Design and Study of an Ambient Display Embedded in the Wardrobe

One of the opportunities of ubiquitous computing is to provide information in new ways in our everyday environments. In this paper we explore novel display opportunities in everyday situations with the design and study of the Hanger Display – a system for ambiently conveying information embedded in a wardrobe. We have built a working prototype of this display and explored it with users in a formative study. The results of the study show that this display is useful and appealing to people. Our experience creating and evaluating the Hanger Display also provided interesting insights for future work in embedding technology in everyday objects. In particular, we saw that such technology is beneficial because it provides information in places where it is useful, taking advantage of the established meaning of artifacts and places, and seamlessly supporting activities that occur in these places. In addition, we learned that such embodied interfaces could lead to new interaction possibilities, doing more than simply displaying peripheral information.