Calm Technology

Mudit Kumar JainBCA V Sem ‘A’

Techno logy tha t rema ins in the background un t i l needed and thus enab les a pe r son to in te rac t w i th i t

i n a ca lm , engaged manner.

Definition :

Ca lm Techno logy a ims to reduce the "exc i tement" o f i n fo rmat ion ove r l oad by l e t t i ng the use r se lec t what

i n fo rmat ion i s a t the cen te r o f the i r a t ten t i on and what i n fo rmat ion i s pe r iphe ra l .

Ca lm Techno logy makes use o f ou r per iphe ra l a t ten t ion , a l l ow ing us to be aware o f more th ings w i th

l e ss cogn i t i ve overhead .

The te rm was co ined by Mark We i se r , ch ie f techno log i s t , and J ohn See ley B rown , d i rec to r o f the

Xe rox Pa lo A l to Resea rch Cen te r (PARC) in 1995 .

Mark WeiserChief Technologist of Xerox PARC

John Seeley BrownDirector of Xerox PARC

Introduced By :

Principles of Calm Technology Techno logy shou ld requ i re the sma l le s t amount o f ou r

a t ten t i on .a. Technology can communicate, but doesn’t need to speak.b. Create ambient awareness through different senses.c. Communicate information without taking the wearer out of their environment or task.

Te c h n o l o g y s h o u l d i n f o rm a n d e n c a l m .

a. A person's primary task should not be computing, but being human.b. Give people what they need to solve their problem, and nothing more.

Te c h n o l o g y s h o u l d m a ke u s e o f t h e p e r i p h e r y.

a. A calm technology will move easily from the periphery of our attention, to the center, and back.b. The periphery is informing without overburdening.

Calm technology has three basic characteristics :

• Calm technologies shift the focus of our attention to the periphery. This technological orientation can be achieved either by smoothly and easily shifting from the center to the periphery and back, or by transferring more

details to the periphery. An example is a video conference that, by comparison to a telephone conference, enables us to attune to nuances of body posture and facial

expression that would otherwise be inaccessible.

• A technology is calm when it increases peripheral perceptions with direct implications on our knowledge, which increases abilities to act adequately in various circumstances without being overburdened with information. Thus, the use

of calm technology develops a pleasant environment.

• Technological connectivity enables a quick anchoring in certain circumstances against the background of a quick shifting from the center to the periphery of our attention, which determines a quick perception of the past, present and future of the subject. This characteristic leads to what Weiser and John Seeley Brown call

"locatedness“.

Characteristics of a Calm Technology

Examples of Calm TechnologyTea KettleIf a technology works well, we can ignore it most of

the time. A teapot tells us when it is ready, and is off or quiet the rest of the time. A tea kettle can be set

and forgotten, until it sings. It does not draw constant attention to itself until necessary.

Inner Office WindowAn inner office window provides an understanding of whether someone is busy or not without the need to

interrupt them.

Jawbone UpThe Jawbone Up has a single button and a colored status light. The device can be set to buzz after a

short nap or at the optimium sleep cycle for a good night of sleep.

Jawbone tracks movement in the background without requiring additional action from the wearer. The device syncs to the user's phone through the audio jack and

gives a summary of the wearer's individual day in sleep and physical activity.

Lavatory SignThis simple display easily allows one to see whether

the restroom on a plane is occupied or not. The message is universal and requires no translation.

Sleep CycleSleep Cycle is a mobile application that monitors your sleep and allows you to track times of deep sleep . Set an alarm and Sleep Cycle will wake you up before the time at the best place in your sleep cycle with a soft

noise or buzz.Because the haptic alert occurs under your pillow, you

can configure it so that you can wake up without anyone else being affected by the alarm. Sleep Cycle rewards users with a sleep score, detailing how well

they slept that night.

Smart Badge

A smart badge is simple. Smart badges are small, wearable technologies that don't require a charger,

user interface or operating system.Simply touch a provisioned smart badge to a door or

elevator panel and you'll easily gain access.

Calm Communication

Haptic Alert

Status Light

Trend Graph

Status Tone

Status Shout

Timed Trigger

PopupDelay

• The field of computer science tackles more and more types of data (text, sound, static images, dynamic images etc.). That is, it works with many different media with a minimum effort. This leads to a super-computer-assisted world where computers are ubiquitous in people's lives.

• Data processing technologies should calm down and induce calm, in other words be calm technologies. This is easily achieved if we take into account the multimedia aspect of data processing equipment and applications.

We conclude with the conviction that in a super-computer-assisted world we feel better when special emphasis is

placed on the visual side of the means of communication or information/knowledge transfer, which is a multi-media

presentation of the world we relate to. Moreover, if this makes using technologies less tiresome, then we will have

the satisfaction of a "child playing at his work place".

Conclusion :