HCC: Small: Energy Signature of Interaction Techniques for Low Power Bi-Stable Displays Information Appliances

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

Looking back at Weiser's 1991 vision of ubiquitous computing, many of his predictions have been surpassed, often by several orders of magnitude: information appliances sport ever more powerful processors, store in excess of 64 GB of data onto solid state chips, and have constant high-bandwidth access to the network. Yet one prediction that has not been realized, as anybody who uses mobile computers today can attest, is the ability to use information appliances for several days before recharging them. While battery life is the cornerstone (without sufficient battery life the burden of maintaining multiple mobile devices outweighs the advantages), three emerging technologies may significantly alter the energy footprint of information appliances: bi-stable displays which only consume energy when they are refreshed; Magnetic RAM (MRAM) which combines the speed of SRAM, the density of DRAM, and the non-volatility of FLASH memory; and a new generation of powerful embedded processors that support aggressive power saving strategies, and which offer a preview of the potential of energy efficient asynchronous processors. Combined, these technologies will make it possible to create systems where power consumption is near zero while quiescent, a significant departure from the behavior of current devices. The PI's goal in this project is to investigate how the various interaction techniques we know of today might benefit a low energy architecture enabled by the aforementioned emerging technologies. The team has extensive experience with hardware design, hardware simulation, and empirical evaluation. Project outcomes will contribute to a better understanding of the parameters influencing the design of very low power interfaces, and will include: an openly available hardware test bed for evaluating interaction technique energy signatures; the first systematic evaluation of the energy footprint of command selection and navigation techniques to complement the extensive performance data already gathered; an evaluation of the potential of sensor-assisted techniques to reduce the energy consumption of information appliances; and the first evaluations of the potential of asynchronous design to enable very low power information appliances. Evaluations will be performed in the lab and through longitudinal deployments, considering a variety of tasks, to further increase the external validity of the results. Broader Impacts: Project outcomes will establish the empirical foundations for very low energy interface designs that will help researchers and designers better understand the energy implications of various interaction techniques. They will offer researchers and practitioners the tools and toolkits they need to quickly implement and evaluate the overall energy footprint of a design, and thus will significantly lower the barrier to entry into this research area. Furthermore, they will support new curricula that focus on energy consumption. Given that information appliance use is accelerating, and since the distinction between information appliances and personal computers is blurring, this work will have a great impact on reducing the overall energy consumed for our everyday information needs.