Designing Everyday Computational Things

Much development of information technology has been about reducing the importance of distances and user location. Still, many important activities and events are of local nature, for instance serendipitous face-to-face communication. In order to support such communication, as well as other examples of local interaction, we have developed three prototypes all based on wireless short-range communication. The prototypes are functionally self-contained mobile devices that do not rely on any further infrastructure, making the system inexpensive, flexible and easy for users to manipulate. In these experiments, the limited communication range is not conceived as a problem, but rather as a property that can be explored. We present and discuss the Hummingbirds, Generalised Hummingbirds and the NewsPilot, as well as the implications of this approach for humancomputer interaction design © 1999 Springer-Verlag. Published as: Redström, J., Dahlberg, P., Ljungstrand, P. & Holmquist, L. E. (1999). Designing for Local Interaction. In: Nixon, P., Lacey, G. & Dobson, S. (Eds.); Managing Interactions in Smart Environments, pp. 227-238. Springer-Verlag.