End-user applications that take advantage of users' current context and respond appropriately have traditionally been the exclusive domain of HCI researchers working in university or research labs. An extensive and robust literature describes architectures and techniques for making daily computing calmer and more humane, but these findings and tools thus far have not made the jump from the research lab to daily use.

The purpose of this project is to adapt and implement the results of this research as useful frameworks and tools that real world end-users may employ to improve their daily computing experiences.

It it my personal belief that as these technologies enter the real world and interact with end-users in their respective contexts, important new challenges and research questions will be raised. By addressing these new issues, we will move closer to Mark Weiser's vision of calm technologies.

Current Tools

Shion This application (and included userspace driver) implements portions of the INSTEON command set and allows users to build a list of devices that can be controlled remotely. This application (and driver) is currently under development and will be extended and completed as time permits. The long-term goal for Shion is to package it as a reusable framework for other MacOS X developers. Prerequisites: MacOS X, SmartHome PowerLinc USB License: The MIT License Description: Shion: An application and userspace driver for home automation devices (Vox) Software Trackers: MacUpdate, VersionTracker, iusethis Download the source and compiled plugin at the Shion website.

Sound Effects Growl Plugin This plugin builds upon Matthew Walton's popular Smoke plugin by adding a simple rule-based system for selecting different sound effects to accompany different kinds of notifications. This plugin may be used to add sound effects to applications that previously had none, in addition to customizing the audio and visual intrusiveness of incoming notifications. Prerequisites: Growl 0.7.6 License: The BSD License Description: Introducing the Sound Effects Growl display plugin (Vox) Download the source and compiled plugin at Google Code.

Relevant Readings

The following readings (in no particular order) both motivate and inform this project.

Scope: Providing Awareness of Multiple Notifications at a Glance
Maarten van Dantzich, Daniel Robbins, Eric Horvitz, Mary Czerwinski

ambientROOM: Integrating Ambient Media with Architectural Space
Hiroshi Ishii, Craig Wisneski, Scott Brave, Andrew Dahley, Matt Gorbet, Brygg Ullmer, Paul Yarin

Toolkit Support for Developing and Deploying Sensor-Based Statistical Models of Human Situations
James Fogarty, Scott E. Hudson

A Toolkit for Managing User Attention in Peripheral Displays
Tara Matthews, Anind K. Dey, Jennifer Mankoff, Scott Carter, Tye Rattenbury

Moving on from Weiser's Vision of Calm Computing: Engaging UbiComp Experiences
Yvonne Rogers

The Computer for the 21st Century
Mark Weiser

The Context Toolkit: Aiding the Development of Context-Enabled Applications
Daniel Salber, Anind K. Dey and Gregory D. Abowd

Designing Attention-Centric Notification Systems: Five HCI Challenges
D. Scott McCrickard, C. M. Chewar

Please note that this list is very incomplete and will be expanded as time permits.