Frametalk: Human and picture frame interaction through the iot technology

The concept of frame plays a significant role in art design. However, traditional picture frames do not allow interaction with human. To provide another dimension of artwork demonstration of picture frames, we utilize the Internet of Things (IoT) technology to create human and picture frame interaction. Specifically, an application-layer IoT device management platform called IoTtalk is used to quickly establish connections and meaningful interactions between IoT devices. The frame and human interaction is achieved by implementing an output device of IoTtalk called FrameTalk, which provides animation in a digital frame to be controlled by the input devices (typically a smartphone). The FrameTalk device can be displayed in specific frame hardware or the screen of any computing device. We describe the functional block diagram of the FrameTalk device and its default applications. Then we show two FrameTalk application examples. The first example is CalligraphyTalk that allows the audience to interact with the frame to write the poems. The second example is PortraitGuess that allows the audience to guess historical figures through the frame.