Embedded Files
Design of a tangible user interface prototype to manage time in daily tasks offering high visibility of time progression, status of tasks and end-of-day reflection on time utilization. Presented at the 2014 ACM UbiComp conference.
[Student project, 2014]
Information work generally occurs within a multitasking environment with attention focused on the computer screen, constant task switching and frequent interruptions. In this environment, software-based task management techniques may blend in too much to be optimally effective. The Time Machine is proposed as a physical interface distinctly separated from the task environment with real-world manifestations of arbitrary concepts of tasks and time, while providing constant visibility of status through an ambient display for self-reflection. The Time Machine aims to promote distributed cognition and utilize the stage-based model of personal informatics and the Pomodoro technique toward productive and enjoyable task management.
Team
Ryan Ahmed, Alex Chambers, Michael Frontz, Stephen Voida
Objective
Design of a tangible system is explored to track and support task performance with the following goals:
Glanceable display to provide high visibility of task status
Affordance for tangible goal setting and task switching
Visual and aural cues of progress as Pomodoros
Visualization as linear progression of actual task-time performance to provide effective self-reflection
Conceptual model: A stage-based model of personal informatics [Li 2010]
Process
Literature review
Conceptual sketches
Physical interface development:
Colored glass marbles
Glass cylinders
Wood-cut frame and channels
Phidgets: USB Interface kit (powered by Arduino), servo motor, magnetic contact and roller ball switches
Initial concept sketches
Refined concept sketches
Early prototype
Final prototype at UbiComp
Publications
Ahmed, R., Frontz, M., Chambers, A., & Voida, S. (2014, September). A tangible approach to time management. In Proceedings of the 2014 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing: Adjunct Publication (pp. 207-210). ACM.
More Information
Li, I., Dey, A., & Forlizzi, J. (2010, April). A stage-based model of personal informatics systems. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 557-566).
Cirillo, F. The Pomodoro Technique.
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