Chameleon Devices: Investigating More Secure and Discreet Mobile Interactions via Active Camouflaging

Many users value the ability to have quick and frequent sight of their mobiles when in public settings. However, in doing so, they expose themselves to potential risks, ranging from being targets of robbery to the more subtle social losses through being seen to be rude or inattentive to those around them. In nature, some animals can blend into their environments to avoid being eaten or to reduce their impact on the ecosystem around them. Taking inspiration from these evolved systems we investigate the notion of chameleon approaches for mobile interaction design. Our probes were motivated, inspired and refined through extended interactions with people drawn from contexts with differing ranges of security and privacy concerns. Through deployments on users’ own devices, our prototypes show the value of the concept. The encouraging results motivate further research in materials and form factors that can provide more effective automatic plain-sight hiding

Design and Application of Wireless Body Sensors

Hörmann T. Design and Application of Wireless Body Sensors. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2019

Subtle, intimate interfaces for mobile human computer interaction

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-122).The mobile phone is always carried with the user and is always active: it is a very personal device. It fosters and satisfies a need to be constantly connected to one's significant other, friends or business partners. At the same time, mobile devices are often used in public, where one is surrounded by others not involved in the interaction. This private interaction in public is often a cause of unnecessary disruption and distraction, both for the bystanders and even for the user. Nevertheless, mobile devices do fulfill an important function, informing of important events and urgent communications, so turning them off is often not practical nor possible. This thesis introduces Intimate Interfaces: discreet interfaces that allow subtle private interaction with mobile devices in order to minimize disruption in public and gain social acceptance. Intimate Interfaces are inconspicuous to those around the users, while still allowing them to communicate. The concept is demonstrated through the design, implementation and evaluation of two novel devices: * Intimate Communication Armband - a wearable device, embedded in an armband, that detects motionless gestures through electromyographic (EMG) sensing for subtle input and provides tactile output;(cont.) * Notifying Glasses - a wearable notification display embedded in eyeglasses; it delivers subtle cues to the peripheral field of view of the wearer, while being invisible to others. The cues can convey a few bits of information and can be designed to meet specific levels of visibility and disruption. Experimental results show that both interfaces can be reliably used for subtle input and output. Therefore, Intimate Interfaces can be profitably used to improve mobile human-computer interaction.by Enrico Costanza.S.M

Internet on mobiles: evolution of usability and user experience

The mobile Internet is no longer a new phenomenon; the first mobile devices supporting web access were introduced over 10 years ago. During the past ten years technology and business infrastructure have evolved and the number of mobile Internet users has increased all over the world. Service user interface, technology and business infrastructure have built a framework for service adaptation: they can act as enablers or as barriers. Users evaluate how the new technology adds value to their life based on multiple factors. This dissertation has its focus in the area of human-computer interaction research and practices. The overall goal of my research has been to improve the usability and the user experience of mobile Internet services. My research has sought answers to questions relevant in service development process. Questions have varied during the years, the main question being: How to design and create mobile Internet services that people can use and want to use? I have sought answers mostly from a human factors perspective, but have also taken the elements form technology and business infrastructure into consideration. In order to answer the questions raised in service development projects, we have investigated the mobile Internet services in the laboratory and in the field. My research has been conducted in various countries in 3 continents: Asia, Europe and North America. These studies revealed differences in mobile Internet use in different countries and between user groups. Studies in this dissertation were conducted between years 1998 and 2007 and show how questions and research methods have evolved during the time. Good service creation requires that all three factors: technology, business infrastructure and users are taken in consideration. When using knowledge on users in decision making, it is important to understand that the different phases of the service development cycle require the different kind of information on users. It is not enough to know about the users, the knowledge about users has to be transferred into decisions. The service has to be easy to use so that people can use it. This is related to usability. Usability is a very important factor in service adoption, but it is not enough. The service has to have relevant content from user perspective. The content is the reason why people want to use the service. In addition to the content and the ease of use, people evaluate the goodness of the service based on many other aspects: the cost, the availability and the reliability of the system for example. A good service is worth trying and after the first experience, is it worth using. These aspects are considered to influence the 'user experience' of the system. In this work I use lexical analysis to evaluate how the words "usability" and "user experience" are used in mobile HCI conference papers during the past 10 years. The use of both words has increased during the period and reflects the evolution of research questions and methodology over time