mobile hci 2004: mobility and interactive experiences keynote · 2004-09-14 12:13

Once again in conference mode, this time Mobile HCI 2004 in Glasgow.Notes as and when.

Equator
Tom Rodden

Mobility and Interactive Experiences

what is Mobile HCI?
small screen
small keyboard
speech interfaces
audio output
used ‘on the move’

another way of looking at roles:
mobile devices as a means of linking online and physical interaction
mobility of users through an augmented space to drive interaction
mobility as a design resource

work on cities
e.g. Charles Rennie Mackintosh
exhibitions, buildings, information, experts and visitors across the city
physically diverse
The Lighthouse exhibition space brings these together into one phsyical space, plus co-visiting via VRML and web environments

three common resources for interaction:
audio
location and orientation
shared information space

results-
more talkative than conventional museum visits
some novelty efects, but technology does not inhibit interaction

location system (map) a resource for awareness
people used the system to gesture to others to come and have a look

Can You See Me Now?
overlaying a digital experience across a physical city
exploited the movement of people across a physical landscape as a source of performance
performance linked physical players on the street with an online player

exploiting GPS inaccuracy
error varied according to location from open areas to built up streets
online and street players experience GPS inaccuracy differently

online has less information to make judgements
only see reported positions
unfamiliar with GPS coverage and terrain
were not exposed to the game for as long as the runners
hard to disinguish GPS errors from other online errors

audio used to convey context
audio stream proved to be highly significant
contextual information highly localised

expose the infrastructure
digital infrastructure becomes as much part of the interact as what appears on the

screen
e.g. showing 802.11 maps, showing GPS coverage and variability as shadows (that change throughout the day)

Bill system
runners movement builds up ‘seamful maps’ of 802.11 and GPS
past activity as new resource for gameplay
and also a resource for other people and other purposes

mobility of users through an interactive space
exploration – stationary devices in the world, with location tracked people to facilitate interaction
‘ambient wood’ – children’s learning experience 8-10yrs
field trip to private wood, incorporating a wireless networking infrastructure, mainly local interactions (short range radio and RFID)
hardest challenge – powering the technology

reflecting, comparing and hypothesizing
classroom session afterwards shows location maps and discussed why they went there

(skipped Uncle Roy All Around You – location based system with no location based technology)

Mobility as a design resource
workshop with RCA
Artifacts which use a broader sense of mobility
Artifacts augmented with weight sensing

History tablecloth – shows the movement of artifacts through the home
drift table – shows aerial photo of the UK, can move by weighting a side of the table
aerial photos of England available (1.7TB)
people loading table at night to get some place by the morning
also understood when it was broken, and how that changed the directional flow

the key table
at entry and exit of the home
detects how hard you throw down your keys and determines your mood
test subjects anthropomorphised the table and technology (not helped by picture of dog put into the moving pictureframe). user saw themselves as an artist.

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