Stefan Marti Speech Interface Group MIT Media Lab

What We All Want The ultimate communication device! Universal, has everything built in Works everywhere, anytime Long range, never runs out of battery, etc

Solution? The CommBadge! FOR MORE INFO... Please watch the TV show Star Trek. Above model will be available at around 2364…

Instead: Current Solution Cellphones, pagers, other cellphones, more pagers, wireless PDAs, etc.

Actually, there’s even more… Fax machines, wired phones, desktop computers, etc.

Why this variety? We don’t have the technology to pack everything into one device (will change in the future) Smallest devices will never be universal (wrist, finger ring, ear ring) AND: No one device fits all situations!

Our Solution! Something that integrates all our existing communication channels and devices:

Active Messenger (AM) is a kind of agent software that deals with a user’s incoming AM manages this user’s communication channels AM is used by two users for two years now

AM guarantees the delivery of messages AM modifies its filtering and forwarding rules depending on which devices are being used and current location of user

Related Documents Main feature that makes it better than other solutions: it can wait! Scenario: What happens when an message arrives? Let’s assume the following “channel sequence”: wait 10 minutes, send to Pager wait 13 minutes, send to Voicepager wait 13 minutes, send to Phone wait 35 minutes, send to Fax

Monday 6:50am7:00am7:10am7:20am7:30am7:40am7:50am8:00am Ok to use Pager: anytime Voicepager: not 0-7 Phone: not M-F 22-8 Fax: not 2-7:30 6:57am arrival of message send to Pager 10 minutes send to Voicepager 13 minutes Ok to use send to Phone 13 minutes User reads message! 35 minutes Ok to use NOT ok to use! done! skip it! send to Fax cancel!

How Does It Work? How does AM choose specific “channel sequences”? AM solves the routing and forwarding problem using context information.

Context Sensitivity 1. User location Where is the user? 2. Message priority How important is message? 3. Message history Is this message part of thread? 4. Message status Was the message read? 5. Channel status Which channels are active?

User Location Where is the user? Most devices are not location aware Obvious: AM keeps track of user with caller ID information and UNIX “finger” command AM also infers from user behavior: From which channel did she communicate most recently? Soon: cell trilateration, other tracking options like GPS. (Will make AM just more accurate.) 1. User location 2. Message priority 3. Message history 4. Message status 5. Channel status

Message Priority How important is a message? Complex problem – almost philosophical. What is really important in my life? Anyways: Certain people are important, certain facts too: Static rules AM uses other information sources, like user’s calendar, address book, and communication history: Dynamic rules, created by CLUES 1. User location 2. Message priority 3. Message history 4. Message status 5. Channel status

Message History Is the message part of a thread? Instead of sending a message to a sequence of channels, pick the channel it originates from. This assumes that the message is part of a thread, going back an forth, perhaps a kind of semi-synchronous communication. 1. User location 2. Message priority 3. Message history 4. Message status 5. Channel status

Message History, cont. Usually: Channel sequence 1. User location 2. Message priority 3. Message history 4. Message status 5. Channel status Option: Association of channel with thread

Message status Is message read? When message is read, job is done! Usually not enough feedback from devices BUT: User’s behavior could give a hint! Message read level is not binary (yes/no), but a continuum, a “probability level” between 0% and 100% (85% is enough usually.) 1. User location 2. Message priority 3. Message history 4. Message status 5. Channel status

Channel Status Which channel is active? AM continuously checks all peripheral systems if they are working It skips channels and devices that seem to be not working Again, it uses back channel information from user 1. User location 2. Message priority 3. Message history 4. Message status 5. Channel status

Summary of AM Features Context information is used to solve the routing and forwarding problem Behavioral heuristics are applied to enhance unclear context information AM has a temporal dimension: It can wait for user reactions and other events to happen

Stefan Marti and Chris Schmandt Speech Interface Group