Suspicious Boxes and Friendly Aliens: Exploring the Physical Design of Urban Sensing Technology

Hans-Christian Jetter, Sarah Gallacher, Vaiva Kalnikaite, Yvonne Rogers

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingsConference contributionpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper explores how the physical design of urban sensors (i.e. shape, appearance) can change city dwellers' attitudes and perceptions towards being sensed. We illustrate different physical designs of urban sensors that were created by participants during a design workshop. We then describe how actual citizens reacted to the different designs during short-term deployments in the city. Based on this data and related work, we reflect about more general implications for the physical design of urban sensors. For example, we found that anthropomorphic and zoomorphic designs resulted in greater engagement and trust while neutral or less visible designs created rejection and anxiety. We illustrate our implications in the form of a fictitious urban sensing device. This device uses zoomorphism to create trust but also lets citizens exert control over what is sensed and when it is sensed.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationUrb-IoT 2014 - 1st International Conference on IoT in Urban Space, Conference Proceedings
PublisherACM Press
Pages68-73
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781631900372
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Oct 2014
EventFirst International Conference on IoT in Urban Space (Urb-IoT ’14) - Rome, Italy, Italy
Duration: 27 Oct 201428 Oct 2014
http://urbaniot.org/

Publication series

NameUrb-IoT 2014 - 1st International Conference on IoT in Urban Space, Conference Proceedings

Conference

ConferenceFirst International Conference on IoT in Urban Space (Urb-IoT ’14)
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityRome, Italy
Period27.10.201428.10.2014
Internet address

Keywords

  • Anthropomorphism
  • Internet of things
  • Physical design
  • Privacy
  • Sensors
  • Smart cities
  • Zoomorphism

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