Client: Central College – Pella, IA

Project:
Vermeer Science Center

Business Situation:

Central College in Pella, Iowa recently remodeled the Vermeer Science Center building to become the first LEED® rated building in the state of Iowa. This rating means that the building has become extremely efficient with the use of solar power and other energy saving technologies and strategies. To add to the visual repertoire of the building, Central College determined that a touch-screen kiosk application should be created. Quality Attributes Software was hired to produce and deploy a GreenTouchscreen® on Central College’s existing web server. This kiosk application was to have four main focus pages and would integrate with the newest Johnson Controls system to display live values for specific weather-related information, as well as the status of a solar powered fountain in front of the building. The main focus pages would include an about page, a home page, a building directory page, and a renewable energy page. These four areas would then educate and inform using specific interactions relating to their main purpose.

Major Goals:

• The application must be hosted by the Central web server and reachable via the internet.
• The application will include major sections, each with their own specific purpose.
• The building directory must be dynamically generated through information stored in an SQL database, using XML to transport data to the application.
• The application will have a companion service which then completes all database procedure calls from the kiosk pc.
• The system will have an administration interface allowing for changes to be made dynamically without having to reprogram the application.
• The application will have a user-friendly look and style that requires no training to use, as multiple users will want to quickly access information by using the directory tabs or other features of the application.

Solution:

Recognizing that an application of this magnitude and intricacy would need to be internet-based, Quality Attributes determined it would be best to write it using Flash-MX. Planning began immediately and database structure was organized to provide the most efficient method of storing and communicating data. Several small ASP pages were written to transport the XML data from the stored procedures in the database to the kiosk application. The database consists independent of the application and all modifications or retrieves from the database are accomplished through the use of stored procedures. This allows for the most accurate data being stored and reported, as well as efficiency of the operations performed, as most of the coding is at the database level for these interactions.

After sampling multiple design layouts, Quality Attributes was able to select an overall look that would later be commended. It involved a tabbed framing graphic, which allows users to easily select one of the four tabs required for the complete solution. Because there are different needs at different times of the year, the application was programmed to retrieve a default value for which tab to display upon timeout. This value can be adjusted through the administration interface, and allows the default tab to be displayed without having to make any adjustments to the code of the kiosk application.

The four tabs consist of the home page, the about page, the building directory, and the renewable energy page.

The home page contains some general information and a slideshow of pictures from the inception and completion of the Vermeer Science Center project.

The about page includes comments from the architect, specific information relating to the LEED® certification, and a dynamic animation that is generated using real time values in the database. This animation displays the status of the fountain - whether or not it is on, in sheeting mode, or in full sheeting and spraying mode. This animation also includes real-time values for temperatures and energy that are dynamically generated from the database.

The third page is the building directory which also generates information from the database. This page allows the user to select a room or a professor name and then zooms in to the specific floor and flashes the room where the professor exists or the room whose number was selected.

The renewable energy page includes data for six different values in the database which allows users to see how much energy the building has used. It also allows the user to see the amount of pollutants the building has reduced by using the various environmentally friendly LEED® methods. These values are shown through dynamic gauges.

Throughout the application, there are many flash controls that have allowed for ease of changing things within the program as well as a more uniform look. One of these controls is a text generating item that allows the display of a retrieved value. There are three of these that exist in the title bar of all pages. These are for the wind, temperature, and humidity readings.

Because the majority of the data is stored in the SQL database, the application can function more efficiently while working with valid returned values. The values are reported to the database through the use of a service that exists on the kiosk machine. This service has allowed for the accurate and efficient reporting of data to the database while simultaneously eliminating the need for the kiosk application to do so. This simplifies the overall process internally and will allow for easy changes in the future, should such need arise.

Solution Benefits:

The application developed received many compliments from educational professionals from around the area. This allowed the staff of Central College to feel a sense of pride in their institution. In addition, the application has provided many students with the ability to quickly and easily locate their professor or their classroom with a simple touch of the screen. The values and information on the other tabs have allowed for the users to feel a more robust and complete sense of what is really going on with all the individual aspects of the Vermeer Science Center. They have also provided the Central staff with the ability to make their modifications easily through an internet administration interface. Because Quality Attributes handled this complex system, the developers and administrators at Central were able to focus on other details and projects for Central College. The relationship forged between the staff at Quality Attributes and Central College also proven to be very beneficial to everyone involved.

Summary:

The GreenTouchscreen® developed by Quality Attributes to meet the needs of Central College has been highly praised. With the completion of the project, the ease of administration, and the successful use of the kiosk, all parties have been increasingly satisfied. This system was designed from the ground up by Quality Attributes and has served as a model of success for future systems.