DiamondHelp: a new interaction design for networked home appliances

Ordinary people already have great difficulty using the advanced features of digitally enhanced household products, and the problem is getting worse as more features are continually being added. This usability problem cannot be solved using only the tiny displays and limited control buttons typically found on home appliances. By using a home network to share a larger and more powerful display, we can provide a new type of collaborative interface in which the product actively helps the user, especially with complex features that are only occasionally used. In this design competition prospectus, we concentrate on the key design principles underlying DiamondHelp. The generic DiamondHelp architecture has been implemented in Java; a prototype live demonstration similar to one of the animated simulations is currently under development. Please note: An interaction design is better explained using video than words and still pictures. Peter Thomas has therefore kindly agreed that the judges will review our video presentation, which may be found at http://www.merl.com/pub/diamondhelp.mov. This is a 10 min (2.8 MB) animated QuickTime movie with sound track. To download a free QuickTime player, visit http://quicktime.apple.com. Please view the video before reading this paper!