Promoting a Sense of Community with Ubiquitous Peripheral Displays

Abstract

Computer display and sensor technologies have advanced to the point where it is increasingly possible to deploy displays in public places that can sense and respond to the people in their vicinities. Several research initiatives are exploring how displays can be used in the foreground to support highly focused collaborative activities. We are exploring how displays can be used in the background or periphery to enrich casual interactions of the people nearby, creating greater mutual awareness of the interests and activities of people in a workplace community. Three applications are described in this chapter: GroupCast uses profiles of people’s interests in conjunction with an infrared personnel badge system to select content of mutual interest to those passing nearby a large, public display in a common area; UniCast runs on a peripheral display in one’s individual workspace, cycling through interesting, non-urgent, visual content specified in a profile created by each individual user; OutCast runs on a display outside an individual office, acting as a virtual proxy by showing content about the occupant that is specifically selected to represent the occupant’s public face. The chapter concludes with a broader discussion of issues common to any application seeking to enhance the experience of people gathered near a public display.