Abstract-In this work, we present and evaluate a novel ambient information display that is designed to provide unobtrusive yet engaging feedback. The basis of this display is a natural, living plant, which is augmented in several ways to enable it to indicate information in various different ways. We describe the design and the construction of the InfoPlant, discuss its different modalities and present two demonstrator systems, including a novel ecofeedback display. A subsequent study showed that the InfoPlant was indeed perceived as unobtrusive by the large majority of participants and that it was easily accepted as a possible new entity in a living-room context. Also, the provided feedback was assessed as generally very helpful and that it would make users aware of their resource consumption and could have an influence on their consumption behavior.

In this paper, we propose to make use of an auditory fuel efficiency display as means to support car drivers in adopting an energy-efficient driving style. We report on the development of the EcoSonic system as a platform for evaluating such displays and present five design approaches to guide their realization. In a study with 30 participants, we evaluated two prototype auditory displays against the baseline of visual-only eco-driving feedback in a within-subject study. Our selected designs are described in full detail. Key findings include a significantly reduced fuel consumption as well as lower engine speeds compared to the visual display. Furthermore, questionnaire analysis results confirm that the auditory conditions are less obtrusive and also seem to allow a more subconscious processing and comprehension of the provided information. Finally, we have found that the affectiveness of the display design seems to have a positive impact on its perceived helpfulness and the ability to absorb its information subconsciously.

Smart homes have been mostly treated as homogeneous environments where each room is distinguished by the activities performed there but not by any fundamentally different basic parameters for systems to operate in. We argue that at least for bathroom environments, things like the extensive presence of liquid water and humidity and special privacy considerations challenge these assumptions. We discuss typical and unique challenges for ubiquitous computing interfaces in bathroom environments and we look at how actual and conceptual systems confront these challenges. We review bathroom systems in the literature and present two systems of our own to exemplify the unique challenges to smart environments the bathroom provides, one of which is presented here for the first time.

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