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We describe our experience building and using a reasoning system for providing context-based prompts to elders to take their medication. We describe the process of specification, design, implementation and use of our system. We chose a simple Dynamic Bayesian Network as our representation. We analyze the design space for the model in some detail. A key challenge in using the model was the overhead...
Weight training, in addition to aerobic exercises, is an important component of a balanced exercise program. However, mechanisms for tracking free weight exercises have not yet been explored. In this paper, we study methods that automatically recognize what type of exercise you are doing and how many repetitions you have done so far. We incorporated a three-axis accelerometer into a workout glove...
This study has created the Playful Tray that adopts Ubicomp and persuasive techniques into play-based occupational therapy for reducing poor eating behavior in young children after they reached their self-feeding age. The design of the Playful Tray reinforces active participation of children in the activity of eating by integrating digital play with eating. Results of a pilot user study suggest that...
This article investigates the conflicting area of user benefits arising through item level RFID tagging and a desire for privacy. It distinguishes between three approaches feasible to address consumer privacy concerns. One is to kill RFID tags at store exits. The second is to lock tags and have user unlock them if they want to initiate reader communication (user scheme). The third is to let the network...
Most of today’s authentication schemes involve verifying the identity of a principal in some way. This process is commonly known as entity authentication. In emerging ubiquitous computing paradigms which are highly dynamic and mobile in nature, entity authentication may not be sufficient or even appropriate, especially if a principal’s privacy is to be protected. In order to preserve privacy, other...
We describe the design of privacy controls and feedback mechanisms for contextual IM, an instant messaging service for disclosing contextual information. We tested our designs on IMBuddy, a contextual IM service we developed that discloses contextual information, including interruptibility, location, and the current window in focus (a proxy for the current task). We deployed our initial design of...
Domestic technologies have been a popular area of study for ubiquitous computing researchers, however there is relatively little recent data on how families currently use and share technologies in domestic environments. This paper presents results from an empirical study of 15 families in the U.S in early 2007. We examined the types of technologies families own, including TVs, music players, phones...
Despite a growing desire to create smart homes, we know little about how networked technologies interact with a house’s infrastructure. In this paper, we begin to close this gap by presenting findings from a study that examined the relationship between home networking and the house itself—and the work that results for householders as a consequence of this interaction. We discuss four themes that emerged:...
Robots have entered our domestic lives, but yet, little is known about their impact on the home. This paper takes steps towards addressing this omission, by reporting results from an empirical study of iRobot’s RoombaTM, a vacuuming robot. Our findings suggest that, by developing intimacy to the robot, our participants were able to derive increased pleasure from cleaning, and expended effort to fit...
We describe a novel method for symbolic location discovery of simple objects. The method requires no infrastructure and relies on simple sensors routinely used in sensor nodes and smart objects (acceleration, sound). It uses vibration and short, narrow frequency ’beeps’ to sample the response of the environment to mechanical stimuli. The method works for specific locations such as ’on the couch’,...
Many existing localization systems generate location predictions, but fail to report how accurate the predictions are. This paper explores the effect of revealing the error of location predictions to the end-user in a location finding field study. We report findings obtained under four different error visualization conditions and show significant benefit in revealing the error of location predictions...
Spontaneous interaction is a desirable characteristic associated with mobile and ubiquitous computing. The aim is to enable users to connect their personal devices with devices encountered in their environment in order to take advantage of interaction opportunities in accordance with their situation. However, it is difficult to secure spontaneous interaction as this requires authentication of the...
Battery lifetime has become one of the top usability concerns of mobile systems. While many endeavors have been devoted to improving battery lifetime, they have fallen short in understanding how users interact with batteries. In response, we have conducted a systematic user study on battery use and recharge behavior, an important aspect of user-battery interaction, on both laptop computers and mobile...
Context-aware power management (CAPM) uses context (e.g., user location) likely to be available in future ubiquitous computing environments, to effectively power manage a building’s energy consuming devices. The objective of CAPM is to minimise overall energy consumption while maintaining user-perceived device performance. The principal context required by CAPM is when the user is not using...
Securing interactions between devices that do not know each other a priori is an important and challenging task. We present Amigo, a technique to authenticate co-located devices using knowledge of their shared radio environment as proof of physical proximity. We present evaluation results that show that our technique is robust against a range of passive and active attacks. The key advantages of our...
Activity sensing in the home has a variety of important applications, including healthcare, entertainment, home automation, energy monitoring and post-occupancy research studies. Many existing systems for detecting occupant activity require large numbers of sensors, invasive vision systems, or extensive installation procedures. We present an approach that uses a single plug-in sensor to detect a variety...
We describe an experiment in using sensor-based data to identify individuals as they perform a simple activity of daily living (making coffee). The goal is to determine whether people have regular and recognizable patterns of interaction with objects as they perform such activities. We describe the use of a machine-learning algorithm to induce decision-trees that classify interaction patterns according...
Hard restrictions in computing power and energy consumption favour symmetric key methods to encrypt the communication in wireless body area networks which in term impose questions on effective and user-friendly unobtrusive ways for key distribution. In this paper, we present a novel approach to establish a secure connection between two devices by shaking them together. Instead of distributing or exchanging...
This paper reports the results of an in-depth study of Bluetooth naming practices which took place in the UK in August 2006. There is a significant culture of giving Bluetooth names to mobile phones in the UK, and this paper’s main contribution is to provide an account of those Bluetooth naming practices, putting them in their social, physical and intentional context. The paper also uncovers how users...
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