Phylter: A system for modulating notifications in wearables using physiological sensing

Abstract

As wearable computing becomes more mainstream, it holds the promise of delivering timely, relevant notifications to the user. However, these devices can potentially inundate the user, distracting them at the wrong times and providing the wrong amount of information. As physiological sensing also becomes consumer-grade, it holds the promise of helping to control these notifications. To solve this, we build a system Phylter that uses physiological sensing to modulate notifications to the user. Phylter receives streaming data about a user’s cognitive state, and uses this to modulate whether the user should receive the information. We discuss the components of the system and how they interact.