in a Smart Environment, RELATE, Smart-Its, TEA
  Research: RAUM, Smart-Its Friends, ParticleDB, AwareCon, ACL, ParticleServices, MediaCup
  
• Human-Computer Interaction in Ubicomp:
  Topics: Implicit HCI, Context sensitive HCI, Ambient HCI, Telepresence Systems, Controlling Pervasive Computing Environments, Supporting the Human Memory
  Project: ContextLabel, SmartShelf, In/Out, DigiClip, Wearable Packet Reader, Living in a Smart Environment, Million, TEA
  Research: Point&Click, UbicompBrowser, ElectronicManual, ContextNuggets, InteractiveParticles, Smart-Its Friends, MediaCup
• System Design and Engeneering in Pervasive Computing
  Topics: Digital Artefacts, Software/Hardware Co-Engineering, Engineering tools, Miniature & low power systems, Embedded Systems, Enterprise Systems and Ubicomp Environments
  Projects: REALTE, Aware Office, Smart-Its, Aware Goods
  Research: ParticleMaster, ParticleCourse
• Security, Privacy and Trust in Pervasive Computing
  Topics: Trusted Environments, Context dependend Security-Key Generation, Human Perceivable Private and Trusted Environment
  Projects: WiTness, TrustCom,
  Research: Context-as-a-Key
• Personal Devices, PDAs, Handheld and Wearable Computing:
  Topics: Context Sensitive Interfaces, Mnemonic Devices, Controlling Pervasive Computing Environments
  Projects: Living in a Smart Environment, Wearable Packet Reader, Million, MobilBot
  Research: Point & Click, PocketWeb

Past Research Topics

• Web-Engeneering
• Wireless Access Protocol

Projects

• LoCostix
• Smart Surroundings
• CoBIs: Collaborative Business Items
• RELATE, Project in the context of EUs disappearing computer Initiative. In cooperation with Lancaster University
• Smart-Its, Project in the context of EUs disappearing computer Initiative. In cooperation with Lancaster Univ., ETH Zürich, PLAY Sweden, VTT Finland
• WiTness, Projct in the context of EUs IST program
• TrustCom
• TEA
• Smart Shelf, Project with SAP/CEC
• ContextLabel, Project with SAP/CEC
• AwareOffice , Project with SAP/CEC
• DigiClip, Project with SAP/CEC
• "MemoClip II" in the context of the Ladenburger Kolleg "Living in a smart environment" / Gottlieb Daimler- und
  Karl Benz-Stiftung. In cooperation with ETH Zürich, Universität Freiburg, Universität Stuttgart, Universität Rostock, FhG/IPSI, Universität Kassel
• MemoClip I
• MediaCup@TecO : Augmenting everyday objects with computer technology, location modeling, location aware communication & implicit HCI
• AwareGoods: Using sensor, computing and communication technology to supervise supply chains. In cooperation with SAP CEC
• PDA Developers Group projects
• WAP Center of Competence in Cooperation with SAP CEC
• Ambient Media: Trafficlights: Ambient Lights to glance into our Web-Sites activity, AmbientTelepresence
• MILLION (ESPRIT-funded multimedia systems pilot)
• MobilBot (Intelligent Travel Assistance)
• UbicompBrowser and ElectronicManual: Dispatching output to devices in the environment and using them for manual applications
• Wearables: Using wearables for implicit interaction and other UI themes. Current research focuses on body networks.