u-PaV: Automatic Transformation of Web Content into TV-like Video Content for Ubiquitous Environment

Abstract

We propose a system that automatically transforms web content into TV-like video content for ubiquitous environments. We call this system the ubiquitous/universal passive viewer (u-PaV). The u-PaV consists mainly of audio and visual components. The audio component uses synthesized speech to read out titles and lines extracted from the target web content. Simultaneously, the visual component of the uPaV presents the titles and lines to a user display through a ticker. Keywords and images extracted from the web content are animated on the display. A suitable background color is determined based on the overall impression of the content. The u-PaV synchronizes the ticker, animation, and speech. We introduce the u-PaV and explain how the keywords are extracted and how the impression value of the web content is determined. A test with 50 users showed that the u-PaV is easier to use and understand than browsing web content alone.