@inproceedings{10.1145/3701571.3703371,

title = {The Hidden Potential: Reimagining Household Items as Smart Home Interfaces},

author = {Michael Chamunorwa and Heiko Müller and Susanne Boll},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3701571.3703371},

doi = {10.1145/3701571.3703371},

isbn = {9798400712838},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia},

pages = {519–522},

publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},

address = {New York, NY, USA},

series = {MUM '24},

abstract = {Modern smart home user interfaces have been functional and enduring but have limitations. These limitations include the inability to gracefully merge with end users’ preferred aesthetics and the lack of more expressive controls beyond buttons and screens. As a result, there is an opportunity to explore alternative interface designs to address these issues. One potential solution is embedding user interfaces into everyday objects to broaden aesthetic options and allow more expressive interactions. However, it is essential to carefully design these embedded interfaces, as they may otherwise be unusable or interfere with the primary functions of the chosen objects. Designs should consider the object’s physical form and employ sensible metaphors to create usable interfaces that do not obscure the traditional use of the objects but rather coexist with them as secondary affordances. Our demo showcases four everyday objects equipped with sensors to enable smart home control through their secondary affordances. The objects maintain their primary functions and execute secondary uses as smart home controls with few signs of gadgetry in the form of buttons, screens, and lights.},

keywords = {everyday objects, home assistant, rich interaction, smart home, speculative design, tangible interaction},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {inproceedings}

}

@inproceedings{10.1145/3626705.3631879,

title = {Vasi-Light: Using Everyday Decorative Items as Smarthome Interfaces},

author = {Pantea Sanei Ganjeh and Michael Bosomefi Chamunorwa and Abhinand Parambil Gopal and Santosh Mutyala},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3626705.3631879},

doi = {10.1145/3626705.3631879},

isbn = {9798400709210},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

booktitle = {Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia},

pages = {565–567},

publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},

address = {Vienna, Austria},

series = {MUM '23},

abstract = {In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the convergence of innovation and tradition has given rise to a fundamental question: Can we embrace the convenience of smart devices without sacrificing the aesthetics and emotional resonance of our cherished everyday objects? We help answer this question through our demo, Vasi-Light, a decorative vase enhanced with concealed sensors and conductive ink to allow end-users to control a smart bulb. Vasi-Light seeks to blend the beauty of familiar household items with the intelligence of modern technology. While a smart bulb and vase are used in the demo, the design process and technologies apply to various everyday object/smart appliance pairings and offer exciting opportunities for research into rich interactions with everyday objects and surfaces for future smart homes.},

keywords = {everyday objects, rich interaction, smart home, speculative design, tangible interaction},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {inproceedings}

}