Beverly L. Harrison (Senior Scientist at Intel Research Seattle) gave us a project sampler of research at Intel.
1. Intel Digital Home Group
Study people culture and in home environments
PROJECT>The Social Lives of Television
-Who buy TVs? How are the used in the home.
No single TV experience – many ways placed, used, understood
TVs are not “just” or even “primarily” entertainment devices
TVs are the most powerful ICT in the home; define, demarcate time and space
TVs have a half-life, rather than a replacement cycle
STUDY> Understanding the PC
Egypt, Germany, South Korea, Brazil
-Gaining deep knowledge of how the PC is understood in these countries
PC is perceived as work-only or leisure-only device (This is different than US patterns)
Frustrating, complex, mysterious, and often-broken
It is seen as essential, but troublesome
STUDY> Handheld Technologies In- and Outside the Digital Home
Japan, Taiwan, Italy, Turkey
The everyday experiences of mobility – what people carry with them and why those things are important.
Mobiles refreshed quickly, find a place of value in ecosystem of carried objects
Local service plans, fee structures dictate usage patterns
Mobiles are primary site of content creation, not so much consumption at this point
STUDY> Domestic Space and Interfaces for Located Mobility
Katrina Jungnickel
- Impact of wireless broadband on Australian Homes
2. Intel Digital Health Group – Health Research and Innovation
Method: Study -> Understand -> Develop Prototype -> Pilot -> Deliver
AREA> Nursing Practice
Design of “C5″ tablet computing for Nurses
Ethnographic Studies of nursing in US and UK
AREA> Technology Research for Independent Living (TRIL) Centre
Technology that will help older people live independently at home longer
AREA> Medication Management
Existing practice and technology / compliance levels / prototypes / field studies
3. Intel Research Seattle
Major interest: Ubicomp and Sensors
Technology For Long Term Care (TLC)
Recognize activies of daily living for long term care management
Activities such as: Housework, Preparing full meals, Use of heating, etc…
STUDY> CareNet Display
Ambient Display to display the status of the elder for care network members
Exposed the distribution of work that the network members took
Giving more information and context for more conversation with elders
INSIGHT> The objects you are using can determine what you are doing
If you use RFID on different objects, bracelet sensors and machine learning can describe your “activity of daily living”.
DEVICE> Mobile Sensing Platform
Body-worn sensor for: 3D Accelerometer, 2D Compass, Barometer, Humidity, etc…
MACHINE-LEARNING> A set of patterns == “walking”, “sitting”, etc…
STUDY> UBI-FIT
Cellphone display to encourage people to sustain an increased level of physical activity
STUDY> Socially Aware Communication Devices
Using sensor cues to infer: Roles and Relationships, Engagement-level, Emotional State, Sociability
To what degree do the broader studies inform the technology designs?
What is the role of ethnographic research in development?
- It’s becoming much more pervasive. Xerox started it, IBM joined in. Intel now incorporates many anthropologists in its work.
