Table Of Contentq;
Providing Lightweight Telepresence in Mobile
Communication to Enhance Collaborative Living
by
Natalia Marmasse
B.S., Computer Science
Empire State College, State University of New York, 1995
S.M., Media Arts and Sciences,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999
Submitted to the Program in Media Arts and Sciences,
School of Architecture and Planning,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN MEDIA ARTS AND SCIENCES
at the
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE of TECHNOLOGY
September 2004
C Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004. All Rights Reserved.
Author:
Program in Media Arts and Science
August 23, 2004
Certified by:
Christopher M. Schmandt
Principal Research Scientist, MIT Media Laboratory
A1 Thesis Advisor
Accepted by:
Andrew B3. Lippman
S31WUVUl Chair, Departmental Committee on Graduate Students
Program in Media Arts and Sciences
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Providing Lightweight Telepresence in Mobile
Communication to Enhance Collaborative Living
by
Natalia Marmasse
Submitted to the Program in Media Arts and Sciences,
School of Architecture and Planning in August 2004
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN MEDIA ARTS AND SCIENCES
Abstract
Two decades of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) research has addressed how
people work in groups and the role technology plays in the workplace. This body of work has
resulted in a myriad of deployed technologies with underlying theories and evaluations. It is
our hypothesis that similar technologies, and lessons learned from this domain, can also be
employed outside the workplace to help people get on with life. The group in this environment
is a special set of people with whom we have day-to-day relationships, people who are willing
to share intimate personal information. Therefore we call this computer-supported
collaborativel iving.
This thesis describes a personal communicator in the form of a watch, intended to provide a
link between family members or intimate friends, providing social awareness and helping
them infer what is happening in another space and the remote person's availability for
communication. The watch enables the wearers to be always connected via awareness cues,
text and voice instant message, or synchronous voice connectivity. Sensors worn with the
watch track location (via GPS), acceleration, and speech activity; these are classified and
conveyed to the other party, where they appear in iconic form on the watch face, providing a
lightweight form of telepresence. When a remote person with whom this information is shared
examines it, their face appears on the watch of the person being checked on. A number of
design criteria defined for collaborative living systems are illustrated through this device.
Thesis Advisor: Christopher M. Schmandt
Title: Principal Research Scientist, MIT Media Laboratory
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Providing Lightweight Telepresence in Mobile
Communication to Enhance Collaborative Living
by
Natalia Marmasse
Thesis Committee
Thesis Advisor:
Christopher M. Schmandt
Principal Research Scientist
MIT Media Laboratory
Thesis Reader:
Deb C. Roy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
MIT Media Laboratory
Thesis Reader:
Joseph L. Dvorak, Ph.D.
Distinguished Member of Technical Staff
Motorola
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Dedication
To Isabelle and Rapi for your unconditional love and support, for the
moon in the right dose, proteins, for not choosing the jungle option, and
for much more than any words could express.
You have been my fortitude in the last few years.
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Acknowledgements
First I thank my advisor Chris Schmandt who provided me with the opportunity and the
environment in which to carry out my research. I also wish to thank my committee members:
Deb Roy, with whom I have taken several classes and especially benefited from his Pattern
Recognition class, and Joe Dvorak, without whom this project would not have been possible.
Joe was enthusiastic from the moment I scratched out some drawings on my whiteboard and
has provided hardware and support for the project ever since. I am also grateful to Motorola
for their help and support, and for awarding me a fellowship.
MIT and the Media Lab are a unique environment in which to learn. In my years here I have
met many people. Some have inspired me, others have challenged me, some have helped me
along the way, and others have made the journey more pleasant and enjoyable. I have been
inspired by professors such as Marvin Minsky, Patrick Winston and Whitman Richards. I feel
indebted to Michael Hawley for enabling me to participate in the Everest 1998 project; the
weeks spent in Nepal and on Mt. Everest were an unforgettable experience, and since then
GPS and other sensors have found their way into almost all my projects. Many thanks also to
Linda Peterson for all her support, and to my peers and colleagues for making the lab the
uncommon place that it is.
I would like to acknowledge all members, and honorary members, of the Speech Group, in
particular: Stefan, who started this long journey at the same time; Sean, my officemate and
friend of many years; both Kwan and Jang, whom I would have liked to know better; Vidya
and Nigel, for great conversations that hopefully will continue in the years to come; Assaf and
Joseph, newer officemates but together we made a good team, and last but not least, Sunil, an
honorary member of the group and friend.
Special thanks to: Emmanuel Munguia and Gerardo Vallejo for long nights of hardware
hacking and deep conversations; David Spectre without whom the watch would have looked
very different and for the numerous 3 am breaks to watch the Simpsons; Assaf Feldman for
help with the speech detector and his excellent cooking; Joseph Corral who worked as an
undergrad on the project, and Anna Pandolfo for help with the questionnaires.
I am very fortunate to have such good and solid friends, on different continents. I am grateful
to Tanzeem and Raj for more than years of delicious food and a warm home, and to numerous
friends in Israel, both on and off the kibbutz, who after so many years still have the feeling
that they do not see me much just because I am having another long day at the office but could
walk in at any moment. And finally, I am especially thankful to Isabelle and Rapi, Lucienne
and Sead.
