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1.

How Will the Use of Technology in the Home Evolve?

Authors: Paul Abel

Abstract: Intel is focused on bringing computing to everyone - anytime, from any device, anywhere in the world. This focus will deliver new benefits not only by expanding capabilities of the products people know today, but also by extending the manner by which these devices can be used within the home. Intel is working with industry leaders in computing and communications to deliver the technologies, infrastructure and products as well as targeting Intel's own research and investments to realize this vision. The purpose of this presentation is to describe how usages of technologies in the home may evolve and stimulate discussion on the benefits and key capabilities required to realize this evolution.

2.

Supporting Communication Within Domestic Settings

Authors: Andy Crabtree, Terry Hemmings and Tom Rodden

Abstract: Current research has identified social communication as a primary area of technological development in the networked home of the future. The primary research focus is on supporting 'phatic' communication - i.e., on supporting communication that is mediated by words, whether spoken or written and co-located or distributed. We provide an ethnographic study of mail use in the home to show that phatic communication is itself mediated through the social construction of visual displays that support the at-a-glance coordination of practical action and the management of domestic affairs. These 'coordinate displays' are distributed around the geography or ecology of the domestic space. Their explication opens up new possibilities for the development of communication technologies for domestic employment, particularly the design of networks of ecologically situated and mobile displays that support the visible and timely flow of information around the home.

3.

Designing Dependable Digital Domestic Environments

Authors: Guy Dewsbury, Karen Clarke, John Hughes, Mark Rouncefield, and Ian Sommerville

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine the distinctions between home and organizational settings with particular reference to assistive technologies (AT) and outline a model for assessing dependability issues in these environments. For the purposes of this paper we consider assistive technologies to be software-controlled networks of assistive devices. Clearly a home is a personal concept and a social construction, which imbues different meanings to each individual through social actions and the assignment of meaning to those actions. It is therefore important that any method of investigation is sensitive to the changing meanings and nature of people's conceptions of home. This paper outlines the fundamental concepts used by the Lancaster team and proposes a method of conceptualizing dependability within a home context.

This paper suggests that the design of AT involves a number of factors that can be derived from a number of sources but essentially all design should place the user at the centre of the process. We aim to show that the home is different from the standard organization and as such deserves consideration in its own right and technology systems need to meet certain criteria within domestic situations that are not covered within traditional organizations. We extend this notion by considering the use of AT in terms of previous models of design and assessment. We also acknowledge that older people are not a homogenous category, and that designing for a group requires sensitivity to the individual needs of the person rather than the categorization of the person. We then consider the role of systems development and deployment from the perspective of designing AT systems for older people and this brings us to consider the problems that are associated with dependability. We contend that standard dependability analysis falls short of the full picture of analysis when applied to domestic settings.

4.

'SnapShots' - A Collaborative Visualisation and Planning Tool for Complex Family Events

Authors: Jon Matthews

Abstract: This paper describes the use of ethnographic findings to inform the design of new domestic Internet services intended to help family groups collaborate and communicate more effectively. The methodology used was to examine, in detail, a central aspect of home life related to a specific event (for instance, planning for a major family occasion such as a wedding) in order to determine how the characteristics of new broadband technologies can support these activities and to inform what shape the new service might take. The objective of the research is to determine the optimum method of exploiting, effectively, the capabilities, characteristics and affordances of having new broadband digital technologies in the home. A primary outcome of the research is to highlight the socio-technical and socio-cognitive implications of being 'always-on' in the home. The paper goes on to describe the design and development of a new digital service for the home, which harnesses the potential of new 'home-use' Internet technologies. With reference to one new service, 'SnapShots', a prototype application has been developed and will be evaluated in upcoming field trials. 'SnapShots' is a household visualization tool designed to help aid communication and collaboration amongst various parties involved in the process of planning for a wedding or other complex event.