Pseudo-Ambience: Filling the Gap Between Notifications and Continuous Information Displays

A hallmark of ambient displays is their constant presence in the periphery of the user's attention, such as the Ambient Orb1 that changes color based on the outdoor weather. Users of such a device can explicitly turn their attention to the device if they are curious about the current weather conditions, and also be notified of a change by noticing the light changing abruptly, e.g., as a thunderstorm suddenly begins. However, especially in a mobile context, it can be difficult to have truly continuous indicators that are not fatiguing, annoying, or consuming considerable power. We propose "pseudo-ambient" displays that are not continuous, yet are nearly always accessible since they are triggered at regular intervals. Our contention is that such displays can potentially provide most of the benefits of a fully continuous ambient display, with limited drawbacks. In this work we focus on haptic pseudo-ambient displays. Yet, we believe the same approach can apply to other modalities, such as visual and audio.