We envision a future where each person will carry with them a personal universal controller (PUC), a portable computerized device that allows the user to control any appliance within their environment. The PUC has a two-way communication channel with each appliance. It downloads a specification of the appliance's features and then automatically generates an interface for controlling that appliance (graphical, speech, or both). In this demonstration we present a working PUC system that automatically generates graphical and speech interfaces, and controls real appliances, including a shelf stereo and a Sony camcorder.
Jeffrey Nichols, Brad A. Myers, Michael Higgins, J