Proxemic-Aware Controls: Designing Remote Controls for Ubiquitous Computing Ecologies

Ledo, D., Greenberg, S., Marquardt, N. and Boring, S. (2015)
Proxemic-Aware Controls: Designing Remote Controls for Ubiquitous Computing Ecologies. Research report 2015-1069-02, Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, February. Paper plus video, video duration 4:56.

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Abstract

Remote controls facilitate interactions at-a-distance with appliances. However, the complexity, diversity, and increasing number of digital appliances in ubiquitous computing ecologies make it increasingly difficult to: (1) discover which appliances are controllable; (2) select a particular appliance from the large number available; (3) view information about its status; and (4) control the appliance in a pertinent manner. To mitigate these problems we contribute proxemic-aware controls, which exploit the spatial relationships between a person's handheld device and all surrounding appliances to create a dynamic appliance control interface. Specifically, a person can discover and select an appliance by the way one orients a mobile device around the room, and then progressively view the appliance's status and control its features in increasing detail by simply moving towards it. We illustrate proxemic-aware controls of various appliances through various scenarios. We then provide a generalized conceptual framework that informs future designs of proxemic-aware controls.

Keywords

Mobile Interaction, ubiquitous computing, proxemic-inter-action, control of appliances

Bibtex entry

@TECHREPORT { 2015-ProxemicControls.Report2015-1069-02,
CLASS = { REPORT },
AUTHOR = { Ledo, D. and Greenberg, S. and Marquardt, N. and Boring, S. },
TITLE = { Proxemic-Aware Controls: Designing Remote Controls for Ubiquitous Computing Ecologies },
YEAR = { 2015 },
MONTH = { February },
INSTITUTION = { Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary },
ADDRESS = { Calgary, Alberta, Canada },
PAGES = { 11 pages plus video figure },
NUMBER = { 2015-1069-02 },
KEYWORDS = { Mobile Interaction, ubiquitous computing, proxemic-inter-action, control of appliances },
NOTE = { Paper plus video, video duration 4:56 },
}