Call for papers
MUM 2003 workshop
December 10, Norrköping
http://mum2003.itn.liu.se/

Designing for ubicomp in the wild:
Methods for exploring the design of mobile and ubiquitous services
http://mum2003.itn.liu.se/ws1.php

Mobile and ubiquitous services are designed to be used by people “in 
the wild”, engaged in activities ranging from work to leisure, and not 
necessarily tied to a particular place. These characteristics make it 
challenging to design such systems. The controlled lab environment is 
not a realistic setting for carrying out studies of these systems. 
There is a need for new, innovative methods of exploring design of 
mobile and ubiquitous services in the wild. This workshop will discuss 
and make practical use of methods for early design of mobile and 
ubiquitous services.

While mobile services in many respects are similar to interactive 
services in general, they have some properties that sometimes make it 
difficult to borrow the methods developed for general human-computer 
interaction. One obvious difference is the ”baby interface” problem. 
Small buttons, small screens and small interaction devices (tiny 
joysticks, tiny pens) require special solutions. The interaction models 
for mobile phones and PDA:s vary from imitations of direct manipulation 
metaphors to handcrafted, telecom-based, interaction models.

Perhaps more challenging differences between desktop computing 
applications and mobile applications lie in the context of use, where 
mobile services will rely on fast interactions in sometimes noisy 
environments, rather than the more quiet and stable office-usage. Many 
mobile services also explore properties of context as part of their 
functionality. They might make use of the position the user is at, the 
presence of other users nearby connected in ad-hoc networks, or 
information provided by objects (using e.g. RFID-tags) or interactive 
devices (e.g. Bluetooth stations) nearby.

For mobile services, small bursts of usage are often extended 
throughout the entire day, and in many different places. Some services 
will be useful only during a specific time span, such as when people 
move close to each other, or when a user passes an object. The “windows 
of opportunity” that open up when users move between different 
locations and networks can be exploited to design time-based mobile 
services that offer very different functionality from stationary 
technology. In stationary settings, the digital and physical worlds are 
more or less separated (users ‘look into’ and manipulate the digital 
world on the computer screen). In contrast, in mobile and ubiquitous 
systems these realms may be combined. Sensors, smart rooms and ambient 
environments capture real world information of users and devices and 
represent it in a format that is usable in the digital realm. In 
addition, by attaching digital information to users we can merge 
digital and embodied presence. These technologies have the potential to 
transform how users navigate and experience places and will have a 
profound impact on concepts of spaces, places and presence.

Submissions

Position papers of a maximum length of 4 pages, double column, ACM 
format (www.acm.org/sigs/pubs/proceed/template.html), in Word, should 
be sent to Kristina Höök, [log in to unmask] These will be reviewed by the 
program committee.

Deadline for submissions: 1st of November.
Notification of acceptance: 20th of November.

Organisers

Kristina Höök, Professor at DSV, SU/KTH
Alexandra Weilenmann, PhD, Viktoria/Interactive Institute

The workshop is organised as part of the SSF-funded project "Mobile 
Services" and the VINNOVA-funded project "Mobile Life" 
(www.sics.se/humle/projects/moblife/index.php).

Program committee

Barry Brown, Glasgow University, UK
Geri Gay, Cornell University, UK
Lars Erik Holmqvist, Viktoria Institute, Sweden
Richard Harper, Appliance Studio and the Digital World Research Centre, 
UK
Kristina Höök, Stockholm University/KTH, Sweden
Giulio Iacucci, University of Oulu, Finland
Minna Isomursu, University of Oulu, Finland
Oskar Juhlin, Interactive Institute, Sweden
Martin Svensson, SICS, Sweden
Loren Terveen, Minnesota University, USA
Alexandra Weilenmann, Interactive Institute, Sweden
Erik Wistrand, Newmad, Sweden

Format

The workshop will be organised as a one-day workshop the day before the 
MUM conference in Norrköping, (http://mum2003.itn.liu.se/). The day 
will start with quick presentations of the participants, followed by 8 
- 10 position paper presentations. Finally, the group will be divided 
into two, testing two different methods for input to and early design 
of mobile and ubiquitous services.