The Personal Audio Loop: Designing a Ubiquitous Audio-Based Memory Aid

Sound is an important medium in our lives, but its ephemeral nature can be problematic when people cannot recall something they heard in the past. Motivated by everyday conversational breakdowns, we present the design of a continuous, near-term audio buffering application: the Personal Audio Loop (PAL). PAL was designed as a truly ubiquitous service to recover audio content from a person’s recent past. Initial brainstorming and prototyping for PAL revealed major aspects of the design space that require further investigation, including potential usefulness in everyday life, the level of ubiquity required, the usability features for any instantiation of the service, and the social and legal considerations for potential deployment. We present a design of PAL, informed by a controlled laboratory study, diary study, and examination of pertinent legislation. We conclude with an analysis of the results and some initial observations of the deployment of a prototype developed for a Motorola i730 handset.