Comments on: Here's a way to communicate "I'm busy" in immersive environments

By: Erica Driver

Erica Driver — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:58:12 +0000

Hi InformationSpan: I remember IBM BlueSpace (http://www.research.ibm.com/bluespace/) — is this what you are thinking of? Wouldn’t it be great if that research made its way into standard office furniture systems? Bluespace was a joint venture with Steelcase, I think. I wonder why nothing ever came of it.

Anyway — in immersive environments we can do pretty much anything we want so something BlueSpace-like is exactly the kind of thing I’d like to see. What I set up in my space on ReactionGrid is more or less a bubble around me. My little prototype system is very manual, though, as I don’t have scripting skills and for rich automation it would have to be integrated with my calendar (e.g., Outlook) and presence information (e.g., Skype). Feel free to check out my space by creating an account on ReactionGrid at http://www.reactiongrid.com. I’d be happy to chat with you about it there, too, if you like.

By: InformationSpan

InformationSpan — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:03:49 +0000

Hi Erica – this reminded me of some real-world developments I saw at IBM Research on a field trip a year or two back. Think a cubicle-style open office; they had, if I remember correctly, motion sensor cameras and if you were (a) absent or (b) sitting still and obviously concentrating, the system changed the colour of an indicator over the cubicle top so colleagues would know not to interrupt. I wonder if there’s a way to translate this into immersive?

Actually when I first glanced at the picture on your post, I thought you had your avatar sitting in a bubble – visible but not communicative. Is that another idea?

By: Erica Driver

Erica Driver — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:18:12 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Mo. Tonight while I was logged into ReactionGrid I was discussing this topic with a ThinkBalm Innovation Community member who stopped in — Trevor Meister. He suggested that to address bullet point #2 above a simple landmark would be good. He created a landmark that puts me right in my “I’m busy” space. If my phone rings or a meeting starts I can quickly put my avatar there. He also suggested some type of heads up display (HUD) I could use to manage my presence and availability info. I’ve reached the limits of my building skills, though, and have zippo scripting skills — so I’ll wait on that one.

I need to learn more about Rob Smart’s work. I’m following him on Twitter, look forward to learning more.

By: Mo Hax

Mo Hax — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:31:34 +0000

Best of luck Erica. I am interested to see your own conclusions about this. Something of the irony of ‘Set Busy’ in Second Life (the only way currently to automatically have a message machine leave a customized ‘I am not here’ message) is that when on it completely shuts down any and all incoming group IMs. Combine that with the frustration of only being able to reliably see group IMs from within an SL viewer and you sense the dilemma.

In short, many are looking longing forward to more Web 2.0 connection with Second Life and OpenSim and many are making steps toward it, such as Rob Smart’s osParseJSON() methods facilitating social web site mashups. I imagine it won’t be too long before the two merge.