How annoying is your phone?
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This new mobile phone was designed to
be very simple in function and easy to use. The top row
of buttons gives instant dialling to three preselected
phone numbers, with large “call” and “end call” buttons
beneath. Below the keypad are simple power indicators
(right) and a sliding on-off switch. |
Kyocera
Corporation |
There is no doubt about the strong, worldwide demand for
mobile phones — but are they always easy to use? As functions
multiply within ever smaller devices, it seems that an
increasingly complex series of steps might need to be followed
in order (for instance) to find a stored e-mail address and
send a message with an attached photo. According to the 2004
annual Lemelson-MIT Invention Index study carried out in the
United States by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), nearly one in three adults said the mobile phone is the
invention they most hate but cannot live without, narrowly
beating the alarm clock and the television. “Cell phones have
clearly been beneficial in terms of increasing worker
productivity and connecting people with family and friends,”
said Merton Flemings, director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, a
non-profit organization that celebrates inventors and
inventions. “However, the Invention Index results show that
the benefits of an invention sometimes come with a societal
cost.”
The issue of “usability” in technology has been recognized
by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in
two of its published standards: ISO 9241-11, and ISO 13407
which says “Human-centred design is characterized by the
active involvement of users and a clear understanding of user
and task requirements (as well as) an appropriate allocation
of function between users and technology.” With regard to
mobile phones, the question is being addressed in Japan, for
example, by the introduction of handsets that are designed to
be very simple to use. In September 2005, the carrier KDDI
announced the release of “Simple Cell-Phones.” One of the
models (manufactured by Japan’s Kyocera Corporation) offers
voice-only services with easy-to-use controls, and is aimed at
the growing market of senior citizens. Many other people,
however, could also be attracted by a phone that is just that,
and nothing more.
Design in communication devices should relate not only to
the technology involved, but also to how the devices are used
in daily life. Does your computer or your phone allow you to
interact with it (and with people trying to contact you) in a
way that is intuitive, convenient and comfortable?
A squirrel comes to the rescue
The Cellular Squirrel
is a desktop robot that prevents you being disturbed
by non-urgent phone calls.
Stefan Marti
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When a phone rings (or, nowadays, plays a tune) people
often find it impossible to resist answering immediately. Work
is put aside, conversations with friends are interrupted, or
(worst of all) a car driver’s attention is diverted from the
road — in many cases, responding to a call can lead to
inconvenience, or even danger. In the case of phones in an
office or home, one solution to the problem could be to use a
squirrel!
“Usability really just means
making sure that something works well: that a person of
average (or even below average) ability and experience
can use the thing — whether it’s a website, a fighter
jet, or a revolving door — for its intended purpose
without getting hopelessly frustrated.” (Steve Krug
“Don’t Make Me Think” Que Publishing,
Indianapolis, United States,
2000.) |
While a research student in the Speech Interface Group of
the Media Lab at MIT, Stefan Marti
developed an “autonomous interactive intermediary” that he
calls the Cellular Squirrel. It is the cuddly,
animatronic casing for a device that controls incoming calls
in a sensitive way. Rather than responding passively by simply
ringing at the same volume and tone every time, the squirrel
attracts attention by, for example, winking its eye or
nodding. It “is able to use the same subtle, but still public,
non-verbal cues to get our attention and interrupt us like
humans would,” Mr Marti says.
The squirrel also helps by deciding the importance of an
incoming call, then either alerts the owner or takes a
message. It does this by using what Mr Marti calls an “issue
detection system.” He explains that, after answering the
phone, the squirrel “engages the caller in a conversation
using speech synthesis and speech recognition to get a rough
idea of what the call might be about. Then it compares the
recognized words with what it knows about what is currently
‘on the mind’ of the user. The latter is harvested
continuously in the background from sources like the user’s
most recent web searches, modified documents, e-mail threads,
together with more long-term information mined from the user’s
personal web page.”
The device has a duplex audio
and duplex data connection to a phone via a class 1
Bluetooth module. It is controlled by connection to a
personal computer.
Stefan Marti
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Inside the squirrel is a brass
skeleton with micro servos to control movement, and
there are sensors in its extremities to detect the
owner’s touch. |
Stefan Marti
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Mr Marti constructed the Cellular Squirrel during
his work towards his doctorate at MIT, and it remains simply a
prototype. But he points out that his effort is part of a
larger project that explores ways to make mobile communication
devices better adapted to people’s needs. “Most people dislike
cell phones because they either feel tethered to them or they
are annoyed by others who use them in inappropriate public
places, such as restaurants or movie theaters,” Mr Marti says.
“We are exploring ways to give these devices human-style
social intelligence, which means that they would know what we
as owners expect them to do, and especially what not to do,
without our having to tell them explicitly every time.”
Technology continues its rapid advance, but too often good
design is ignored. We are frequently confronted by machines
that demand our attention with flashing screens or buzzing
alarms, and which are inflexible in how we are allowed to use
them. This adds significantly to the stress of everyday life,
even though we may find devices such as phones to be
essential. As they become ever more complex, we will need to
find ways to interact with them in a “human” style. Instead of
passive lumps of metal and plastic, perhaps our future phones
will become our cuddly companions.
World Usability Day
Although technology can bring wonderful benefits,
poor design can lead to great frustration. On 3 November
2005, World Usability Day was marked by events
around the world to highlight the importance of paying
attention to the needs of people who actually use a
device. According to the day’s organizers, the
international, non-profit Usability Professionals’
Association based in Illinois (United States), the aim
was to promote “the value of usability engineering,
user-centred design, and every user’s responsibility to
ask for things that work better.”
In Minneapolis (United States), for example, a
World Usability Day event was addressed by Susan
Dray, an expert in how people interact with computers.
She described a visit to South Africa, where an
interface had been designed for hand-held computers to
allow the devices to be used by illiterate Bushmen.
“They could then use their exquisite knowledge of animal
habits to transmit extraordinarily valuable data to
wildlife managers,” Ms Dray said.
Efforts to improve technology in developing countries
fail, she said, when there is lack of awareness of what
user needs really are, failure to develop products that
meet those needs, and failure to continue relevant
product support. This also applies to countries
everywhere. Poor design of products or services can make
many people give up trying to use something, because of
the difficulty involved. This not only results in losses
for business; it also creates completely unnecessary
hurdles on the road to building a truly inclusive
information society. |
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