Digital Decor is furniture, appliances, and other small objects commonly found in homes and offices that have been augmented with computational power to extend usefulness. As such, Digital Decor is a physical manifestation of the ubiquitous, pervasive, and invisible computer in which the familiar, everyday object is imbued with additional capabilities through a single, simple application. Thus far we have investigated two possible functionalities for Digital Decor: everyday objects that keep track of their own contents (this can be called “smart storage”), and everyday objects that support informal, lightweight communication. For this paper we developed four prototypes: Timestamp Drawers and Strata Drawer are Digital Decor prototypes augmented to keep track of their contents while Peek-A-Drawer and Meeting Pot are prototypes augmented to support communication. Key words: Ubiquitous computing, smart furniture, lightweight communication, aroma display, drawers, appliances, Digital ...
Itiro Siio, Jim Rowan, Noyuri Mima, Elizabeth D. M