Paper Summary: |
This paper describes the empirical evaluation of three user interfaces in a Smart Home in Finland . The three user interfaces evaluated included a PC, a media terminal and a mobile phone. The results show two main types of activity patterns, including pattern control and instant control.
The evaluation was conducted over the course of six months in a two-bedroom apartment, referred to as eHome. The technologies in the eHome included automated/controlled lighting, smart objects such as moving curtains, and status-aware plant pots. Each of the three devices listed above (PC, media terminal and cell phone) were programmed to control these intelligent infrastructures. The laptop was placed in the dinning room, the media terminal was attached to the TV and could be accessed with the remote control, and the cell phone could be used both inside and outside of the apartment.
In order to design the system, the authors conducted a series of interviews, focus groups, contextual inquiries, and usability testing of the interfaces.
During the six-month evaluation, the authors discovered that the two users freely used all three interfaces, while no one interface replaced the manual way of doing things. The couple found the most value in the mobile phone and, although skeptical at first, used it remotely as well as within the home. The study showed two main types of interactions "pattern control" (programming recurrent patterns) and "instant control" (right now interactions). For pattern control activities, the participants preferred the PC and used the mobile phone primarily for instant control.
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