Paper Reading #12: Disappearing Mobile Devices

Title:
Disappearing Mobile Devices

Comments:
Pape Youm
Luke Roberts

Reference:
Ni, Tao and Baudisch, Patrick.  Disappearing Mobile Devices.  UIST '09. http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1630000/1622197/p101-ni.pdf?key1=1622197&key2=0513948921&coll=DL&dl=ACM&ip=165.91.15.87&CFID=11175862&CFTOKEN=42077103

Summary:

Disappearing Mobile Devices focuses on technology becoming so small that it all but disappears from the visible.  This could come in the form of sensors on the skin or in clothing to control both input and output.  This technology is only theoretical at this point, so the paper explores how this technology could be used.  It also explores different forms of gesture representation by which the user could communicate with the technology.


There is already technology that allows for wearing part of the technology such as Linux watches and different handsets.  Also there are many gesture programs that are already in use in notebooks and PDAs.

The paper discusses input and output.  Relying on keyboard and mouse for input, a notebook is limited to the size of the keyboard, and output limited to the viewing aspect of the user.  In order to go micro, the input and output must change.  This could come in the form of audio input and output as well as feeling (sensational) input and output.

For these sensors, a new input language would be needed.  The article discusses a variation of Morse code using multiple finger taps, marking (use of directional multi-touch), and unistroke which is using one stroke to a letter.

The authors designed prototypes by using different types of optical and laser mice in order to simulate one of these sensors of the future.  There was a user study in which they used a G5 mouse with the idea of marking to see if they could indeed simulate this technology.  The study found a 4.8% error rate in the 8 directions given.  The results found that using marking would be a sound input for these mobile devices.

Another study was conducted for unistroke.  Participants wore a glove and used their whole hand in order to make the strokes as otherwise there was an extremely high error rate.  They compared EdgeWrite and Graffiti expecting the former to have a lower error rate.  The studies showed that this was, in fact, the case.

The paper showed that both these ways of input have potential for upcoming technology.  Future research is said to be on single pixel display.

Discussion:
The idea of the computer becoming invisible is an interesting concept as we may not have to worry anymore about misplacing our beloved items.  It also allows for more secretive procedures taking place.  The most interesting thing I found in the article was its brief discussion on sound input and output.  In my opinion that would be the quickest form of input as you would just have to speak.

For future research I think they could also do a user study using voice input in a type of Wizard of Oz study.