iThink Reader

iThink is an intelligent e-reading platform, which not only enables the reading of e-books, but also helps in understanding those.
No matter how complex nonfiction book or scientific text may be, iThink can capture and visualize the author’s and the reader’s way of thinking, making the knowledge contained within the book easer to navigate, adopt, and share. Additional features and Internet services of iThink make each e-book a foundation which authors and readers use to build upon – adding new knowledge in an explorative, dynamic, and multi-perspective way.

The aim of the iThink project is to envision, design and deliver electronic reading environment which differs from “classical” readers in that it helps humans in the process of understanding -not only reading- the book material.

Project web site: LINK

Following major functionalities are currently provided by iThink:

1. iThink Reader has possibility of 2 presentation modus: Syntax & Semantic.
2. Displaying of the book layout (preferably in EPUB format) and understanding of complex knowledge.
3. Additional Web search of different media and implementation of advanced iPad possibilities.

SERVICES PROVIDED BY iTHINK READER

Standard (syntactic) navigation

1. Text is organized by paragraphs and chapters. Within one chapter user scrolls the view up and down by a single gesture. Between chapters, the slider can be used or finger gesture left/right or direct jump from the menu.
2. Text can be seen as page-less, i.e., continuous flow of text and images (using scrolling gestures to get a sense of “where are we in the text”)

Semantic navigation

1. Semantic structure of the text is visualized. It is interactive and allows the reader to change location – see the current “semantic position”. This could be achieved using a new kind of “Table of contents” –as “Network of contents”.
2. In scientific papers, syntactic and semantic structure of the text is often very similar. Still, there are smaller items scattered around the text, e.g., related research, references, small experiments. These are not necessarily all grouped in a single place. iThink could virtually group them through some mechanism of selection (aspects) and visual emphasis. Think in terms of keyword, category, and aspects based selection.

In this first lite version of the application there is included a sample part from the new upcoming book by ORTLOS entitled “Architecture of the Networks – The Emergence of Networked Design and Thinking”.

Link on iTunes