Auditory interfaces offer a solution to the problem of effective eyes-free mobile interactions. In this article, we investigate the use of multilevel auditory displays to enable eyes-free mobile interaction with indoor location-based information in non-guided audio-augmented environments. A top-level exocentric sonification layer advertises information in a gallery-like space. A secondary interactive layer is used to evaluate three different conditions that varied in the presentation (sequentialversussimultaneous) and spatialisation (non-spatialisedversusegocentric/exocentric spatialisation) of multiple auditory sources. Our findings show that (1) participants spent significantly more time interacting with spatialised displays; (2) using the same design for primary and interactive secondary display (simultaneous exocentric) showed a negative impact on the user experience, an increase in workload and substantially increased participant movement; and (3) the other spatial interactive secondary display designs (simultaneous egocentric, sequential egocentric, and sequential exocentric) showed an increase in time spent stationary but no negative impact on the user experience, suggesting a more exploratory experience. A follow-up qualitative and quantitative analysis of user behaviour support these conclusions. These results provide practical guidelines for designing effective eyes-free interactions for far richer auditory soundscapes.

We describe an in-the-wild experiment with non-verbal ad-hoc communication between strangers. We connected two night clubs via two interactive tables that allowed people at each end interact via shared drawings, pre-made symbols and actions. We interviewed 50 and observed approximately 200 participants. In local interaction, collaboration was the preferred mode of use, whereas with remote interaction, communication prevailed. This study demonstrated that people have such a strong desire to communicate that they are willing to forgive many imperfections in the channel. It was also evident that people resorted to stereotypical information to ease the rapid flow of conversation, when they had only limited knowledge of the other party (just the place). This paper describes our system design, the user study, and discusses implications on designing for ad hoc communication and context sharing in urban everyday environment.

Projector-enabled mobile devices and handheld projectors will provide new possibilities for ubiquitous and mobile multimedia by creating novel interaction methods and use cases. In this paper, we introduce our Burn-to-Share concept, which is a novel system for sharing pictorial content on public surfaces with mobile projectors. Contrary to earlier methods in visual content sharing between mobile devices and public displays, our concept uses optical capture, making software installations, pairing and data connectivity unnecessary. Furthermore, with our approach the interaction is immediate and intuitive.

The digitalization of home multimedia brings with it increased numbers of different kind of new devices. Although adding new user experiences, this will significantly increase energy consumption at home and globally. In this article we present one potential solution to enable more aggressive power management in networked home devices. This solution is based on UPnP Low power which allows devices in power save modes to be discovered and waken up. It is also shown based on implemented prototype that efficient power management system can be built on top of UPnP low power, particularly if home router manufacturers support the UPnP low power proxy service in their devices.