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What Can We Do Differently With Ubicomp?
In my recent ponderings on how to move ubicomp from theory and philosophy into practice, I found it necessary to ask (re-ask, really--it's not like this is the first time) what exactly we might want to accomplish with ubicomp implementations. I will spare you my journey of convoluted mental ramblings, which scare even me sometimes, and present my current conclusions in the form of some questions which I believe address some real human-computer interaction challenges:
- We don't want to give up our online access to information and community, but how can we avoid becoming a slave to our computer screens?
- How can we deliver and present information differently and more effectively?
- How can we filter the ever-increasing flood of information we are trying to process on a daily basis?
- How do we use technology--including but not limited to computers--to better interact with our environment?
To answer each of these questions could fill a volume of writing on its own. However, I will summarize my answers to the questions in the form of 4 principles for ubicomp research and development. I propose these principles as a work in progress and as a basis for discussion.
Four Working Principles Of Ubicomp
- We will make the network and information come to us and follow us arround, not the opposite.
- We will layer the interfaces onto our environment and blur the line between information and things.
- We will use location-awareness and techniques like collaborative filtering to make information personally, physically and temporally relevant.
- We will use a variety of technologies to make things and our environment more aware and able to sense and communicate with us.
Although these principles do not exactly coincide with any particular list of known principles in the field of ubicomp, they are based on literature from known experts and not just naively springing from my head. I expect that someday we will have a relatively-agreed-upon set of working principles. Until then, I reserve the right to modify the content and number of the principles. Finally, I will also point out that the modifer "working" in "working principles has two meanings: a work in progress, but also that I am more interesting in the practical aspects of rolling up our sleeves and getting ubicomp systems constructed.
rk
