Designing Calm Technology Slides from the NUX6 talk by Amber Case, Friday 27th October 2017. 2017.nuxconf.uk / nuxuk.org Synopsis: Our world is made of information that competes for our attention. What is needed? What is not? We cannot interact with our everyday life in the same way we interact with a desktop computer. The terms calm computing and calm technology were coined in 1995 by PARC Researchers Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown in reaction to the increasing complexities that information technologies were creating. Calm technology describes a state of technological maturity where a user’s primary task is not computing, but being human. The idea behind Calm Technology is to have smarter people, not things. Technology shouldn’t require all of our attention, just some of it, and only when necessary. How can our devices take advantage of location, proximity and haptics to help improve our lives instead of get in the way? How can designers can make apps “ambient” while respecting privacy and security? This talk will cover how to use principles of Calm Technology to design the next generation of connected devices. We’ll look at notification styles, compressing information into other senses, and designing for the least amount of cognitive overhead.

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Calm Technology
Amber Case | @caseorganic
Fellow Harvard Berkman Klein Center
MIT Media Lab
calmtech.com
Design for the next 50 billion things

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50 billion devices
will be online by
2020. -Cisco

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Sound good?

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Consider…

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The "Smart" Watch

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The "Smart" Fridge

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The Dystopian Kitchen of the Future

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Connected Animals

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The new Schrödinger's Cat
Failure forces humans to ‘manually’ feed ravenous pets

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PetNet is not held responsible for any service failures:
Source: http://readwrite.com/2016/08/01/petnet-shows-happens-iot-fails-dl1/

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An era of interruptive
technology

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We need a
Calm Technology

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XEROX PARC: mid-90s
Mark Weiser John Seeley Brown

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Designing Calm
Technology

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I. Technology shouldn’t require
all of our attention, just some of
it, and only when necessary

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A Tea Kettle

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II. Technology should
empower the periphery

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LUMOBack Smart Posture Sensor
Buzzes you when
you exhibit poor
posture.

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III. Technology should inform
and encalm

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Ambient Awareness

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1. Haptics vs. auditory alerts (haptic compass)
2. Light status vs. full display (on/off)
3. Positive or negative tones (home electronics)
4. Transparency (inner-office windows)
awareness
through
different

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Weat
her
Statu
s

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Make the invisible visible

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Heat
Sink
Ambient Awareness and Synesthesia

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Vuforia and
ThingWorx
display from
PTC

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Tormach PCNC Cell #3
Pre-finishing
Cycles Next Maintenance Liftgate Fault
Tormach PCNC Cell #4
Pre-finishing
Cycles Next Maintenance Liftgate Fault
Final Assembly
Final Assembly
Plant 78, Pre-Finishing Line 2
15 cells 45% Operational 2 faults

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1. Machines shouldn't act like humans
2. Humans shouldn't act like machines
IV. Technology should amplify
the best of technology and the
best of humanity.

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• 1500 times faster
When
automation
goes right
3Scan:
1500 times
faster than
humans

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V. Technology can
communicate,
but it doesn’t need to speak

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The Roomba Robotic
Vacuum Cleaner :)

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VI. Technology should
consider social norms

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Restorative
Normal
Enhancing Fear-inducing
Accepted
Invisible

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Google
Glass

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VII. The right amount of
technology is the minimum
amount to solve the problem

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Street Lights Toilet Occupied Sign

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VIII. Technology should make
use of the near and the far

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Mainframes
Personal Computer /
Desktop
Internet
Remote
Mainframes
(Cloud)
Personal
Servers
2016 -
2020
2000 -
1994 -
1978 -
1994
1944 -
1978
Workstations
1968 -
1975
Far
Near
Mobile
2006 -
Evolution of computers over time

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Technology should work even
when it fails

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Process as much as possible on the
device itself.
…

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Good design allows people to
accomplish their goals in the least
amount of moves

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Calm Technology allows people to
accomplish the same goals with the
least amount of mental cost

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A person's primary task
should not be computing,
but being human.

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The scarce resource in the 21st
Century will not be technology.
It will be attention. - Mark Weiser

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Calm Technology
@ Amazon.com
And O’Reilly

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Sound and User
Experience
@ Amazon.com
And O’Reilly

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caseorganic.com
More at calmtechnology.com!
8 Principles at Calmtech.com

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Thank you very much!
Amber Case | @caseorganic
http://caseorganic.com
case@caseorganic.com
http://calmtech.com