Context-aware communication system

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 1999.Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-84).How many times have you gone to the grocery store but left your shopping list on the refrigerator door? Wouldn't it be more efficient to have a reminder to buy groceries and the shopping list delivered to you when you were in the vicinity of the store? How many times have you suddenly thought of something you must do or have just had a great idea that you want to write down, or record, for future reference? Wouldn't it be useful to record that thought and be reminded of it when in the relevant place and time? Information delivery utopia would be to receive the exact amount of data we need (no more, no less), when and where we need it, and in a gratifying format, for example, in a pleasant voice or well-structured text. Although we are still far away from this goal, a partial solution to the information overload is to create systems which deliver timely information when the user is in the relevant context. This thesis describes comMotion, a context-aware communication system for a mobile or wearable computing platform. A behaviour-learning agent automatically learns the salient locations in the user's life. Once these places have been determined, location specific to-do lists, electronic Post-it notes or reminders, and subscription requested information can be delivered to the user at the right place and time. The user interacts with the system through a visual and/or speech interface.by Natalia Marmasse.S.M

Providing lightweight telepresence in mobile communication to enhance collaborative living

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-124).Two decades of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) research has addressed how people work in groups and the role technology plays in the workplace. This body of work has resulted in a myriad of deployed technologies with underlying theories and evaluations. It is our hypothesis that similar technologies, and lessons learned from this domain, can also be employed outside the workplace to help people get on with life. The group in this environment is a special set of people with whom we have day-to-day relationships, people who are willing to share intimate personal information. Therefore we call this computer-supported collaborative living. This thesis describes a personal communicator in the form of a watch, intended to provide a link between family members or intimate friends, providing social awareness and helping them infer what is happening in another space and the remote person's availability for communication. The watch enables the wearers to be always connected via awareness cues, text and voice instant message, or synchronous voice connectivity. Sensors worn with the watch track location (via GPS), acceleration, and speech activity; these are classified and conveyed to the other party, where they appear in iconic form on the watch face, providing a lightweight form of telepresence. When a remote person with whom this information is shared examines it, their face appears on the watch of the person being checked on. A number of design criteria defined for collaborative living systems are illustrated through this device.by Natalia Marmasse.Ph.D