Arbitrating Multimodal Outputs: Using Ambient Displays as Interruptions

This work explores the use of ambient displays in the context of interruption. A multimodal interface was created to interrupt users using ambient displays in the form of heat and light. These ambient displays acted as external interruption generators. Experimental results show there are different effects on performance and disruptiveness caused by interruption modalities. Thermal interruptions have a larger detrimental effect than light interruptions on disruptiveness and performance. These results offer guidelines for interface designers to help them select interaction modalities to accommodate people’s limitations relative to focus, concentration and interruptions. Furthermore, this work also shows that it is possible to differentiate between modalities and create multimodal interfaces that arbitrate between interruption modalities based on their effectiveness, user’s performance, and disruptive effects.