A University and Public Library Cooperation Project in Taiwan: Mixed-reality Children’s Library Using Wearable Smartwatch Navigation and Visualized Interfaces

Abstract

The Mixed-reality Children’s Library Using Wearable Smartwatch Navigation and Visualized Interfaces was part of a program supervised by the Ministry of Education in 2016. Its aim was to apply interactive design and multi-media computing technology developed by National Taipei University of Technology, and big-data analysis technology developed by Taipei Medical University to the construction of a mixed-reality Children’s Library. This was a cooperative project with the National Library of Public Information (NLPI). The aim was to create a mixed-reality children’s library that meets the specific needs of individuals by providing an interactive learning environment for young readers and enabling them to locate the books they are interested in by thematic order.

We conducted big-data analysis on the borrowing records under the present management system and space of Children’s Learning Center, NLPI. We then built RFID Smart Bookshelves for Popular Books, and an e-book wall that uses a wearable smartwatch to help children of different age groups to find books. This paves the way to a futuristic high-tech “my library”. Graphs, pictures, and a collaborated framework are used to explain the side panels of the smart bookshelf and visualized interfaces, and to demonstrate how our research findings contribute to future applications.