Other Characteristics of the Project

 

Users involved:

Direct users of the project's end products will be developers of human-computer interfaces for real-time systems. The requirements of operators in system control centres who will use interfaces developed in the FLUIDS environment using FLUIDS methodologies have to be taken into account.

Technologies and approach used:

The development environment's general architecture will be defined using knowledge engineering methods. A methodology derived from KADS will be applied, supported by the KSM tool, to build a structured Organisation of domain knowledge and inference methods in a hierarchy of building blocks.

Expected benefits for the citizen:

Efficiency improvements in operator/system interaction will have a positive impact on real time systems oriented to serve the citizens (emergency management, traffic management, factory or chemical plants management etc). The project does not aim to evaluate these aspects, however.

Expected benefits for the users of the application:

The FLUIDS development environment and methodology will enable developers to better satisfy the needs of real-time system operators for improved interfaces. FLUIDS knowledge-based interfaces will provide dependable support without usurping the user's role of decision-maker.
The first wave users of the new intelligent interfaces developed in the FLUIDS environment will be operators in the specific field of traffic and transport control and management, specifically the Traffic Control Department of the Spanish Ministry for the Interior and the Italian Consorzio 5T (Telematics Technologies for Transport and Traffic in Turin) are respectively Sponsoring Partner and Partner in the FLUIDS project.

Expected benefits for the European Industries:

The type of products generated by FLUIDS will allow improvements to the quality of real-time systems management. A FLUIDS type interface can sit on top of any real-time control system, so both existing and new systems can obtain added value from implementation of the advanced interface. The FLUIDS intelligent interface methodology will accelerate commerce by reducing the time to develop new telematics products and increasing the efficiency of markets.

Contribution to EU-policies:

Adequate interfaces are needed to support human decision processes in the large-scale complex systems that are being developed by the various sub-programmes of DG XIII . Interfaces developed in the FLUIDS environment will aid the introduction and operation of these systems. In addition FLUIDS will provide specific experimental implementations on the specific field of traffic and transport control and management.