Augmenting objects at home through programmable sensor tokens: A design journey

•A detailed account of domestic activities that are of interest for people.•Trigger-action, with and/or composition, is practical to program basic home interactions with objects.•Complex scenarios need advanced programmability (e.g., programming by example).•Implications for the design of tangible e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of human-computer studies Vol. 122; pp. 211 - 231
Main Authors: Bellucci, Andrea, Vianello, Andrea, Florack, Yves, Micallef, Luana, Jacucci, Giulio
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2019
Subjects:
Do-it-yourself toolkits
End-user programming
Physical interaction
Smart home
Trigger-action programming
Physical interaction
Trigger-action programming
End-user programming
Do-it-yourself toolkits
Smart home
ISSN:1071-5819, 1095-9300
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:•A detailed account of domestic activities that are of interest for people.•Trigger-action, with and/or composition, is practical to program basic home interactions with objects.•Complex scenarios need advanced programmability (e.g., programming by example).•Implications for the design of tangible end-user home technologies. End-user development for the home has been gaining momentum in research. Previous works demonstrate feasibility and potential but there is a lack of analysis of the extent of technology needed and its impact on the diversity of activities that can be supported. We present a design exploration with a tangible end-user toolkit for programming smart tokens embedding different sensing technologies. Our system allows to augment physical objects with smart tags and use trigger-action programming with multiple triggers to define smart behaviors. We contribute through a field-oriented study that provided insights on (i) household's activities as emerging from people's lived experience in terms of high-level goals, their ephemerality or recurrence, and the types of triggers, actions and interactions with augmented objects, and (ii) the programmability needed for supporting desired behaviors. We conclude that, while trigger–action covers most scenarios, more advanced programming and direct interaction with physical objects spur novel uses.
ISSN:1071-5819
1095-9300
DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.09.002