This presentation was given by Amber Case of Healthways at Delight 2015 on Oct. 5, 2015. Technology shouldn't require all of our attention, just some of it, and only when necessary. Calm technology describes a state of technological maturity where a user's primary task is not computing, but being human. The idea is to have smarter people, not things. Amber will cover how to use principles of Calm Technology in product design and how we must to manage the next generation of connected devices in our human landscape. http://delight.us/conference

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Calm Technology
Delight Conference | October 5th, 2015 | Portland, OR
http://caseorganic.com | http://calmtech.com
Design for the Internet of Things

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50 billion devices
will be online by
2020. -Cisco

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Sound good?

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Consider…

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The "Smart" Watch

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The "Smart" Fridge

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The Dystopian Kitchen of the Future

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An era of interruptive
technology

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We need a
Calm Technology

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XEROX PARC: mid-90s
Mark Weiser John Seeley Brown

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Designing Calm
Technology

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I. Technology shouldn’t require
all of our attention, just some of
it, and only when necessary

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A Tea Kettle

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II. Technology should
empower the periphery

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Weather Status
Lighting
Hue Lightbulb
connected to a
weather report
Aaron Parecki
@aaronpk 2014

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Light-Based
Status System
connected to
Beeminder
Aaron Parecki
@aaronpk 2014

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III. Technology should inform
and encalm

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Compass
for iPhone
existence.io

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1. Machines shouldn't act like humans
2. Humans shouldn't act like machines
IV. Technology should amplify the
best of technology and the best of
humanity.

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Sleep Cycle
Sleep Tracker
and Alarm
Clock
sleepcycle.com

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Sleep Cycle
Sleep Tracker
and Alarm
Clock
sleepcycle.com

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V. Technology can
communicate,
but it doesn’t need to speak

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LUMOBack Smart Posture Sensor
Buzzes you
when you exhibit
poor posture.

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The Roomba Robotic
Vacuum Cleaner :)

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Weiser’s Status Tone
Alarm Clock
…”the kind of tune the computer plays to wake me
up will tell me something about my first few
appointments of the day. A quick, urgent tune:
8am important meeting. Quiet, reflective music:
nothing until noon”. - Weiser, 1996
From { Open House }* March 1996, ITP Review 2.0, March 1996.

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VI. Technology should
consider social norms

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Restorative
Normal
Enhancing Fear-inducing
Accepted
Invisible
Technology Social EffectExample

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Feature Phones
• Limited Features
• Text and Voice Calls
• Few apps
• Widely adopted over time

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The arrival of the smartphone camera

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Google
Glass

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What
was
different
?
• Design and product launch
• Developer on-boarding
failure
• Secrecy/Mystery/Exclusivity
• Closed System
• Too many features
• Price

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Results
• Reduced play
• Confusion
• Speculation
• Fear

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Questions people asked me when I wore
Google Glass

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Compare to the iPhone Launch
• Improvement on an existing system
(smartphones)
• Developer onboarding
• Limited Features

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Results
• Play (thousands of apps in
the store upon launch)
• Excitement
• Widespread adoption

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VII. The right amount of
technology is the minimum
amount to solve the problem

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Toilet Occupied Sign

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VIII. Technology should make
use of the near and the far

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Evolution of computers over time

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Process as much as possible on the
device itself.
…

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I. Technology should require the smallest amount of our attention.
II. Technology should inform and encalm
III. Technology should empower the periphery
IV. Technology should amplify the best of technology and the best of
humanity
V. Technology should respect social norms
VI. Technology can communicate, but doesn’t need to speak
VII.The right amount of technology is the minimum amount to solve
the problem
VIII.Technology should make use of the near and the far
Eight Principles of Calm Technology

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Good design allows people to
accomplish their goals in the least
amount of moves

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Calm Technology allows people to
accomplish the same goals with the
least amount of mental cost

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A person's primary task
should not be computing, but
being human.

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The scarce resource in the 21st
Century will not be technology.
It will be attention. - Mark Weiser

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Calm Technology
from O’Reilly books
Dec 2015
Available for Pre-Order
and Pre-Release!
http://shop.oreilly.com

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Thank you very much!
Amber Case | @caseorganic
http://caseorganic.com
http://calmtechnology.com