Thalia collaborative media project

So what is Thalia?

A web-based "image tool" designed to meet the needs of many departments within MIT:
  • ability to search multiple repositories for images/media
  • a "personal repository" for users and workgroups in which to store images and digital media, organize them, and share them with others
  • customizable meta-data about images/media
  • ability to be accessed by Stellar Images, m:media and other OKI-compliant image tools

What makes Thalia special?

  • The Team
    • we've learned from our experiences with m:media and Visualizing Cultures and we have a good idea what users at MIT need and how it can be done
    • we have OKI experience, content management experience, and Java enterprise experience
    • we are committed to providing a re-usable solution and integrating with Stellar Images, D-space, and other efforts at MIT.
  • The Architecture
    • Very loosely coupled in all dimensions
    • Decoupling between UI and backend allows other user interfaces to be developed, without changing the fundamental application
    • Functionally modular, allowing departments to pick-and-choose between business components
    • Uses XML only between front end and the Image Management Engine (IME)
    • Uses an OKI-compliant interface between the IME and backend digital , which facilitates sharing with other tools
  • The User Experience
    • we are an AJAX style application, which allows for a richer user experience than the typical web browser application
    • our initial offering is a Flash-based UI, but it is detachable from the IME and can be replaced by other kinds of user interface

What is your plan?

  • Phase 1 (June 2006): We are currently developing an application for HS&T (Health, Sciences, and Technology) to archive their community images for use in a publishing environment. This phase of hte project will emphasize the personal and workgroup repository aspects of Thalia, with an innovative approach to categorizing and collecting data for sharing.
  • Phase 2: Integration with Stellar Images
  • Phase 3: Extending the core functionality to support the needs of the List Visual Arts Center
  • Phase 4: Enterprise-quality Federated Search of multiple external andi internal repositories

Want a taste?

Our Demo gives an idea of the type of functionality Thalia will offer.

Contact Us

Thalia is a project of EAS, who also bring you developers@mit. Contact us at thalia-team (at) mit.edu.