Below are examples of the projects that Student Researchers have completed as part of BiblioTech Labs. The first official BiblioTech Labs project was conducted in Spring 2013. We will continue to post updates here as more projects are completed.
Spring 2013 - Study Area Availability
Student Researcher, Esha Uboweja, developed a system to detect when students are using library study spaces, and to stream this information, real-time, the availabiliity of study spaces to the library website. Currently, the Sorrells Library has too few seats for the amount of demand for study space and a lack of information about study space availability is a common complaint the CMU Libraries hears. This project aims to help resolve this problem by providing library patrons with a system for identifying whether study spaces are available in real-time via the library website.
The protocol for this project involves using a video camera to capture images of study spaces in the library across time. By differencing these images, we can determine which spaces are in use and convey that information to potential library users. More specifically, images are captured at intervals and the captured image is compared, on-the-fly, with images where no patrons are in the space (e.g. captured in the very early morning when the library is closed). Processed images are then used to inform the user-facing part of the system which will show, in a diagrammatic way, the current use of the study space. This project has been able to help users identify how busy the library is using a categorical information system such as those used for traffic lights - green, yellow, and red levels corresponding to low, medium, and high levels of space use.