With a vision to connect people, the Nokia Very Human Technology Project encompasses the facilitation of existing technologies and mobile phone features in a new manner that encourages rich communication, self expression and creativity. With the advent of Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, and Wikipedia, we observe the trend of the communication industry turning toward Web 2.0, meaning user generated content and community based communication. Furthermore there is a push to bring Web 2.0 into mobile devices.
Within the field of Mobile 2.0, we find context relevant graphical commenting to not only encompass the latest trend in social networking, but to also effectively address the need of mobile communication devices that provide an experience that is second nature i.e., as easy to use as pen and paper. Rather than being viewed as an intrusive communication technology, we envision graphical mobile commenting to become a natural choice for human communication.
These trends have led to our development of Ki’i. The Ki’i book is a mobile handheld device that allows users to create and access self-expressive drawings and comments, known as Ki’i art. The Ki’i emphasizes and motivates social networking through user generated illustrations and remarks being shared world wide.
The Ki’i
The user can use Ki’i during multiple activities: it can be used at work, with friends and family or while participating in hobbies. The user can easily generate Ki’i art through 3 easy steps: snap it, ki’i it, and share it (Figure 1.1). Users can then view this Ki’i art through the use of location detection, dynamic filters, and user generated tags.
The Ki’i has been broken down into 3 subsystems, including a functional interface, an ideal user interface, and a form factor. The functional interface is a complete working version of the Ki’i, incorporating web based technologies and a JavaScript programmed interface for navigation and filtering. It is implemented on an ultra-portable Windows XP laptop for ease of program development and wireless networking. The user interface is designed with the use of Flash programming and allows users to view and interact with all elements of the interface, especially with regards to browsing through photos with our viewfinder. The form factor of the Ki’i book is an ideal device to illustrate the ultimate product look and feel, which balances the key factors of visibility and portability.
From user testing we learned that users highly appreciated the dynamic filtering and location detection. While the Ki’i book has an attractive design, potential users would like to have the option to use mobile devices they already own to draw Ki’i art.
Conclusions and Future Work
The Ki’i is designed to meaningfully connect our physical and digital worlds while facilitating communication between communities. Following positive user testing of the functional interface, ideal user interface, and the form factor, the next steps will be to combine these three areas into a single device. With a growing trend in social networking, the Ki’i will not only help facilitate communication between communities, but it will encourage self expression and creativity, enriching communication through symbols, emotions, and graphical expressions.
