Erika Reponen

Primary and secondary context in mobile video communication

The new video capabilities of mobile phones are starting to change the field of mobile communication. It is now dramatically easier to publish video in quasi-real time. We discuss how this change will affect the way people perceive video-recording, in terms of privacy, transparency, and the notion of context. We use a model of primary and secondary contexts to analyze usage situations, highlighting newly relevant research issues.

World-wide access to geospatial data by pointing through the earth

Traditional augmented reality UI views are restricted to the visible surroundings around the user. In this paper we present a concept that enables viewing and accessing geospatial data from all around the Earth, by pointing with the device towards a physical location. We describe a prototype of the concept and share the results of the first user experience study conducted with the prototype. We also discuss our future research directions.

Mobile video recording in context

: / 28 “CAMERAS NOT ALLOWED,” warns a sign at the door of a Helsinki venue, where we are queuing up for a rock concert. That is a reasonable order, but one that is almost impossible to control. While many of us carry digital cameras, even more people carry mobile phones with integrated cameras. Such phonecams usually double as video cameras, too. Asking thousands of concertgoers to leave their phones at home is unthinkable today, so the concert will inevitably be recorded—albeit with the (currently) low quality that prevents major exploitation of the material. While commercial events are likely to be affected by video recording, our everyday lives are also getting recorded. Phonecams are becoming ubiquitous; multimedia messages can be sent anywhere in a matter of seconds. New 3G networks are finally making video calls a reality. Video blogs abound; Google offers a search mechanism for interesting videos; Bittorrent users download TV episodes by the dozen. Video in general has become a practical data type with networked personal computers and even with mobile devices.

Live @ Dublin --- Mobile Phone Live Video Group Communication Experiment

Live video has gone mobile. In this paper we present an experiment on mobile phone live video group communication, conducted in Dublin, Ireland. We observed 24 people who self- organized into groups for sending and watching real time internet videos on mobile phones over two days. A total of 49 first person view live videos were sent during the experiment. This paper reports observations on attitudes, opinions, communication and context, as well as technical issues regarding the experiment. Findings include varying preferences between live vs. delayed video as well as between following vs. sending live videos. We describe some of the positive and negative feelings that the experiment caused. Finally, we also discuss implications of this technology for wider user populations.

Mobile phone video camera in social context

Video recording is becoming available in various everyday situations, thanks to the quickly spreading video capabilities of modern mobile phones. Recording decision is now often made spontaneous, as the recording devices are constantly available without explicit planning. We discuss the effect of this change in the social environment on the basis of a study where four groups of people used digital video cameras in their everyday life. While this new way of communicating enables new social patterns, it also raises new concerns for privacy and trust. We discuss the relation of context and video recording through a model of primary and secondary contexts. We also analyze acceptability and transparency of video recording as functions of time.

Video interaction: a research agenda

The topic of this special issue is the broadened use of video and the need to articulate a research agenda that addresses its new opportunities and challenges. This agenda, which we argue should be labelled ‘‘video interaction,’’ is influenced by both emerging practices and technical developments. In the widest sense, we refer to video interaction as a research area concerned with emerging technologies and social practices in an increasingly flattened hierarchy between, on the one hand, what used to be a well-defined group of production professionals, and on the other hand, the masses of passive viewers of the same media. This transition happens at the same time as video traffic has become the bulk of data communication on the Internet [2]. The same shift is now happening in mobile data. Cisco reports that mobile video traffic exceeded 50 % for the first time in 2012. They predict that the numbers for video will continue to increase dramatically. In 5 years, the amount of mobile video data is projected to increase 16-fold, ending up at over two-thirds of the entire data traffic [12]. Obviously, downloading and streaming of movies and TV series are the big drivers in this development, but there are a number of other things happening that warrant a new approach to understanding interaction with video content, beyond the notion of the user as a viewer in the traditional sense. The practices surrounding moving image technology are now transcending consumption of traditional media, and becoming integrated with other interactive services and social media [2]. In this massive growth of video online, there are a number of parallel trends regarding how video is consumed, produced, shared, and interacted with that we argue require a re-conceptualisation of the area. In the following, we will map out the changed use of video and then analyze its opportunities and challenges, and explain the need for a coherent research approach to video interaction. In particular, the trends we want to align are a shift to user-generated video content and to mobile technology, as well as a continuation of the trend of increased interaction in viewing (iTV). First, new ways of producing video content has emerged, enabled by the availability of cheap production tools and high bandwidth communication networks. It emerged with the use of both analogue and digital video cameras for consumers, and continued with video recording facilities on mobile phones [30]. The cost and effort of sharing and distributing the content have also diminished with the expansion of the fixed Internet. Live video production is now on the verge of the same kind of democratization of means of production and broader adoption by nonprofessional users. Through highly visible examples such as live broadcasts from the Arabic Spring and other news events around the world, as well as more mundane practices of broadcasting from university lectures and local events, live video has shown potential for communicating and sharing experiences with remote viewers. Second, we see an expansion of services that utilize mobile technology in a broad sense, and that are catering to O. Juhlin G. Zoric (&) A. Engstrom Stockholm, Sweden e-mail: goga@mobilelifecentre.org

Video interaction - making broadcasting a successful social media

Video has slowly been gaining popularity as a social media. We are now witnessing a step where capture and live broadcasts is released from the constraints of the desktop computer, which further accentuate issues such as video literacy, collaboration, hybridity, utility and privacy, that needs to be addressed in order to make video useful for large user groups.

Mobile interaction with real-time geospatial data by pointing through transparent Earth

We present the user experience study results of a novel interaction concept that enables viewing and accessing geospatial data from all around the Earth, by pointing with a mobile device directly towards any physical location. We explain the relationship of this concept to traditional augmented reality and map based user interfaces, and we describe a prototype of the concept. In the evaluation we found that whole body interaction is a good way to browse geospatial content. The need for real-time information arises when using the concept. Reliable and detailed information is expected. Examining the Earth became interesting with the prototype. We also discuss the challenges faced in the prototype and suggest ways to tackle them.

MobiMundi: exploring the impact of user-generated mobile content -- the participatory panopticon

The MobiMundi Workshop aims to provide a forum for researchers and developers from different backgrounds to gather together to explore and discuss the impact of existing and emerging mobile information and communications technologies and services on society. The theme for this workshop will examine the real and potential impacts of user-generated mobile content on individuals and society as a whole. The individual and societal impacts discussed will primarily focus on user centered and social perspectives, but will also explore how user behavior is changing and which problems are emerging, bearing in mind that individual actions are creating privacy and security issues which could lead towards a new quality of a hyper-surveillance society by providing the framework for the participatory panopticon. Moreover, mobile human-computer interaction and design related issues will be explored and considered in order to support users requirement to share and co-create mobile user-generated audiovisual content.

Mobile work efficiency: enhancing workflows with mobile devices

This workshop is a forum of multi-disciplinary discussion on how mobile devices can increase perceived work efficiency (PWE), as well as how this subjective enhancement can be measured. It brings together practitioners and researchers from different domains interested in researching perceived workflow efficiency in the mobile context. The overall aim is to create a common base, as well as further extend the research agenda for work efficiency enhancement with the assistance of mobile devices both from a scientific, as well as from an industrial perspective.