Workpackages

The ShoppingMate project is structured in seven (7) work packages (WPs), with each one including a number of well defined tasks:

WP0 addresses all the administrative activities, such as the project management and coordination, the knowledge management and IPR protection of the whole project and the quality control and assurance. Three horizontal activities have been defined to cope with each one of the aforementioned tasks.

WP1 includes the initial technical work and preparation of the project. Its tasks will survey the state-of-the-art in the respective areas, formulate the complete set of user and system requirements from all perspectives (end-users, service providers, shop owners, etc), and define system specifications that address these requirements. It will also define interesting use scenarios that demonstrate the added value of the system and will be implemented during the system trials (WP4). The output of this wok package will directly feed WP2.

WP2 is concerned with the design of all subsystems of an overall ShoppingMate system architecture that can meet the requirements identified in WP1. It starts with the overall architecture and continues with parallel for: context representation, mobile application design, shop information interface, machine learning and recommendation algorithms, and the users’ community architecture. The output of each task in WP2 feeds directly a corresponding task in WP3.

WP3 will handle the implementation of the ShoppingMate prototype system based on the architecture specified in WP2. It has parallel tasks for the implementation of context representation, the mobile application, the shop information interface, the recommender and advertiser modules, and the users’ community. All these tasks feed the final task of WP3 handling the system integration.

WP4 refers to the preparation and the execution of the field trials for the ShoppingMate system. An initial activity will deploy the integrated system in the test area, where trials will take place in a controlled manner, and describe in detail the evaluation method. Training and information material will be prepared for all end-users. Subsequently, two scenarios will run, following the description in WP1, a basic and an advanced one, differentiated by the detail of information entered by the shops. Users will be asked to provide feedback on the effectiveness and performance of the system, which will be processed in the final task of WP4.

WP5 will be responsible for all dissemination and exploitation activities performed in the context of the ShoppingMate project. This WP will promote the ShoppingMate system, through presentations in scientific conferences and exhibitions, circulation of posters and promotional material. Submission of research and technical publications in scientific journals will be actively pursued. Moreover, activities will also focus on the establishment of an effective exploitation strategy for the ShoppingMate prototype, by identifying possibilities for a possible market introduction of the system. Socio-economic impact and legal issues will also be assessed.

Finally, WP6 will include all the training activities in the context of the project. Training is considered important for the transfer of technological and management know-how from the RTD Performers to the SMEs. This workpackage will be divided into two main tasks, one for the organization of seminars and one for the exchange of visits. Seminars will be organized mainly using tele-conference and tele-presence technologies that all partners have access to. To further extend the knowledge dissemination, a set of visits will be organized for SMEs personnel to the RTD Performers’ premises for the necessary face-to-face and hand-on interaction.

The defined WP structure, along with the tasks defined per WP is depicted in the figure shown below: