Tangible bits: towards seamless interfaces between people, bits and atoms
Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human factors in computing systems
'TSUNAGARI' communication: fostering a feeling of connection between family members
CHI '02 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
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In mobile communications, people can be contacted by anyone, anywhere, and anytime, but this might interrupt them. We propose a new mobile telecommunication style, called mobile `Tsunagari-Kan', where users exchange situational cues constantly and casually so they can imagine the situation of the other party. To make this possible, we must decrease users' mental workload caused by frequent communications. We considered that the mental workload could be decreased by exchanging situational cues casually to achieve true `always-on' communications. To link the `flip action' of a cell phone with a communicational behavior, we have developed a test system called the Flip Communicator System based on the Tsunagari-kan concept. This prototype system enables users to exchange situational cues on their cell phones. We carried out a communication field test between seven sets of Japanese mothers and their children. The results indicate that our method can strengthen the ties between a mother and a child.