The application of Proxemics on the Internet of Things
The Theory of Proxemics
Edward Hall conceptualized the idea of a personal space bubble by creating a whole system of notation to understand and record how people navigate shared space. He correlated a physical distance to a social distance and identified four distances that are measured horizontally:
- The intimate distance which varies from 1 to 45 cm is a distance used for romantic partners and family members.
- Personal distance varies from 46 to 121 cm is a space bubble that allows your extended family members and close friends to enter this zone.
- Social distance varies from 122 to 369 cm is often used for acquaintances and colloquies.
- Public distance, having a range of 370 cm and more, is often used in public speaking situations and with strangers, you want to maintain your distance from.
He also analyzed vertical distances, for example, the difference in vertical distance between people can reflect the degree of dominance. However, let's focus only on horizontal distances.
The application in interactive surfaces
Nowadays, there are many studies in which Proxemics has been used to design interactions.
For example, Jo Vermeulen et al. in their work used zones to interact with vertical interactive displays where they suggested floor display as an auxiliary device.
The contributions of using the secondary display are the following:
- Provides peripheral information about the tracking status of a user.
- Shows interaction zones.
- Invites the user to interact with the main display.
- Suggests possible interaction steps.
This kind of floor visualization with continuous feedback about proximity gives the user more control over their interaction with the system.
Proxemic flow: Dynamic peripheral floor visualizations for revealing and mediating large surface interactions
Designing Proxemic-aware Remote Controls
Another example system using Proxemics is the remote controls' system introduced by Ledo et al. In their design remote control devices were created in such a way that people could control appliances from a certain distance. However, with the increase in the number of home appliances, the number of remote controls also increasing.
For this purpose, universal remotes have been proposed providing a one-remote-to-many-appliances solution. Unfortunately, this design has set up issues and a poorly adaptable interface. The authors presented the proxemic-aware controls that utilize the spatial relationship between mobile devices owned by a user and appliances surrounding it. With this system, a user can discover and select the devices within a large ecology of appliances, view their current status, and control their features. Moreover, as a user moves closer or farther to a particular device, the interface adjusts accordingly.
For example, in the initial state, the tablet screen visualizes icons representing the location of appliances at the edge of the screen, these icons are dynamically updated as he moves. Through spatial interactions, people can leverage mobile devices to discover and select appliances.
This allows for situated interaction that balances simple and flexible control while seamlessly transitioning between different control interfaces. Ubicomp, which they use as short for Ubiquitous Computing, is a starting point for developing a new type of remote control interface within our increasingly complex world.
Proxemic-aware Media Player System
Also, Ballendat, Nicolai Marquardt, and Saul Greenberg in their work introduce a proxemic-aware interactive media player system, where they consider information regarding nearby people and devices to mediate the interaction. They cover a small space Ubicomp environment considering the relationships of people to devices; devices to devices; and non-digital objects to people and devices. The system reacts to a person’s presence, distance, and orientation regarding the display. Proxemic interaction also considers a person’s relationship with nearby objects.
- Automatically activates the video when a person enters the room ( a ).
- Continuously reveals more content with decreasing distance of the person to the display ( b ).
- Allows explicit interaction through direct touch when a person is in close distance ( c ).
- Implicitly switches to full-screen view when a person is taking a seat ( d )
In addition to the above-mentioned functionalities, the video displaying on the screen automatically pauses when a person is having a phone conversation or when he picks a magazine to read it. When a person enters the room, the screen shows a video title as additional information for him. Also, the video is paused when both people face away from the screen to start a conversation with each other. Furthermore, the system turns off when everyone has left the room.
Proxemic Interaction: Designing for a Proximity and Orientation-Aware Environment
The authors also emphasize that one of the biggest unsolved problems in this area might be how the system can respond to the received information about proxemics because sometimes the devices can make a mistake by taking a certain action. Despite all these problems, the authors, as well as we believe that proxemics will become an important factor in the embodiment of the interaction between social objects where they can meet the social expectations of people.
