Ambient Information Systems 2008 William R. Hazlewood1, Lorcan Coyle2, Zachary Pousman3, Youn-Kyung Lim4 1 Indiana University School of Informatics whazlewo@indiana.edu 2 Systems Research Group, University College Dublin, Ireland lorcan.coyle@ucd.ie 3 GVU, Georgia Institute of Technology zach@cc.gatech.edu 4 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology younlim@gmail.com • How are ambient information systems distinct from other PREFACE information technologies? Current research in pervasive and ubiquitous computing is guiding us to a future where we are surrounded by • What are examples of useful heuristics, frameworks, innumerable information sources all competing for our taxonomies, or design principles for the implementation of attention. These information sources may manifest as both ambient information? novel devices and as devices embedded in common objects, • Should Ambient Information Systems move beyond the such as refrigerators, automobiles, toys, furniture, clothes, traditional scope of vision; is there merit in Ambient Noise, and even our own bodies. While this vision of the future has Ambient Smells, Tactile Ambience, and Ambient Taste? prompted great advancements in context-aware computing, • How much ambient information can one perceive and wireless connectivity, multi-sensor platforms, smart comprehend? materials, and location-tracking technologies, there is a concern that this proliferation of technology will • What, if any, are the appropriate interaction methods for increasingly overwhelm us with information. Our belief is these information devices? that information should move seamlessly between the • Where should ambient systems be placed to improve their periphery and the center of one's attention, and that good chances of being used, without becoming distracting or technology should be highly transparent. We see ambient annoying? information systems as a way to support these ideas. • What sorts of information are best conveyed by an Ambient Information Systems describe a large set of ambient display? applications that publish information in a highly non- intrusive manner, following on from Mark Weiser's concept • What are the appropriate methods for evaluating ambient of calm technology. This form of information delivery has information systems, particularly those that are not manifested in several different implementations, but the necessarily task-based? overall theme revolves around how best to embed • How do we describe the values of these particular information into our surroundings. technologies in our everyday lives? The Second International Workshop on the Design and • How can we make use of existing technologies? (e.g. Evaluation of Ambient Information Systems was held in smart materials, wearable systems, etc.) COEX, Seoul, South Korea, on September 21st 2008, in • What knowledge from other domains should we apply? conjunction with the Tenth International Conference on (e.g., from art, cognitive science, design, psychology, Ubiquitous Computing. Building on the success of last sociology) year's workshop at Pervasive 2007 [9], we brought together researchers working in the areas of ambient displays, peripheral displays, slow technology, glanceable displays, We were also particularly interested to hear about ambient and calm technology to discuss and collaborate on information systems in the following areas: developing new design approaches for creating ambient information systems. • Resource Consumption, e.g., power, heat, water, food, and for shared or personal resources WORKSHOP TOPICS • Work and workload “progress” (e.g., explicitly or The workshop topics were for the most part listed as a set of implicitly gathered data, or those based on a workflow) questions. These included: 1 PROGRAM COMMITTEE raindrop to Koert van Mensvoort’s Data Fountain and Our program committee was responsible for reviewing all Kuribayashi and Wakita’s PlantDisplay. She then proposed of the papers submitted to the workshop, and consisted of that such observations of nature could inform the design of the following members: natural interactions and abstraction of the communication Frank Bentley, Motorola Labs, USA infrastructure in a mobile application, hiding the complexity and at the same time enhancing the overall experience [x]. Jodi Forlizzi, Carnegie Mellon University, USA Andrew Vande Moere, University of Sydney, Australia The Evaluation of Ambient Information Systems While all the presentations discussed the design of ambient Steve Neely, University College Dublin, Ireland information systems at some level, a few of the Aaron Quigley, University College Dublin, Ireland presentations were more focused on evaluations that were Albrecht Schmidt, Research Group Embedded Interaction, conducted. For instance, Fabian Hemmert described a Germany system that involved a novel approach for conveying the status of a mobile phone to its owner [2]. This involved John Stasko, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA having the phone provide a heartbeat that was smooth and Erik Stolterman, Indiana University, USA regular when no attention was required, and became erratic Martin Tomitsch, Vienna University of Technology, otherwise. Several prototypes were constructed, and a user Austria study was conducted with 6 participants using qualitative measures such as video interviews, and self-report diaries. OUTCOMES The results of the study showed that more work would be There were 8 papers accepted to this year’s workshop, required to refine the system so that it is less annoying at which was held at the Tenth International Conference on various times, and users requested that the phones be silent Ubiquitous Computing in Seoul, South Korea. Some of when nothing requires attention, and provide a subtle, but these papers had a very strong emphasis on the design of perceivable, heartbeat like pulse when the status changes. AIS technologies, some centered on evaluation strategies, Umar Rashid presented a thorough case study on the and others focused on new systems that have been utilization of ambient displays in an academic setting [6]. In developed. Below we will discuss the presentations that this study he applied a questionnaire-based survey to collect occurred during the workshop organized by their emphasis the experiences and expectations of those who are on design, evaluation, and new system implementation. potentially affected by the displays installed within his own department. One finding was that people reported that one The Design of Ambient Information Systems of the most useful pieces of information presented on the Alois Ferscha presented “Ambient Façades”, which displays is the profiles academic and research staff. During explored how people perceive urban environments by the discussion at the workshop, it was suggested that people enhancing the local architecture’s ability to convey what seeing the images of a select group of people on the sorts of activities are taking place within a particular displays may help people to understand something about building by projecting information directly onto a the structure of the hierarchy within the lab so that the lab building’s façade [8]. During the workshop, an example directors and major contributors could be recognized more was given of an opera house that displayed clips of the quickly. Of course, as always, people reported several other opera within to better inform people who may be looking types of data they would like to see upon these displays. for that particular kind of entertainment, as well as give onlookers a sense of the local culture. New Ambient Information Systems Dietmar Offenhuber delved more deeply into the Ross Shannon presented the initial results for a system that application of context on AIS design by having us consider monitors a person’s communication behaviors with friends, the concept of the “Invisible Display” [5]. He proposed that and builds a model that can help remind people to stay in the experience of an ambient display is determined by the touch with one another [3]. During the workshop way it is situated within its local context whether than with discussion, this example brought up a great deal of various intrinsic qualities, and that a redefinition of the controversy in that people were not sure that they wanted a concept of a display is needed which looks beyond the system that prompted people to contact their friends in such traditional notion of a screen. In his discussion, he proposes a manner, but it was concluded that there are possibilities several strategies for integrating information specifically for such a system as a form of data input for other ambient into urban contexts. displays. For example, such a system could be used to drive an ambient display intended to promote cohesiveness Rosaleen Hegarty presented a thought provoking piece of amongst a social network, such as a group of friends or a work on ambient interface design for Mobile Browsing project team within a company. Experience [1]. In this presentation she provide a strong design rational that looked at how ambient information Lorcan Coyle presented a system that allowed people to exists in nature, comparing the signal and suggestion of a construct “ambient jewelry” that can be shared with friends so as to provide a strong sense of presence and awareness Phones. Proc. of 2nd Workshop on Ambient Information [4]. In this system, a user can construct a jewel of their own Systems. Colocated with Ubicomp 2008, Seoul, South design, which changes based on their mouse moments, Korea, September 21, 2008. keyboard activity, connection state, etc. A user of this 3. Eugene Kenny, Ross Shannon, and Aaron Quigley: system can quickly see the state of his or her social network Stay-in-touch: a system for ambient social reminders. by arranging these jewels on the desktop of their computer Proc. of 2nd Workshop on Ambient Information and perceiving the subtle changes as they go about their Systems. Colocated with Ubicomp 2008, Seoul, South normal activities. A bit of discussion arose during the Korea, September 21, 2008. presentation as to the possible difficulty in explaining how each user mapped their actions to the animation shown on 4. German Lado Insua, Mike Bennett, Paddy Nixon, and their jewels, and whether this would provide an overall Lorcan Coyle: User Generated Ambient Presence. Proc. benefit to a community by spawning more back channel of 2nd Workshop on Ambient Information Systems. communication and socialization. Colocated with Ubicomp 2008, Seoul, South Korea, September 21, 2008. Silva Torsi described a new system that made use of some of the tenants of ambient display technology to inform the 5. Dietmar Offenhuber: The Invisible Display - Design development of a device for landmine detection [7]. In this Strategies for Ambient Media in the Urban Context. system a display was attached to a standard landmine Proc. of 2nd Workshop on Ambient Information detector, and the basic steps of landmine detection were Systems. Colocated with Ubicomp 2008, Seoul, South isolated to produce a visualization that made the process Korea, September 21, 2008. more efficient by offloading some of the cognitive effort of 6. Umar Rashid and Aaron Quigley: Ambient Displays in the operator. Academic Settings: Avoiding their Underutilization. Proc. of 2nd Workshop on Ambient Information CONCLUSION Systems. Colocated with Ubicomp 2008, Seoul, South We consider this year’s workshop to have been a great Korea, September 21, 2008. success. Several valuable discussions were spawned, and as 7. Silvia Torsi and Antonio Rizzo: A Notification System with last year, some very strong research connections were for a Landmine Detector Using Distributed Cognition. created that will hopefully lead to good collaborations in Proc. of 2nd Workshop on Ambient Information the future. Because of the success of this workshop, we are Systems. Colocated with Ubicomp 2008, Seoul, South already considering where would be the optimum place to Korea, September 21, 2008. host AIS 2009. 8. Bernhard Wally and Alois Ferscha: Ambient Façades REFERENCES Proc. of 2nd Workshop on Ambient Information 1. Rosaleen Hegarty, Tom Lunney, Kevin Curran, and Systems. Colocated with Ubicomp 2008, Seoul, South Maurice Mulvenna: Ambient interface design for a Korea, September 21, 2008. Mobile Browsing Experience (AMBE). Proc. of 2nd 9. William R. Hazlewood, Lorcan Coyle, Sunny Consolvo: Workshop on Ambient Information Systems. Colocated Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on with Ubicomp 2008, Seoul, South Korea, September 21, Ambient Information Systems, Colocated at Pervasive 2008. 2007, Toronto, Canada, May 13, 2007 CEUR-WS.org 2. Fabian Hemmert: Ambient Life: Interrupted Permanent 2007 Tactile Life-like Actuation as a Status Display in Mobile 3