Yours, Mine and Ours? SHaring and Use of Technology in Domestic Environments

Skimming through the papers from UbiComp 2007, I came across this paper named "Yours, Mine and Ours? Sharing and Use of Technology in Domestic Environments" by A.J. Bernheim Brush and Kori M. Inkpen from Microsoft Research, Redmond, USA and Dalhousie University, Canada. Their paper is based on user studies of 15 families (50 people in total) and their sharing and usage of technology.

At the beginning of the paper they identified two different models of domestic technology devices- appliance model, and profile model. The former allows sharing of the device with other family memebers, while the latter model is more personal that requires user authentication.

They surveyed families with varying number of technological devices in their homes to see how the sharing models mentioned above were used on various devices. They also studied if the location of the device determined how it is shared.

The survey showed that most shared devices had multiple profiles. Members had different profiles not for privacy reasons, but for personalization. The same thing holds true for personal devices. For example, portable music players are not shared because one person' s playlist might not work for another.

Based on the survey, they determined that a device with a mixed profile would be ideal for families. This way families will have to buy just one device, but it would also provide user specific functionality.

This paper is very relevant to my project because it reassures that privacy is not an issue within the families. It also outlines the features a domestic technical device must have for optimum functionality.

A Better Picture of My Project

After four really short weeks, I have a better idea as to where my project is going.

Keeping in touch has become very easy in today's tech savvy world. Twitter, facebook, and other social networking sites provide a quick and easy way to stay connected. But, the people being left behind are the not-so-tech-savvy people, who do not use internet on a daily basis(if not every minute.) My project is to bridge this gap between the always online children and the not-so-tech-savvy parents.

For this, I plan to use a Chumby. Chumby is an ambient device that looks like a regular alarm clock, but, it connects to the internet to diplay all kinds of information like weather, news, photos and much more. This can be used to display the status updates from the internet for the parents to know about their children. A Chumby application that gives information about the children at-a-glance will helped parents stay connected.

On the other side, a facebook application linked to the Chumby will help the children get messages from their parents. Chumby has squeeze and tilt sensors. So an application that may be "pokes" on facebook when the Chumby is squeezed or sends a message when tilted would serve this purpose.

Thats what the idea is right now. Lets see how it goes :)

Pimp My Clock Radio

User Manual for the Website

Website


What does this website do?
The map on the website shows your location based on your twitter status. You can register addresses and give them names, like work, home etc, and when one of these names appear in your twitter status, your location is updated to this map. Hope this convinces you to register here.

How to Register and Set Up your Account?
Step 1: Get a twitter account, if you don't already have one. Its free, its easy. Sign up at Twitter.com. If you already have a twitter account, make it PUBLIC!
Step 2: Click on the "register" button on the grouphome page and register yourself.
Step 3: Go to the Login page either by clicking "Login" on the homepage or after registration. Enter your username and password and your Twitter username.
Step 4: To register a location just have l:location name = location address; in your tweet. So, if you have a tweet like this- "I am at l:work= dallas,tx;" , "work" will be registered. So the next time you have the word "work" in your tweet (For example- I am at work), your location will automatically be updated on the map. Alternatively, if you do not want to register a location, but want to update your location on the map just include- l:address; in your twitter status.

Twittering Made Easy
An easy way to send tweets is through Twhirl (for Windows) Moodblast (for Linux) or Twitter Fox (my favorite). They are all application that enable you to send Tweets without having to log on to Twitter every time.

You can even send Tweets from you phone. Just register your phone number on Twitter.com and it will walk you through the following steps.

Tweet Away!

Please leave your feedback here or send me an e-mail

Article on Chumby in the Forbes a few months ago

This article captures all the features of Chumby though the author thinks it is a "goofy" device which will contribute to information overload. Well, I disagree, but still like the way this article highlights all its features and talks about other ambient devices available in the market.

http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/forbes/2008/0324/064.html

Website with mutliple users

This is the website for the whole group:
http://crypt.ucd.ie/poornima/odysseus/grouphome.php

On this website, you can see what everyone is odysseus is upto and where they are. It works similar to the previous website, only, now it allows multiple users to register their twitter username, work and home addresses. It displays your twitter statuses . It also shows your location. If you have the word "work" in you twitter status, the google map will show your location at the work address you registered. Hope that makes sense :)

You can register at http://crypt.ucd.ie/poornima/odysseus/register.php. You can update your twitter username and addresses at any time here: http://crypt.ucd.ie/odysseus/login.php.

While you are at it, I also request you to follow Odysseus2008 on twitter. It is a group account and if you send direct messages to this account, everyone in the group will get the message. We are going to use this account to set up something like this: https://eniac.hopto.org/soiaware/twitter_display/

Thanks guys!

Website Update

Two additions to the website- both that make Nabaztag talk:
1) You can send you name and message and hit send and the Nabaztag will say your message out loud.
2) You can send your twitter username and it will say your latest tweet aloud.
-This form doesn't validate the twitter username yet...so makesure your twitter username is correct...also, please make sure your twitter profile is NOT PRIVATE.....have fun sending messages :)

Minutes of today's meeting

Exciting tasks for the next few days(weeks?)-
- look up python code that determines position on the mouse pointer and use it to see if the pc is active.
- play around with Nabaztag (having fun with it already!) and link it to twitter so that it can say twitter messages aloud.
- learn how bluetooth sensors in CASL work.
- get people to groupTweet.
- modify the website so that more people can sign up and register locations. Have a map similar to the one on it with multiple markers showing where people are (locations taken from twitter status updates.)
- once I hear from Richie, I am going to have a post/ an e-mail with instructions on how to set up a twitter account and get into group tweet and to easily update twitter using twhirl.
- another blog post on a simple java program (just a couple of lines of code) that updates twitter. Can be used to develop fancy applications later on.

The Computer for the 21st Century by Mark Weiser

This paper written in 1991 by Mark Weiser sparked much research in the area of ubiquitous computing. He emphasizes the fact that technology today demands a lot of attention, but its real potential can be attained when it is everywhere without making its presence known.

He says, "Whenever people learn something sufficiently well, they cease to be aware of it." He compares technology with various day to day objects. Computers should be like street signs that do not demand much attention but give information at a glance. They should be like engines, that "disappear" into the background. Most importantly, they should be like writing- everywhere!

Tabs, pads and boards are three machines developed at PARC. He outlines different ways in which they are used and elaborately describes how they can be used in the future. The details of how each product can be used help the reader understand the scope of such technology.

A very easy-to-read paper which succeeded to change the direction of our perception of technology and its usability in the future.

Update

A new addition to the website- crypt.ucd.ie/poornima/mypage.php- google maps showing my location. The maps are basically updated using key words from my twitter status updates. Right now there are just two locations- work (UCD CASL) and home (Glenomena). So, if the word "work" appears in my latest tweet, UCD CASL is shown on the map. Similarly for "home," Glenomena is the location.

There are a few applications online that show markers on google maps based on the user locations, but, I didn't find anything that picks up words from the status message to show locations. This can be furthur developed to show many more locations. Also, each user can register geo-coordinates( locations) and give them names like- work, home, school, etc., and an application like this can pick up these words from their twitter status and determine their location.

Other than that, I am still working on a java program to determine if a Ubitag is moving/stationary. This will also appear on the website asap.

Started learning python. Looks cool..really like it. I haven't started coding anything for my project in this language though, since I am already using java code written by someone else for the Ubitag program.

Homes that make us smart

This is another paper I read today. This paper introduces many devices that can be used at home. Some of these devices are still at the concept stage, while some have been built and tested. Fridge magnets that glow when moved around, HomeNote- a post-it notes display, whereabouts clock and intelligent bowls are some devices discussed in the paper.

The authors say that the these devices are not intelligent in themselves, but they make their users intelligent. They provide props for members to organize and co-ordinate their lives. They have identified important surfaces in households that are extensively used to broadcast information within a family, like the refrigerator surfaces, bowls etc. They names these surfaces as intelligent surfaces. Smart home devices make use of these surfaces. Some devices like the HomeNote create new surfaces as well.

The papers also introduces the concept of person-to-place technology that these devices offer as opposed to the existing person-to-person technology. Emphasis has also been laid on the need for these devices to be unobtrusive. These devices should blend into the surroundings. They should also give information "at-a-glance."

There is a lot to learn from this paper in regard to my project. The idea of intelligent surfaces and how to efficiently use them is a useful concept. Products that can utilize and enhance the usability of these spaces will be most useful. A clock, or a fridge magnet would, therefore, be a good device. The essential features of these devices, like unobtrusiveness (is that even a word?), are also to be considered in the project.

Locating Family Values: A field Trial of the Whereabouts Clock

This paper explores the various issues and values that come into play while using the Whereabouts Clock(WAC). The information in this paper is based on trials on 5 different households that used WAC for at least a month.

Whereabouts clock is a device that tells provides information about the location of the family members. The locations are broadly classified as "home", "work", "school" and "elsewhere." Members register geographical locations that correspond to each category and they are tracked using cell phones. The clock also displays SMSs sent by the members with extra information they want to share with their family. The clock chimes when a person changes location, and makes a cuckoo clock sound when it receives an SMS. The clock also has softkeys to control the volume and brightness, and a pendulum to show signal strength.

WAC gives members of the family reassurance by showing them what they already know. It also helps co-ordination which is essential in a family to make decisions and plan day-to-day activities. It also ensures connectedness and togetherness among the members.

The paper addresses the major issue of privacy that arises while designing any location determining devices. Based on the trials, it was found out that people are comfortable sharing their "vague" location with families. They were not comfortable sharing their location on a social-networking site, though."...the reactions we recieved around privacy reflect the fact that family life is built, significantly, around shared awareness, without which much of the everyday co-ordination of the family would be impossible."

Website

Did a couple of things today..
Website
I got the website up and running that has my status updates. The link to the website is http://crypt.ucd.ie/poornima/mypage.php

I update my status from a login page with a username and password. The login page is
http://crypt.ucd.ie/poornima/index.php
This makes it easier to update my status.

When I enter my username and password, a php script accesses a table called person on my database and checks if the username and password match. If they do, then it updates the status. The website- mypage.php accesses the database to get status updates.

Twitter

downloaded jtwitter( twitter api ) and wrote a simple java program that takes a string as an input and updates the status on twitter. Going to try and do the same for jaiku and facebook tomorrow. Jtwitter has some other cool methods too...plan to explore those as well.

What is my project about ?

Distributed families are very common in today's world. Family members want to keep in touch, but time and technological constraints often make keeping in touch difficult. It is also true that members, especially the younger ones, like to maintain loose tabs with their families. Hence, a device that conveys information about the whereabouts and actions of each member would cater these needs.

Devices like these need to comply with certain specifications that users feel are significant. Weiser mentions that it is important for the device to blend in with the surroundings. It should not require too much attention and the user should be able to get information just by glancing at it. It is also essential that the people do not consider the device as an invasion of privacy.

Microsoft has done extensive research in this area and one of the Socio-Digital Systems it has come up with is the Whereabouts clock. It shows the vague location of a person (eg. school, work, home, out) and when clicked on a person, it would show any extra information the person has chosen to share. Christine Trant from UCD has done a project similar to the Whereabouts Clock. This clock is online, as opposed to Microsoft's tangible clock.

My project is going to be in similar lines. It could be a Whereabouts clock as a desktop item on a computer/mobile phone. This way people do not have to enter a website to access it. It would also be nice to have a tangible clock for the older members who do not use a computer very often, and a soft-clock for the younger members who are mostly on the go, but have access to a computer/mobile phone almost always.

Well, thats what I think my project is about. Lets see how it goes.

Website

I started designing a simple website that would has updates about my trip and some pictures for my family back in California.

Here is the link

http://crypt.ucd.ie/poornima/mypage.htm

Initial Milestones

Today, Lorcan and I basically decided on initial tasks for me for the next few days.

-a short paragraph on my readings in miktek as well as make them into blog entries so that I can keep track of my readings in the future. Blog posts on Whereabouts clock and Mark Weiser's paper on Computer of the 21st century.

- a simple web page using php/ html (or both??) with status updates for my family back home. Will include a link to pictures as well.

-a java program that take string input and updates the twitter status. Will try to do it for jaiku and facebook too. Will take a look at GData.

- research on different technologies that update twitter, jaiku, facebook etc in one go.ex: Moodblast (gotta find the equivalent for Windows.)

- Oh and not to forget a blog entry on what do I think this project is about :S

Phew! lots to do...

day 1

Today, I read a little bit on what kind of research is going on in the world out there on social connectedness. I read about a few Microsoft projects on Socio-Digital Systems (SDSs). I tried to list out a few pros and cons (just a personal opinion) of each device.

Digital Postcard seems like a very good way for the younger generation to send status updates to their not-so-tech-savvy parents. It is small enough to be mounted on the wall.

The Epigraph captures the statuses of different family members and displays them all at once by splitting the screen into parts for each member. It also has more sources of inputs-internet and cellular. But, it doesn’t seem to be as compact as a postcard.

Whereabouts clock-Woah! The name reminds me of the Weasleys’ family-clock in the Harry Potter books. And, after reading, it seems to be the same thing! Very cool, easy to understand and can get updates of any member of the family at a glance. But,activity options would be limited. If the member is out doing something different and strange that he wants his family to know, it would not be possible with this device.

I will read up more on Whereabouts clock tomorrow. Looks very interesting!

From my initial reading, I picked up a few phrases that have been redundantly used. These phrases, I realized, govern the features of SDSs.

· -Family presence when they are away.

· -Unobtrusive and non-invasive information sharing

· -Loose tabs between members of the family

· -Virtual nearness