The design of personal ambient displays
Name
43932228-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
8.84 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
52eeca904a62e7e5ab5f062ab7dc6804
Author(s)
Wisneski, Craig Alexander, 1975-
Advisor(s)
Hiroshi Ishii.
Date Issued
1999
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The goal of this thesis is to investigate the design of personal ambient displays. These are small, physical devices worn to display information to a person in a subtle, persistent, and private manner. They can be small enough to be carried in a pocket, worn as a watch, or even adorned like jewelry. In my implementations, information is displayed solely through tactile modalities such as thermal change (heating and cooling), movement (shifting and vibration), and change of shape (expanding, contracting, and deformation). Using a tactile display allows information to be kept private and reduces the chance of overloading primary visual and auditory activities. The display can remain ambient, transmitting information in the background of a person's perception through simple, physical means. The specific focus of this thesis is to create a number of these tactile displays, to identify and implement applications they can serve, and to evaluate aspects of their effectiveness. I have created a group of small, wireless objects that can warm up and cool down or gently move or shift. Users can reconfigure each display so that information sources like stock data or the activity of people on the internet are mapped to these different tactile modalities. Furthermore, in this thesis I consider the implications that human perception have on the design of these displays and examine potential application areas for further implementations.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1999.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-59).
Subjects
Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Terms of Use
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