Kent Lyons

Shimmering Smartwatches: Exploring the Smartwatch Design Space

We examine the nature of smartwatches and explore their associated user interface design space in this paper. Several smartwatches are using small graphical displays and as such are adopting similar forms. However, there are indications that other designs could be feasible. We discuss how smartwatches might use non-graphical displays and still offer smart capabilities. To demonstrate feasibility, we present two smartwatch prototypes and show how LED arrays can be used to dynamically support several functions needed by smartwatch applications. Finally, we discuss some tradeoffs associated with this approach and point to additional opportunities for investigating smartwatch designs.

Understanding the Challenges of Mobile Phone Usage Data

Driven by curiosity and our own three diverse smartphone application usage datasets, we sought to unpack the nuances of mobile device use by revisiting two recent Mobile HCI studies [1, 17]. Our goal was to add to our broader understanding of smartphone usage by investigating if differences in mobile device usage occurred not only across our three datasets, but also in relation to prior work. We found differences in the top-10 apps in each dataset, in the durations and types of interactions as well as in micro-usage patterns. However, it proved very challenging to attribute such differences to a specific factor or set of factors: was it the time frame in which the studies were executed? The recruitment procedure? The experimental method? Using our somewhat troubled analysis, we discuss the challenges and issues of conducting mobile research of this nature and reflect on caveats related to the replicability and generalizability of such work.

The Multiple Dispositions of On-Body and Wearable Devices

When considering the design of wearable and mobile systems, a user-centered approach is useful, particularly if it focuses on tailoring a given application to a users task. In doing so, its equally important to account for the on-body aspects of mobile devices, which often remain on the person beyond a single moment of use. In this article, the authors present their work on dispositions, which provides designers guidance that can help them more fully account for the on-body nature of wearable devices. Using dispositions, designers can consider the tradeoffs between device capability and user requirements inherent in the different modes of wearable use. The authors illustrate the use of dispositions with two case studies and discuss the resulting design implications. This article is part of a special issue on wearable computing.

Looking at or through?: using eye tracking to infer attention location for wearable transparent displays

Wearable near-eye displays pose interesting challenges for interface design. These devices present the user with a duality of visual worlds, with a virtual window of information overlaid onto the physical world. Because of this duality, we suggest that the wearable interface would benefit from understanding where the users visual attention is directed. We explore the potential of eye tracking to address this problem, and describe four eye tracking techniques designed to provide data about where the users attention is directed. We also propose some attention-aware user interface techniques demonstrating the potential of the eyes for wearable displays user interface management.

Mobile Collocated Interactions: From Smartphones to Wearables

Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets were originally conceived and have traditionally been utilized for individual use. Research on mobile collocated interactions has been looking at situations in which collocated users engage in collaborative activities using their mobile devices, thus going from personal/individual toward shared/multiuser experiences and interactions. However, computers are getting smaller, more powerful, and closer to our bodies. Therefore, mobile collocated interactions research, which originally looked at smartphones and tablets, will inevitably include ever-smaller computers, ones that can be worn on our wrists or other parts of the body. The focus of this workshop is to bring together a community of researchers, designers and practitioners to explore the potential of extending mobile collocated interactions to the use of wearable devices.

Corona: Positioning Adjacent Device with Asymmetric Bluetooth Low Energy RSSI Distributions

We introduce Corona, a novel spatial sensing technique that implicitly locates adjacent mobile devices in the same plane by examining asymmetric Bluetooth Low Energy RSSI distributions. The underlying phenomenon is that the off-center BLE antenna and asymmetric radio frequency topology create a characteristic Bluetooth RSSI distribution around the device. By comparing the real-time RSSI readings against a RSSI distribution model, each device can derive the relative position of the other adjacent device. Our experiments using an iPhone and iPad Mini show that Corona yields position estimation at 50% accuracy within a 2cm range, or 85% for the best two candidates. We developed an application to combine Corona with accelerometer readings to mitigate ambiguity and enable cross-device interactions on adjacent devices.

Loupe: a handheld near-eye display

Loupe is a novel interactive device with a near-eye virtual display similar to head-up display glasses that retains a handheld form factor. We present our hardware implementation and discuss our user interface that leverages Loupes unique combination of properties. In particular, we present our input capabilities, spatial metaphor, opportunities for using the round aspect of Loupe, and our use of focal depth. We demonstrate how those capabilities come together in an example application designed to allow quick access to information feeds.

Using Digital Watch Practices to Inform Smartwatch Design

Smartwatches have seen a recent resurgence with several manufacturers entering the market. While there has been research on technical feasibility and novel interactions for smartwatches, there has been little work on what user-centered values a smartwatch might offer to its wearer. We present a user study designed to uncover usage practices of traditional digital watches and report results from a qualitative survey of 50 everyday digital watch wearers. We discuss patterns found in perception of features, aesthetics, and patterns of wearing a watch. Using this data, we discuss possible applications and the implications these of these findings for designing smartwatches.