Jacob T. Biehl

Exploring the workplace communication ecology

The modern workplace is inherently collaborative, and this collaboration relies on effective communication among co-workers. Many communication tools -- email, blogs, wikis, Twitter, etc. -- have become increasingly available and accepted in workplace communications. In this paper, we report on a study of communications technologies used over a one year period in a small US corporation. We found that participants used a large number of communication tools for different purposes, and that the introduction of new tools did not impact significantly the use of previously-adopted technologies. Further, we identified distinct classes of users based on patterns of tool use. This work has implications for the design of technology in the evolving ecology of communication tools.

Let's go from the whiteboard: supporting transitions in work through whiteboard capture and reuse

The use of whiteboards is pervasive across a wide range of work domains. But some of the qualities that make them successful--an intuitive interface, physical working space, and easy erasure--inherently make them poor tools for archival and reuse. If whiteboard content could be made available in times and spaces beyond those supported by the whiteboard alone, how might it be appropriated? We explore this question via ReBoard, a system that automatically captures whiteboard images and makes them accessible through a novel set of user-centered access tools. Through the lens of a seven week workplace field study, we found that by enabling new workflows, ReBoard increased the value of whiteboard content for collaboration.

LoCo: a ready-to-deploy framework for efficient room localization using Wi-Fi

In recent years, there has been an explosion of social and collaborative applications that leverage location to provide users novel and engaging experiences. Current location technologies work well outdoors but fare poorly indoors. In this paper we present LoCo, a new framework that can provide highly accurate room-level location using a supervised classification scheme. We provide experiments that show this technique is orders of magnitude more efficient than current state-of-the-art Wi-Fi localization techniques. Low classification overhead and computational footprint make classification practical and efficient even on mobile devices. Our framework has also been designed to be easily deployed and leveraged by developers to help create a new wave of location-driven applications and services.

Beyond 'yesterday's tomorrow': towards the design of awareness technologies for the contemporary worker

Modern office work practices increasingly breach traditional boundaries of time and place, increasing breakdowns workers encounter when coordinating interactions with colleagues. We conducted interviews with 12 workers and identified key problems introduced by these practices. To address these problems we developed myUnity, a fully functional platform enabling rich workplace awareness and coordination. myUnity is one of the first integrated platforms to span mobile and desktop environments, both in terms of access and sensing. It uses multiple sources to report user location, availability, tasks, and communication channels. A pilot field study of myUnity demonstrated the significant value of pervasive access to workplace awareness and communication facilities, as well as positive behavioral change in day-to-day communication practices for most users. We present resulting insights about the utility of awareness technology in flexible work environments.

Understanding the benefits of gaze enhanced visual search

In certain applications such as radiology and imagery analysis, it is important to minimize errors. In this paper we evaluate a structured inspection method that uses eye tracking information as a feedback mechanism to the image inspector. Our two-phase method starts with a free viewing phase during which gaze data is collected. During the next phase, we either segment the image, mask previously seen areas of the image, or combine the two techniques, and repeat the search. We compare the different methods proposed for the second search phase by evaluating the inspection method using true positive and false negative rates, and subjective workload. Results show that gaze-blocked configurations reduced the subjective workload, and that gaze-blocking without segmentation showed the largest increase in true positive identifications and the largest decrease in false negative identifications of previously unseen objects.

When privacy and utility are in harmony: towards better design of presence technologies

Presence systems are valuable in supporting workplace communication and collaboration. These systems are effective, however, only if they are widely adopted and candidly used. User perceptions of the utility of the information being shared and their comfort in sharing such information strongly impact both adoption and use. This paper describes the results of a survey of user preferences regarding comfort with and utility of sharing presence data in the workplace; the effects of sampling frequency, fidelity, and aggregation; and design implications of these results. We present new results that extend some past findings and challenge others. We contribute new insights that inform the design of workplace presence technologies to increase both the utility and adoption of these systems.

LoCo: boosting for indoor location classification combining Wi-Fi and BLE

Abstract In recent years, there has been an explosion of services that leverage location to provide users novel and engaging experiences. However, many applications fail to realize their full potential because of limitations in current location technologies. Current frameworks work well outdoors but fare poorly indoors. In this paper, we present LoCo, a new framework that can provide highly accurate room-level indoor location. LoCo does not require users to carry specialized location hardware—it uses radios that are present in most contemporary devices and, combined with a boosting classification technique, provides a significant runtime performance improvement. We provide experiments that show the combined radio technique can achieve accuracy that improves on current state-of-the-art Wi-Fi-only techniques. LoCo is designed to be easily deployed within an environment and readily leveraged by application developers. We believe LoCo’s high accuracy and accessibility can drive a new wave of location-driven applications and services.

Learning how to feel again: towards affective workplace presence and communication technologies

Affect influences workplace collaboration and thereby impacts a workplaces productivity. Participants in face-to-face interactions have many cues to each others affect, but work is increasingly carried out via computer-mediated channels that lack many of these cues. Current presence systems enable users to estimate the availability of other users, but not their affective states or communication preferences. This work demonstrates the feasibility of estimating affective state and communication preferences from a stream of presence states that are already being shared in a deployed presence system.

You're where? prove it!: towards trusted indoor location estimation of mobile devices

Location-enabled applications now permeate the mobile computing landscape. As technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Apples iBeacon protocols begin to see widespread adoption, we will no doubt see a proliferation of indoor location enabled application experiences. While not essential to each of these applications, many will require that the location of the device be true and verifiable. In this paper, we present LocAssure, a new framework for trusted indoor location estimation. The system leverages existing technologies like BLE and iBeacons, making the solution practical and compatible with technologies that are already in use today. In this work, we describe our system, situate it within a broad location assurance taxonomy, describe the protocols that enable trusted localization in our system, and provide an analysis of early deployment and use characteristics. Through developer APIs, LocAssure can provide critical security support for a broad range of indoor location applications.

myUnity: a new platform to support communication in the modern workplace

Modern office work practices increasingly breach traditional boundaries of time and place, making it difficult to interact with colleagues. To address these problems, we developed myUnity, a software and sensor platform that enables rich workplace awareness and coordination. myUnity is an integrated platform that collects information from a set of independent sensors and external data aggregators to report user location, availability, tasks, and communication channels. myUnitys sensing architecture is component-based, allowing channels of awareness information to be added, updated, or removed at any time. Our current system includes a variety of sensor and data input, including camera-based activity classification, wireless location trilateration, and network activity monitoring. These and other input channels are combined and composited into a single, highlevel presence state. Early studies of a myUnity deployment have demonstrated that use of the platform allows quick access to core awareness information and show its utility in supporting communication and collaboration in the modern workplace.