Tracking and Re-finding printed material using a personal digital library

Abstract

Most web searches aim to re-find previously known information or documents. Keeping track of one’s digital and printed reading material is known to be a challenging and costly task. We describe the design, implementation and evaluation of our Human-centred workplace (HCW) – a system that supports the tracking of physical document printouts. HCW embeds QR codes in the document printout, stores the documents in a personal Digital Library, and uses cameras in the office to track changes in the document locations. We explored the HCW in three evaluations, using the system over several weeks in an office setting, a user study in a lab environment, and extensive functional tests.