Abstract
Location sensing is a key enabling technology for Ubicomp to support contextual interaction. However, the laboratories where calibrated testing of location technologies is done are very different to the domestic situations where “context” is a problematic social construct. This study reports measurements of Bluetooth beacons, informed by laboratory studies, but done in diverse domestic settings. The design of these surveys has been motivated by the natural environment implied in the Bluetooth beacon standards relating the technical environment of the beacon to the function of spaces within the home. This research method can be considered as a situated, “ethnographic” technical response to the study of physical infrastructure that arises through social processes. The results offer insights for the future design of “seamful” approaches to indoor location sensing, and to the ways that context might be constructed and interpreted in a seamful manner.
Highlights
Many Ubicomp services rely on a model of context in order to interpret user actions and needs
Bluetooth beacon capabilities may be embedded in a variety of devices, and even distributed around a house by technical enthusiasts wishing to engage in lifelogging or home automation, we decided to explore the more likely near-term scenario that this capability might first be deployed as an additional Internet of Things (IoT) market feature in a new appliance—for example, a refrigerator, a washing machine, or a shaving station
Laboratories are very different to the domestic situations in which “context” has been identified as a problematic social construct
Summary
Many Ubicomp services rely on a model of context in order to interpret user actions and needs. A classic paper by Dourish [1] challenged the way context models are derived only from sensor and activity data, while failing to recognize the nature of human interaction. Dourish’s main contribution was to note the ways that context is jointly established in a kind of conversation, rather than being delivered as a technical product feature. We explore some technical implications of that perspective on context sensing. Location technologies for Ubicomp represent an important and growing element of context. One view of location sensing is that it offers a reference grid—a spatial map on which the user and relevant world features are marked. Outdoor positioning products based on GPS often present their data precisely this way. It is possible to take an alternative approach to location, for example, as expressed in Chalmers and MacColl [2] proposal of “seamful design” that acknowledges the gaps and inaccuracies in GPS signal coverage, using them as a design resource rather than as a system failing
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