Personal Dashboard from Ambient Devices

Ambient Devices is a company which specialises in producing glanceable information displays which allow any customer to have a constant awareness of their important information, without the anxiety of information overload. Ambient's vision is to embed information representation into everyday objects such as lamps, pens, watches, walls, and wearables so the physical environment becomes an interface to digital information rendered in subtle changes in form, movement sound, colour or light.

A technology journalist at a press luncheon recently excused some potentially offensive behaviour in advance when he announced that he was intending to leave his mobile phone on because his wife was expecting their first child that day and he was on-call. It was a perfect example of the difficulties and limitations we face in monitoring the most basic important information in our lives, even when we are as tech-savvy as the individual concerned.

As the networked world continues to advance rapidly, and sensors and computers can signal the progress of events and information, there is a growing industry set to deliver better ways of keeping us informed. There's not a whole lot of difference between having not-enough information and too-much information if you cannot absorb and respond appropriately to that information.

As the amount of information in our lives grows exponentially, one of our greatest challenges will be to effectively visualize the information we have available in the most appropriate form.

Appropriate Information Some information requires constant awareness and for each of us, that information is different. Logically, it's critical information which comes to mind first, such as the status of a stock portfolio or the relationship of currencies, but for others, it might be the health of their loved ones, the whereabouts of children, whether their friends are online, the prevailing weather forecast for the immediate future, the score of a sporting event, if the fish are biting, or when peak hour is subsiding.

These are examples of information that is probably not worthy of interrupting one's day with intrusive "push" information, nor worthy of investing time (pull) to go and get the information, though this again varies with the individual. This type of information should be glanceable, like a clock or barometer or the speedo on a car.

Pre-attentive processing

Present day computer technology, including PDA's and cellphones, utilise only a fraction of our sensory and cognitive capabilities. The idea behind ambient devices is to elegantly embed digital information into the objects and environments that surround us. These displays are in the form of sound, air pressure, motion, light, smell, and other media that complement the full range of our human sensory modalities. They exist in the periphery of our senses, where they provide continuous information without being distracting.

Ambient displays take advantage of a cognitive psychology phenomenon called pre-attentive processing. How often have you been in an airport or crowded party and heard your name called out of the acoustic clutter?

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