Sabbath day home automation: "it's like mixing technology and religion"

  • Authors:
  • Allison Woodruff;Sally Augustin;Brooke Foucault

  • Affiliations:
  • Intel Research Berkeley, Berkeley, CA;PlaceCoach, Inc., Sheboygan, WI;Intel Digital Home Group, Hillsboro, OR

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 2007

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Abstract

We present a qualitative study of 20 American Orthodox Jewish families' use of home automation for religious purposes. These lead users offer insight into real-life, long-term experience with home automation technologies. We discuss how automation was seen by participants to contribute to spiritual experience and how participants oriented to the use of automation as a religious custom. We also discuss the relationship of home automation to family life. We draw design implications for the broader population, including surrender of control as a design resource, home technologies that support long-term goals and lifestyle choices, and respite from technology.