Envisioning ubiquitous computing

Abstract

Visions of the future are a common feature of discourse within ubiquitous computing and, more broadly, HCI. 'Envisioning', a characteristic future-oriented technique for design thinking, often features as significant part of our research processes in the field. This paper compares, contrasts and critiques the varied ways in which envisionings have been used within ubiquitous computing and traces their relationships to other, different envisionings, such as those of virtual reality. In unpacking envisioning, it argues primarily that envisioning should be foregrounded as a significant concern and interest within HCI. Foregrounding envisioning's frequent mix of fiction, forecasting and extrapolation, the paper recommends changes in the way we read, interpret and use envisionings through taking into account issues such as context and intended audience.

Responsible research and innovation in the digital age

“…Reeves' (2012) analysis of 'envisioning' techniques is a case in point. 16 He makes clear that the social shaping of technologies is at the heart of computer science, not external to it, as suggested by some interviewees. Visions, utopia, predictions, promises and hype have been produced for decades.…”

Doing the laundry with agents

“…Envisioning future technologies has become a staple feature of UbiComp and HCI research [26]; however, prototyping to study the experience of interaction with future domestic infrastructures poses significant challenges. The home setting needs to be augmented with a technology that believably realizes a vision of a future scenario the residents can relate to and interact with in a field trial 'in the wild'.…”

“…Our approach relies on envisioning [19,26], and prototyping future infrastructures; and, crucially, deployments to study technology as part of everyday life in order to "pay heed to the [...] routines of the home" [9:263]. We deployed Agent B in 10 households in the UK to uncover the tensions that may arise when introducing a system appealing to rational optimization into everyday life.…”

Resistance is Fertile

“…Alternatively, another strand of design fiction looks to the use of narrative fictions as a way of shaping the technological research agenda [3] [2] exemplified by the use of Weiser and Brown's [18] 'vision' article about the future of ubiquitous computing. Reeves [14] sees that the 'envisaging', common in many commercial organisations, plays a significant role for research communities and in the shaping of future technology. From this point of view, design fiction is a way of looking critically at the fiction is used by many organisations to justify the exploration of assorted technologies.…”