Designing for Implicit and Positive Interactions - Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things in Support of Car Drivers.

How can AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things) technologies be combined to support positive interactions in ambient spaces? This was our overarching research question. In addressing this question, we worked in close collaboration with an IT-company and explored one IoT-based design and one AI-based design, and we examined ways of integrating the two designs in an interactive system for the particular use context of a parking lot for cars. In this use context we explored the design of an interactive system that would enable car drivers to easily find an available parking lot, while staying focused on driving rather than being focused on traditional man-machine interaction. With this model in mind we designed two prototype systems based on the idea of “implicit interaction”, and we considered how the use of AI (computer vision) and IoT (connected sensors) would enable a reliable solution that would allow the system to “see” available parking lots, and recommend these to the car driver – implicitly and automatically. In this paper we present our work on these two prototypes and our ideas on how to combine AI and IoT in this design. We also report from a preliminary user in order to answer a fundamental question here, i.e. –“How can we develop interaction models for such ambient spaces that adds to the quality of life for its users and inhabitants?”. We conclude this paper with our design recommendations for how to design for positive interactions by relying on implicit interaction models and the combination of AI and IoT technologies.