One Page Overview

While ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) research has blossomed over the past decade, few studies have investigated ubicomp systems from a design perspective and fewer still have introduced the possibility of such systems improving emotional well-being.  To that end, this dissertation asks: can ubicomp interactions reduce loneliness in end users? Revealing the answer to this question aligns with recent human-computer interaction (HCI) efforts across several organizations, including ASU, MIT, Intel, Phillips and Microsoft to create technologies that foster positive user experiences rather than experiences optimized for efficient task completion.

The fields of psychology and sociology  have acknowledged loneliness as a loci of concern.  As a core emotion of the human condition, how an interaction with a ubicomp system effects loneliness within end users can serve as a common marker of the system’s value. Additionally, healthcare systems incur millions of dollars in costs due to loneliness related pathologies such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. These same pathologies sabotage the efforts of otherwise healthy people to flourish. Thus, answering the primary question has two implications for interaction design:

1. Generation of new knowledge on how to create compelling ubicomp interactions.


2. The possibility to improve the health of users while conversely reducing healthcare costs associated with loneliness related pathologies, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.

This study proposes a two-part investigation that first explores what types of information will allow designers to create ubicomp interactions that reduce loneliness and then testing the validity of these information types through implementation of ubicomp applications.  The methodology used to conduct the study will take a transdisciplinary approach, drawing from the fields of design, anthropology, positive psychology and computer science. Findings from this investigation are expected to yield an initial taxonomy for designing to reduce loneliness and new directions for designers to experiment with emerging ubicomp system platforms.