A two day consultation event took place at the user´s “Asociación Parque Galicia” center in Alicante (Spain). It was focused on identifying specific types of activities that would be both enjoyable and of practical value.
Using the protocols designed by the University of Padova to interview the final users about their preference for system functionalities and content, two activities were conduced by the consortium members: Brainstorm Multimedia, University of Padova and subcontractors WhiteLoop and InnovaTec. The results of the consultation were used as a guide in the specification process of Users Requirements.
One of the most important developments in SeniorChannel Project is the setting up of aVirtual Studio to produce TV Programs in the Senior Centres without investing in expensive physical sets. With only a fixed camera, a video mixer and a chromakey, the centres will be able to produce their own programs in a very attractive virtual set with advanced 3D graphics that will add realism to the live or recorded programs to broadcast. In this research field, Brainstorm Multimedia has started to develop a low cost virtual studio software that integrates the video mixer and the chromakey in the own software.
A paper about the SeniorChannel project has been published inside the book Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science “Ambient Assisted Living: Third International Workshop, IWAAL 2011″.
The authors of the paper are: Ana Hernadez from Indra Software Labs, Francisco Ibañez from Brainstorm Multimedia and Neftis Atallah from Cedetel.
Brainstorm has also developed an easy to use graphic application to create 3D Virtual Studio for SeniorChannel. In this way, the elderly people will be able to create different virtual studios for the programs, designing the 3D backgrounds that will be used in every TV program and selecting the 3D elements that will surround the real people particpating in the program. This application will offer a very good opportunity to obtain low cost many studios without any cost and little effort.
