Finding Lost Objects: Informing the Design of Ubiquitous Computing Services for the Home
Rodney E. Peters, Richard Pak, Gregory D. Abowd, Arthur Dan Fisk, Wendy A. Rogers · 2004
Factors that influence the finding of objects can be numerous and complex. Ubiquitous computing solutions for this problem begin with underlying technologies (location-sensing and capture) as building blocks for real applications. This paper investigates the real-world nature of what losing an object means and the strategies used to find those objects. A comprehensive survey on the nature of finding lost objects provides insights for the design of human-centered, object-finding services. A systematic analysis of the responses showed the importance of identifying object types, timescale of use, supporting situational factors (reasons for loss and strategies of recovery), and targeting an age-defined user population (user desire and degree of support) when building these services. These criteria motivate a checklist for systematically evaluating both existing and proposed lost object finding services.