Presence Management and Bluetooth Naming on Situated Displays

Abstract

This paper describes a user study that investigated to what extent the display of Bluetooth presence and device names on a public screen changes people usage of Bluetooth and alters social practices in a particular context. In this work, the utilization of Bluetooth device naming extended beyond identity representation and introduced the use of a simple interaction mechanism in which the system can recognize parts of the Bluetooth device name as explicit instructions to trigger the generation of content from the web on a interactive public display. The user study, which involved the deployment of a fully functional prototype in a University bar, generally addressed the suitability of these techniques and the type of social practices that emerged. However, in this paper, we particularly focus on how the naming of the devices was utilized as a communication tool. In fact, the results from the analysis of usage logs and insitugroup interviews suggest that people creatively appropriated the interaction techniques employed and these techniques were effective in their ability to sustain situated interaction and self disclosure around the public display. Implications of our findings to the design of further functionalities are also pointed out.