The Franklin Institute Science Museum has received support from Unisys Corporation to design and implement the Museum's new, state-of-the-art interactive computerized information system. The system is located in the Futures Center, a 90,000 square-foot addition to the Franklin Institute containing eight permanent exhibits on future science and technology, and will be installed in the Science Center in December 1990.
The Franklin Institute's objectives for the new system are the creation of a network tying together the museum's multiple exhibit floors and capable of expanding to meet growing needs; the deployment of easy-to-use workstations that provide simple access to information, in multiple levels of complexity, to address the needs of children and adults, casual visitors and teachers using the museum as a class; and the availability of powerful applications to control critical network operations.
This unified computer information system is called Unisystem. Its core is a two-tier, 10 megabit per second, IEEE 802.3 compatible local area network driven by six Unisys U 6000 Series minicomputers running the Unisys implementation of AT&T's UNIX System V.
Franklin Institute visitors access Unisystem through more than 40 MS-DOS based Unisys Personal Workstation2 (PW2) 300/10 PCs. Each station runs graphics applications developed by Franklin's staff and residing on the U 6000 servers. These applications present information on specific exhibits, as well as general visitor information. The presentations combine text and graphic images, light sequence control and touch screen access for the visitor's ease of use. Once the user has gone through the menus, the system takes them through either a short overview or a detailed explanation of the topic of interest. The information is presented at the level most understandable to the individual user.
The interface between the user and the system in each workstation is provided by a Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) touch screen. The Surface Acoustic Waves exist in the screen medium. When the user touches a SAW touchstone, the finger touching the screen absorbs the SAW energy, creating an absence of energy that is detected, processed and converted into symbolic information by the system.
A barcode reader, industrial controller (relay box), and Ethernet interface complete the workstation configuration. The barcode reader uniquely identifies the visitor so that printouts from interactive exercises can be provided when the visitor exits the museum. The industrial controller coordinates light shows through energizing relays at the right time. The Ethernet interface allows timely uploading of graphics applications from the U 6000 server to the workstation.
Each museum visitor will receive a Unisystem barcoded card that can be personalized. Information about visitors' interests, education or age will help Unisystem answer questions at an appropriate level. Computer stations in 20 exhibit areas in the Future and Science Centers will allow an interested user to explore a scientific principle or hands-on device in depth. For example, a visitor whose imagination is piqued by a model space station in Future Space can be directed to learn more about gravity in mechanics and discover the enormous energy of our sun at a demonstration of the solar collector in the observatory. Unisystem will help the Franklin Institute provide more fully integrated science education experience by emphasizing the unifying themes and educational goals of the exhibition areas.
[Contact: Unisys Corporation, P.O. Box 500, Blue Bell, PA 19424-0001 (215) 986-2867.]
