Find my stuff: supporting physical objects search with relative positioning

  • Authors:

  • Jens Nickels;Pascal Knierim;Bastian Könings;Florian Schaub;Björn Wiedersheim;Steffen Musiol;Michael Weber

  • Affiliations:

  • Ulm University, Ulm, Germany;Ulm University, Ulm, Germany;Ulm University, Ulm, Germany;Ulm University, Ulm, Germany;Ulm University, Ulm, Germany;Ulm University, Ulm, Germany;Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 2013 ACM international joint conference on Pervasive and ubiquitous computing
  • Year:
  • 2013

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Abstract

Searching for misplaced keys, phones, or wallets is a common nuisance. Find My Stuff (FiMS) provides search support for physical objects inside furniture, on room level, and in multiple locations, e.g., home and office. Stuff tags make objects searchable while all other localization components are integrated into furniture. FiMS requires minimal configuration and automatically adapts to the user's furniture arrangement. Object search is supported with relative position cues, such as "phone is inside top drawer" or "the wallet is between couch and table," which do not require exact object localization. Functional evaluation of our prototype shows the approach's practicality with sufficient accuracy in realistic environments and low energy consumption. We also conducted two user studies, which showed that objects can be retrieved significantly faster with FiMS than manual search and that our relative position cues provide better support than map-based cues. Combined with audiovisual feedback, FiMS also outperforms spotlight-based cues.