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Chapter 7

Designing for the Human Experience in

Smart Environments

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Quotes from Mark Weiser• Ubiquitous computing"Machines that fit the human environment instead of

forcing humans & enter theirs will make using a computer as refreshing as a walk in the woods." 1991

"We wanted to put computing back in its place, to reposition it into the environmental background, to concentrate on human-to-human interfaces and less on human-to-computer ones." 1999

"It is invisible, everywhere computing that does not live on a personal device of any sort, but is

in the woodwork everywhere." 1994

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Ubiquitous Goals1. Everyday practices of people need to be

understood and supported.2. Augment world with heterogeneous

devices offering different interactive experience.

3. Network devices for holistic experience.

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Chapter Overview

1. Definition of interaction2. Discovery of application features3. Evolution of theories & practice

– Design & evaluation of smart environments

4. Examples

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Define: Appropriate Physical Interaction Experience

• What is that?• No traditional location - computer on desk

– Where we are, normally!• Changes our idea of "input-

process-output"• Input

– Was (is) an explicit communication– Will be (is) a recognition of what we do or say

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Physical Interaction?• Output

– Was (is) display, paper, sound– Will be (is) widely distributed, many forms and

modalities– Will have to coordinate all this

• I/O Relationship– Should be seamless

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Explicit to Implicit Input• Natural interactions with environment

– e.g. walk into a room - what happens?

• Natural forms of communication– Speech, writing, gestures– Pen based– Touch surfaces

• Sensors– Requires interpretation

• Invisibility of computing - determine identity, location, affect, or activity thru presence and natural interactions (context)

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Multiscale & Distributed Output• Ubicomp requires new technologies &

techniques• Multiple displays, sizes• Ambient forms• Output scales (Weiser)

– Inch (small) - handheld– Foot (middle) - PC– Yard (large) - wall displays

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Other Output Features• Coordination among displays• Less demanding of our attention

– There but can ignore– Ambient displays require minimal attention &

effort; integrate easily– e.g. Dangling String - monitored network

traffic– e.g. "beep" as signal for arriving email

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Applications

Is there one "killer application" for smart environments?

• Combination of many smaller applications providing a broad range of services

Emergent Features• Context awareness• Automated capture, store, access

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Context Aware Computing• Location aware appliances

– e.g. Active Badge, PARCTab • could forward phone calls

• Location identification– Usually people– GPS based– e.g. tours in museum

• Context not just location (where)– Also who, when why, what

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Context Aware Computing• Challenges

– Truly ubiquitous• GPS is not ubiquitous

– Not indoors– Problems in some regions– Differences - cost, range, granularity, etc.

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Capture & Access• Accurate recording of events• Do we remember?• Task preserving a live experience that can

be reviewed at some point in time• Good? Accurate• Bad? Privacy

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Continuous Interaction• "Constant presence"• Change from tasks to activities

– Most interfaces are well-defined task oriented– e.g. Word Processing made up of tasks

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Features of Daily Activities• Seldom has clear beginning & end• Interruptions are expected• Multiple activities are concurrent• Time is important in characterizing activity• Associative models of information are

needed• Because information is reused & from different

perspectives

• Activities are related to each other

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Theories of Design & Evaluation• Guidelines for HCI exist

– Dr. Stringfellow's 2005 summer course– Tend to focus on desktop interfaces

• HCI in embedded environment - research– Development of new models of interaction

related to ubiquity• Not mouse, keyboard

– Emergence of methods focus on gaining understanding

– Development of assessment of the ability of ubicomp

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New Models• Shift is similar to "AI project" of years past

– Not highly successful• Related to psychology, sociology,

education, etc.– How do people learn? Remember?– Robot walking across a cluttered room

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Georgia Tech - Living Labs• Labs for research, not really "smart"Classroom - 1995-2000• Capture classroom experience for review• Note taking, modified behaviorOffice - 1999• Flatland - use of whiteboard

– Observe, interview, questionnaires• Stored whiteboard content for later use

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Georgia Tech - Home Lab• Focus on aging adults• Compensate for physical decline

– Gestures as commands (lock doors, open blinds)

• Aiding recall– Kitchen: not "do this next"; but "here's what

you've been doing"• Awareness for family members

- Digital family portrait • Records person's daily activity for

family review

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**Conclusion**

Many open questions– Design– Evaluate– Adjust to ubiquity from desktop