James LandayShort-Dooley ProfessorComputer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Washington

3rd US-China CS Leadership SummitPeking UniversityJune 14-15, 2010

Environmental Sustainability through Activity-based Computing

Visiting Faculty ResearcherMicrosoft Research Asia

ubigreenGiving people the tools to reduce resource usage

Landay, Borriello, Fogarty, Patel

ubigreen combines low-cost sensors, inference, & user feedback to track resource usage & “reward” green behaviors

envisioned ambient display showing monthly and daily resource usage

HCI Environmenta

l Psychology

CHI 2010

behavior change

informationprompts

incentives

goal-settingcomparison

feedback

commitment

techniques

1. directs attention2. has energizing function3. affects persistence

Locke & Latham, American Psychologist, 2002

ubigreen transportation displaysenses transit behavior via mobile phone

ambient imagery on phone rewards green transit

CHI 2009

Froehlich, Dillahu, Klasnja, Consolvo, Harrison, Mankoff, Landay

* Joint work w/ CMU & Intel

ubigreen ESM study

MyExperience Tool, MobiSys 2007

ubigreen design

ActivityDesignerCHI 2008

Prototyped in 3 days• 4 weeks for final system• two versions – easy w/ AD

Pilot field study• 12 in Seattle/Pittsburgh• ran prototype for 2-4 weeks

Results• many wanted to keep using• saw some behavior “change”• liked unfolding story

ubigreen transportation display

ubigreen home energy sensing

contact-less current sensor

senses any appliance & associated current used anywhere in entire home

uses 2 low-cost sensors• one at a single outlet• one attached to outside

of breaker box

Patel

Ubicomp 2008

ubigreen HomeEnergyTable

Everitt, Kam, Landay

Viewing Monthly kWh (and pounds CO2)

Adjusting Monthly Goals

Viewing Details

Viewing & Categorizing Tips

TravelTable

ubigreen home water sensingsenses flow & fixture-level activity (e.g., particular toilet, dishwasher) using easy-to-install sensors

• senses pressure at a single point

currently designing feedback for home display & field trial

Won 2009 UW Environmental Innovation Challenge

Froehlich, Fogarty, Patel

Ubicomp 2009

HydroSense

Home with HydroSense

Unique Pressure Transients

Tested in 10 Homes

outdoor hose spigot utility faucetwater heater

98% aggregate accuracy in controlled experimentfor detecting open/close valve events

HydroSense 2.0Identify partial valve open/close eventsCompound fixture eventsCompound hot/cold eventsAutomatically distinguish hot vs. cold waterAutomatically detect type of fixture

Water Usage Feedback

27

Environmental Sustainability Through Activity-Based Computing

Help people to improve their environmental behavior• use long-lived activity as the primary organizing focus

Solve these problems using• sensing: low cost, using existing infrastructure• inference: actions & high level activities• feedback: ambient on phones, web, & decorative

objects

James LandayShort-Dooley ProfessorComputer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Washington

3rd US-China CS Leadership Summit Peking UniversityJune 14-15, 2010

Environmental Sustainability through Activity-based Computing

Visiting Faculty ResearcherMicrosoft Research Asia

landay@cs.washington.eduhttp://dub.washington.edu