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INVISIBLE COMPUTING<br />
Figure 3. Paper <strong>computing</strong> kit. Left: Prototype kit. Right: Electronic popables.<br />
and L. Buechley, “Electronic Popables:<br />
Exploring Paper-Based Computing<br />
through an Interactive Pop-up Book,”<br />
Proc. 4th Int’l Conf. Tangible, Embedded,<br />
and Embodied Interaction, ACM<br />
Press, pp. 121-128).<br />
Technologies like these—ones that,<br />
at their best, captivate, empower,<br />
and educate people—stand in direct<br />
opposition to ubicomp’s tenet of<br />
invisibility; the kits, and often the<br />
devices constructed with them as<br />
well, are intentionally visible objects<br />
that reveal the inner workings of technology<br />
and explicitly require users’<br />
time and attention.<br />
Other researchers have also noted<br />
this conflict between invisibility and<br />
education (M. Eisenberg et al., “Invisibility<br />
Considered Harmful: Revisiting<br />
Traditional Principles of Ubiquitous<br />
Computing in the Context of Education,”<br />
Proc. 4th IEEE Int’l Workshop<br />
Wireless, Mobile, and Ubiquitous Technology<br />
in Education, IEEE CS Press, pp.<br />
103-110; Y. Rogers, “Moving On from<br />
Weiser’s Vision of Calm Computing:<br />
Engaging UbiComp Experiences,”<br />
Proc. 8th Int’l Conf. Ubiquitous Computing,<br />
LNCS 4206, Springer, 2006, pp.<br />
404-421).<br />
INVISIBILITY, VISIBILITY,<br />
AND DESIGN<br />
In our <strong>lives</strong> there are objects we<br />
ignore and objects we treasure. Some<br />
vanish into the background and stay<br />
there and others please, amuse,<br />
COMPUTER<br />
and comfort us. There are the forgotten<br />
paper clips, printers, and<br />
towels, and the beloved dining room<br />
tables, sports uniforms, and jewelry.<br />
Why should ubicomp—or any<br />
other <strong>computing</strong> discipline, for that<br />
matter—consign itself to the ignored,<br />
invisible realm?<br />
Our research group strives to build<br />
systems that fit into people’s aesthetic<br />
and emotional <strong>lives</strong> as much as their<br />
technological ones. As Figures 2 and 3<br />
suggest, exploring the aesthetic possibilities<br />
of technology provides us with<br />
new and unusual ways to excite and<br />
engage students. We also investigate<br />
aesthetic and emotional dimensions<br />
when we develop systems that are<br />
less explicitly educational.<br />
A recent project along these lines<br />
is a unique piece of wallpaper that<br />
we constructed with our paper <strong>computing</strong><br />
kit. The Living Wall is a flat<br />
surface built out of ferrous paint,<br />
conductive paint, traditional paint,<br />
and electronics to which our paper<br />
<strong>computing</strong> modules can be attached.<br />
With its wide range of attachable<br />
components, the Living Wall can provide<br />
lighting, sense information about<br />
its environment, communicate with<br />
other devices like computers and<br />
phones, and act as a large-scale input<br />
device. The News Brief “Researchers<br />
Build a Wall That Acts Like a Remote<br />
Control” on p. 18 has more information<br />
on the system and an illustration<br />
of its use.<br />
The Living Wall is a flexible ubicomp<br />
system. However, it also<br />
functions as a decorative element<br />
in a home. Like the other examples<br />
mentioned here, it wasn’t designed<br />
to be invisible; it elicits and rewards<br />
attention.<br />
Invisibility is a narrow design<br />
goal. It’s not necessarily a bad<br />
one, but it doesn’t capture the<br />
full range of technological or creative<br />
possibilities. If we as computer scientists<br />
and engineers only strive to<br />
build invisible systems, we’ll neglect<br />
to build important technology that is<br />
educational, engaging, and beautiful.<br />
We should expand our focus and our<br />
rhetoric.<br />
Leah Buechley is an assistant professor<br />
and AT&T Career Development<br />
Professor of Media Arts and Sciences<br />
at MIT Media Lab, where she also<br />
directs the High-Low Tech research<br />
group. Contact her at leah@media.<br />
mit.edu.<br />
Editor: Albrecht Schmidt, Institute for<br />
Computer Science and Business Information<br />
Systems, University of Duisburg-Essen,<br />
Germany; albrecht.schmidt@gmail.com<br />
Selected CS articles and columns<br />
are available for free at<br />
http://ComputingNow.computer.org.<br />
Join the<br />
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Computer<br />
Society<br />
www.computer.org<br />
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