SmartHub

Fast turnaround creation of a smarthome software and hardware prototype

Program Manager: Microsoft Strategic Prototyping and Internet of Things group

ROLE: Provided project management, fabricated enclosures, lead storytelling, content strategy, and ideation
TOOLS: SketchUp, Laser-cutter, Excel, task-management software, custom idea analysis tools
IMPACT: Successful demo of working prototype of IoT smarthome controller by VP

Much of this work remains proprietary and can not be shared.

Snapshot of scenarios we generated (and I organized) to narrow down target market and feature set for novel smarthome "box"

I used a novel data analysis and visualization technique to generate clusters from our copious scenarios. These in term helped us identify themes which became the pillars for the project.

Ambient Intelligence Trust Principles

As part of this project I developed a set of principles for talking about and incorporating trust, privacy, security, community norms, and safety into our work.

We, not just me

In addition to benefiting the individual, intelligent systems should benefit collections of people, organizations, workgroups, companies, etc.

Intelligent systems will help us balance the needs and desires of the individual and the group.
Intelligent systems will help us arrive at consensus between differing “local” desires and assumptions.
Intelligent systems can help us navigate the landscape of complex choices that arise as a consequence of multiple digitally-enabled constituencies.

“I will have a slightly longer commute but everyone’s overall commute will be shorter.”

Help us focus on what matters most

Systems should give us more time and energy for meaningful pursuits.

These systems should help us focus on family, friends, co-workers, and the concerns of our society.
Our systems will enable us to be in the moment, recognize beauty in the world, take advantage of serendipity, and make the world better in enduring ways.

“There better be a good reason for my system to interrupt me when I’m playing with my kid.”

I know how my data is used

We should have control over [our data and] the actions that intelligent systems take on our behalf.

People should be informed of actionable judgments made by intelligent systems that concern people’s opinions, affect, or predicted behaviors.
We should be able to progressively rescind the control intelligent systems have over our lives.

“You can use my data to book my plane ticket, but for nothing else.”

You can earn my trust, but you can also lose it

Systems must progressively earn our trust by transparently and incrementally involving us in their decisions.

There are levels of trust. Trust is earned through shared experience and “little tests.”
We successively give the system tasks, which it follows through with in a discoverable, correctible, altruistic, and desirable way.

“Sometimes I am okay with my car driving itself and other times I want to do the driving.”

Everyone gets to sit in the first row

Ambient Intelligence should use awareness of demographic contexts to bridge asymmetric access to and control of technology and policy.

It is not enough for everyone to have a smartphone and access to the internet. Technologies and policies are often created by those who are already informally privileged or in formal positions of power.
New systems should strive to give everyone true equal opportunity and “even the playing field” while still celebrating [individual] talents and efforts.

“My system helps me fill out government forms that are hard for me to understand.”

For the first prototype, I created a small laser cut enclosure that afforded easy access to the internals

For a second version I designed a laser-cut enclosure that mimicked the size and appearance of a book so that it fit in better with home decor

The simple phone interface required an enclosure that was both small and durable given its intended location

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