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Luis Oliveira

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Research areas:User-Centred DesignUser ExperienceHuman-computer interactionPersuasive technologyBehaviour changeEnergy savingSustainable transportRail transport
Supervisors: Val Mitchell and Kevin Badni

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Papers by Luis Oliveira

Smart home technology—comparing householder expectations at the point of installation with experiences 1 year later

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

This study, with 19 households, set out to analyse the expected benefits and anticipated challeng... more This study, with 19 households, set out to analyse the expected benefits and anticipated challenges to the introduction of smart home technology (SHT), and to compare these to post-use experiences after living with the technology for 1 year. Contextual interviews were undertaken with householders during the installation of a range of SHT, and again approximately 1 year later, when householders had the option to keep the technology or have some or all of it removed. This identified whether initial expectations were met, whether initial concerns persisted and whether new issues, concerns, and benefits (that had not been initially anticipated) arose after an extended period of use. Initial expectations from all households were high-related to comfort, convenience, improved control, energy demand reduction, and integration of technologies. There were also many initial concerns, including reliability, usability, and how these systems would be 'domesticated' to fit existing routines. After living with the systems for 1 year, many expectations were met, but the added value (and hence the match between expectations and reality) was higher for households with varied routines and large, partially occupied houses. Some of the anticipated challenges-such as concerns over aesthetics-largely disappeared, issues to do with the awkward location of network components persisted and new issues arose relating to the usability of some components and the time and effort required to configure them. Recommendations are given to maximise the added value that SHT can provide to householders.

Driving Style: How Should an Automated Vehicle Behave?

Information, 2019

This article reports on a study to investigate how the driving behaviour of autonomous vehicles i... more This article reports on a study to investigate how the driving behaviour of autonomous vehicles influences trust and acceptance. Two different designs were presented to two groups of participants (n = 22/21), using actual autonomously driving vehicles. The first was a vehicle programmed to drive similarly to a human, "peeking" when approaching road junctions as if it was looking before proceeding. The second design had a vehicle programmed to convey the impression that it was communicating with other vehicles and infrastructure and "knew" if the junction was clear so could proceed without ever stopping or slowing down. Results showed non-significant differences in trust between the two vehicle behaviours. However, there were significant increases in trust scores overall for both designs as the trials progressed. Post-interaction interviews indicated that there were pros and cons for both driving styles, and participants suggested which aspects of the driving styles could be improved. This paper presents user information recommendations for the design and programming of driving systems for autonomous vehicles, with the aim of improving their users' trust and acceptance.

Evaluating How Interfaces Influence the User Interaction with Fully Autonomous Vehicles

by Luis Oliveira, Chris Burns, and P. Jennings

AutomotiveUI '18 Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, 2018

With increasing automation, occupants of fully autonomous vehicles are likely to be completely di... more With increasing automation, occupants of fully autonomous vehicles are likely to be completely disengaged from the driving task. However, even with no driving involved, there are still activities that will require interfaces between the vehicle and passengers. This study evaluated different configurations of screens providing operational-related information to occupants for tracking the progress of journeys. Surveys and interviews were used to measure trust, usability, workload and experience after users were driven by an autonomous low speed pod. Results showed that participants want to monitor the state of the vehicle and see details about the ride, including a map of the route and related information. There was a preference for this information to be displayed via an onboard touchscreen device combined with an overhead letterbox display versus a smartphone-based interface. This paper provides recommendations for the design of devices with the potential to improve the user interaction with future autonomous vehicles.

Analysing passengers’ behaviours when boarding trains to improve rail infrastructure and technology

Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 2019

Concentrated boarding describes the phenomenon when rail passengers congregate in certain areas o... more Concentrated boarding describes the phenomenon when rail passengers congregate in certain areas of the platform and board the train carriages that stop near these areas. This influences the distribution of passengers throughout the carriages, which can negatively affect passenger comfort, safety at the platform-train interface, efficiency of the rail network, and the reputation of rail travel as a whole. This project aimed to determine whether concentrated boarding occurs in stations in the UK in order to understand its relevance for future rolling stock, infrastructure design and its associated manufacturing research. Video recording technology was used to observe the movements of passengers in Oxford Station and data was collected for nine individual trains. By reviewing the recordings, the number of passengers boarding through each door of the trains was determined, and the boarding distribution along the length of the platform was plotted. Several reasons for noted trends are offered, and potential solutions proposed. The use of real time information could be invaluable to minimise concentrated boarding, as it would allow passengers to make informed decisions as to where they could board trains to have a better journey experience. These findings indicate the relevance of a human-centred design process, particularly the user research stages, in the process of defining priorities for manufacturing and engineering.

Understanding users' behaviours in relation to concentrated boarding: implications for rail infrastructure and technology

Advances in Manufacturing Technology XXXI, 2017

Concentrated boarding describes the phenomenon when rail passengers congregate in certain areas o... more Concentrated boarding describes the phenomenon when rail passengers congregate in certain areas of the platform, such as at main entrances and staircases. This influences the distribution of passengers throughout the carriages, which can negatively affect passenger comfort, safety at the platform train interface, efficiency of the rail network, and the reputation of rail travel as a whole. This project aimed to determine whether concentrated boarding occur in rail stations in the UK in order to understand its relevance for future rolling stock and infrastructure design and its associated manufacturing research. Video recording technology was used to observe the movements of passengers in Oxford Station, and data was collected for nine trains. By reviewing the recordings, the number of passengers boarding through each door of the trains was determined, and the boarding distributions along the length of the platform were plotted. Several reasons for noted trends were offered, and potential solutions proposed. The use of real time information could be invaluable to minimise concentrated boarding, as it would allow passengers to make informed decisions as to where they could board trains to have a better journey experience. These findings indicate the relevance of a human-centred design process, particularly the user research stages in the process of defining priorities for manufacturing and engineering.

Understanding passengers' experiences of train journeys to inform the design of technological innovations

by Luis Oliveira, S. Birrell, Neil Tinworth, Callum Bradley, and Andy Davies

University of Cincinnati, 2017

In this paper, we present results from a collaborative research between academic institutions and... more In this paper, we present results from a collaborative research between academic institutions and industry partners in the UK, which aimed to understand the experience of rail passengers and to identify how the design of technology can improve this experience. Travelling by train can often provide passengers with negative experiences. New technologies give the opportunity to design new interactions that support the creation of positive experiences, but the design should be based on solid understanding of user and their needs. We conducted in-depth, face-to-face semi-structured interviews and used additional questionnaires given to passengers on board of trains to collect the data presented on this paper. A customer journey map was produced to illustrate the passengers' experiences at diverse touchpoints with the rail system. The positive and negative aspects of each touchpoint are plotted over the course of a 'typical' journey, followed by the explanations for these ratings. Results indicate how the design of technological innovations can enhance the passenger experience, especially at the problematic touchpoints, e.g. when collecting tickets, navigating to the platform, boarding the train and finding a seat. We finalise this paper pointing towards requirements for future technological innovations to improve the passenger experience. Sometimes passengers have negative experiences when travelling by train (Wockatz & Schartau, 2015). There are diverse aspects of the rail transport that could be improved (Transport Focus,

Pre-installation challenges: classifying barriers to the introduction of smart home technology

by Luis Oliveira and Val Mitchell

Increasing technological developments indicate potential for a variety of improvements in the dom... more Increasing technological developments indicate potential for a variety of improvements in the domestic environment. As part of an interdisciplinary research project, this study interviewed households prior to the installation of smart home technologies (SHTs) in order to identify critical issues at the pre-installation phase. Semi-structured interviews took place in 16 houses before the installation of SHTs, when a range of smart sensors and controls were presented to households for the first time. At this stage, they started to make key decisions about which devices to use, where to install, and how to position them. Participants mentioned diverse issues surrounding the introduction of SHTs. To guide the qualitative analysis, an organizing framework for research on smart homes and their users was used. This paper indicates that, even though participants appreciate the functional aspects of SHTs and the possibilities of a better living, their concerns related to technology (hardware & software), design (acceptability & usability) and spaces (home as complex places) are numerous. These results complement the existing literature (which focuses more on the use phase) with the perceived enablers and barriers prior to the installation of SHTs.

Phone-based presentation of other commuters’ subjective experiences: impact on car-driver intentions

by Luis Oliveira and Tracy Ross

University of Copenhagen , 2015

Previous research demonstrates that people using active modes of transport (e.g. walking or cycli... more Previous research demonstrates that people using active modes of transport (e.g. walking or cycling) generally report more positive subjective wellbeing than car drivers. This study demonstrates an experiment investigating the impact of this information
on car drivers. We designed a smartphone application (CommuterExperience), which captures drivers’ subjective experiences (via comments and ratings) after the commute and displays similar data from other people using different modes of transport. After a two week trial, participants (n=18) were interviewed and qualitative data were analysed. We evaluate how the application managed to encourage comparison, foster reflection and ultimately influence opinions, intentions to change and, potentially, behaviour.

Scenario analysis as a tool for informing the design of behaviour change interventions

by Luis Oliveira and Val Mitchell

This article presents the design process behind the specification of a behaviour change intervent... more This article presents the design process behind the specification of a behaviour change intervention method to promote energy saving. The amount of energy used for food preparation is highly influenced by people’s behaviours. A user-centred design approach based on scenario analysis was applied to provide understanding of context of use and specification of user requirements. This knowledge was applied to the design of behaviour change interventions to motivate sustainable behaviours.

Pre-installation challenges: classifying barriers to the introduction of smart home technology

by Luis Oliveira, Val Mitchell, and Andrew May

Increasing technological developments indicate potential for a variety of improvements in the dom... more Increasing technological developments indicate potential for a variety of improvements in the domestic environment. As part of an interdisciplinary research project, this study interviewed households prior to the installation of smart home technologies (SHTs) in order to identify critical issues at the pre-installation phase. Semi-structured interviews took place in 16 houses before the installation of SHTs, when a range of smart sensors and controls were presented to households for the first time. At this stage, they started to make key decisions about which devices to use, where to install, and how to position them. Participants mentioned diverse issues surrounding the introduction of SHTs. To guide the qualitative analysis, an organizing framework for research on smart homes and their users was used. This paper indicates that, even though participants appreciate the functional aspects of SHTs and the possibilities of a better living, their concerns related to technology (hardware & software), design (acceptability & usability) and spaces (home as complex places) are numerous. These results complement the existing literature (which focuses more on the use phase) with the perceived enablers and barriers prior to the installation of SHTs.

A Feasibility Study of the Effect of Phone-Based Feedback of Other Commuters’ Subjective Experiences on Driver Intentions to Change

by Andrea Burris, Luis Oliveira, and Tracy Ross

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2015

Using social network games to reduce energy consumption

by Val Mitchell and Luis Oliveira

This research is investigating the potential role of online social network based life simulation ... more This research is investigating the potential role of online social network based life simulation computer games as a persuasive tool for encouraging users to reduce their domestic energy consumption. Games such as 'Farmville'which runs on the Facebook platform have attracted millions of users worldwide who create simple virtual worlds where they interact with others and carry out everyday activities to earn tokens to spend within the game.

Designing a smart phone app for sustainable cooking

by Luis Oliveira and Val Mitchell

UbiComp '13 Adjunct. Proceedings of the 2013 ACM Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing Adjunct Publication, Sep 8, 2013

This research is focusing upon the human-computer interaction (HCI), evaluating the relationship ... more This research is focusing upon the human-computer interaction (HCI), evaluating the relationship between users and cooking appliances mediated by information-communication technologies (ICTs) applications designed specifically to motivate energy saving. User observation, energy monitoring and semi-structured interviews helped to understand user behaviours and its respective determinants. Group discussions and large scale surveys were used to evaluate the acceptance of energy saving techniques and intervention methods. This knowledge informed the development of a persuasive electronic energy saving intervention in the form of a mobile phone application, which is being tested.

Cooking behaviours: understanding energy use to design persuasive applications

by Luis Oliveira and Val Mitchell

Persuasive 2011: The Sixth International Conference on Persuasive Technology, Jun 5, 2011

Electric cookers and kettles are often high electricity consumers amongst household appliances. C... more Electric cookers and kettles are often high electricity consumers amongst household appliances. Cooking requires several interactions with these appliances, and furthermore people’s behaviours play an important role in the energy consumption. This research is seeking to understand people’s behaviours whilst cooking and also identify the determinants of these behaviours. Energy monitoring, video recording and semi-structured questionnaires were used to gather this information. This knowledge will inform the development of an intervention aiming at reducing energy expenditure.

Cooking behaviours: a user observation study to understand energy use and motivate savings

Electric cookers are one of the highest energy consuming domestic appliances, and there are sever... more Electric cookers are one of the highest energy consuming domestic appliances, and there are several aspects that can influence the amount of energy used when preparing a meal. Appliance characteristics are shown to influence consumption, but human factors play an important role in the overall electricity usage. A user observation study was conducted among university students to understand how they use electric cookers. They were asked to perform a specific cooking task, and the electricity usage was measured. Participants' behaviours were analysed and compared with a set of energy saving techniques. Appliance characteristics that influenced how students use energy were also investigated. The results show that users performed the task in several different ways, presenting diverse energy consumption, the average being 3 times above the necessary to complete the task. This information is now informing the design of interventions to motivate people to change their behaviours whilst cooking.

Understanding cooking behaviours to design energy saving interventions

People’s behaviours play an important role in energy consumption, especially whilst dealing with ... more People’s behaviours play an important role in energy consumption, especially whilst dealing with high consumption, highly interactive appliances such as cookers. In a user observation study conducted among university students, participants were asked to perform a simple cooking task. Their behaviours were analysed and compared with a set of recommended practices. The electricity usage and time to complete the activity were also measured. The results show that participants performed in several different ways, presenting diverse energy usage. The determinants of these behaviours were also collected, and will help to inform the design of interventions to motivate people to change their behaviours whilst cooking.

Smart home technology—comparing householder expectations at the point of installation with experiences 1 year later

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

This study, with 19 households, set out to analyse the expected benefits and anticipated challeng... more This study, with 19 households, set out to analyse the expected benefits and anticipated challenges to the introduction of smart home technology (SHT), and to compare these to post-use experiences after living with the technology for 1 year. Contextual interviews were undertaken with householders during the installation of a range of SHT, and again approximately 1 year later, when householders had the option to keep the technology or have some or all of it removed. This identified whether initial expectations were met, whether initial concerns persisted and whether new issues, concerns, and benefits (that had not been initially anticipated) arose after an extended period of use. Initial expectations from all households were high-related to comfort, convenience, improved control, energy demand reduction, and integration of technologies. There were also many initial concerns, including reliability, usability, and how these systems would be 'domesticated' to fit existing routines. After living with the systems for 1 year, many expectations were met, but the added value (and hence the match between expectations and reality) was higher for households with varied routines and large, partially occupied houses. Some of the anticipated challenges-such as concerns over aesthetics-largely disappeared, issues to do with the awkward location of network components persisted and new issues arose relating to the usability of some components and the time and effort required to configure them. Recommendations are given to maximise the added value that SHT can provide to householders.

Driving Style: How Should an Automated Vehicle Behave?

Information, 2019

This article reports on a study to investigate how the driving behaviour of autonomous vehicles i... more This article reports on a study to investigate how the driving behaviour of autonomous vehicles influences trust and acceptance. Two different designs were presented to two groups of participants (n = 22/21), using actual autonomously driving vehicles. The first was a vehicle programmed to drive similarly to a human, "peeking" when approaching road junctions as if it was looking before proceeding. The second design had a vehicle programmed to convey the impression that it was communicating with other vehicles and infrastructure and "knew" if the junction was clear so could proceed without ever stopping or slowing down. Results showed non-significant differences in trust between the two vehicle behaviours. However, there were significant increases in trust scores overall for both designs as the trials progressed. Post-interaction interviews indicated that there were pros and cons for both driving styles, and participants suggested which aspects of the driving styles could be improved. This paper presents user information recommendations for the design and programming of driving systems for autonomous vehicles, with the aim of improving their users' trust and acceptance.

Evaluating How Interfaces Influence the User Interaction with Fully Autonomous Vehicles

by Luis Oliveira, Chris Burns, and P. Jennings

AutomotiveUI '18 Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, 2018

With increasing automation, occupants of fully autonomous vehicles are likely to be completely di... more With increasing automation, occupants of fully autonomous vehicles are likely to be completely disengaged from the driving task. However, even with no driving involved, there are still activities that will require interfaces between the vehicle and passengers. This study evaluated different configurations of screens providing operational-related information to occupants for tracking the progress of journeys. Surveys and interviews were used to measure trust, usability, workload and experience after users were driven by an autonomous low speed pod. Results showed that participants want to monitor the state of the vehicle and see details about the ride, including a map of the route and related information. There was a preference for this information to be displayed via an onboard touchscreen device combined with an overhead letterbox display versus a smartphone-based interface. This paper provides recommendations for the design of devices with the potential to improve the user interaction with future autonomous vehicles.

Analysing passengers’ behaviours when boarding trains to improve rail infrastructure and technology

Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 2019

Concentrated boarding describes the phenomenon when rail passengers congregate in certain areas o... more Concentrated boarding describes the phenomenon when rail passengers congregate in certain areas of the platform and board the train carriages that stop near these areas. This influences the distribution of passengers throughout the carriages, which can negatively affect passenger comfort, safety at the platform-train interface, efficiency of the rail network, and the reputation of rail travel as a whole. This project aimed to determine whether concentrated boarding occurs in stations in the UK in order to understand its relevance for future rolling stock, infrastructure design and its associated manufacturing research. Video recording technology was used to observe the movements of passengers in Oxford Station and data was collected for nine individual trains. By reviewing the recordings, the number of passengers boarding through each door of the trains was determined, and the boarding distribution along the length of the platform was plotted. Several reasons for noted trends are offered, and potential solutions proposed. The use of real time information could be invaluable to minimise concentrated boarding, as it would allow passengers to make informed decisions as to where they could board trains to have a better journey experience. These findings indicate the relevance of a human-centred design process, particularly the user research stages, in the process of defining priorities for manufacturing and engineering.

Understanding users' behaviours in relation to concentrated boarding: implications for rail infrastructure and technology

Advances in Manufacturing Technology XXXI, 2017

Concentrated boarding describes the phenomenon when rail passengers congregate in certain areas o... more Concentrated boarding describes the phenomenon when rail passengers congregate in certain areas of the platform, such as at main entrances and staircases. This influences the distribution of passengers throughout the carriages, which can negatively affect passenger comfort, safety at the platform train interface, efficiency of the rail network, and the reputation of rail travel as a whole. This project aimed to determine whether concentrated boarding occur in rail stations in the UK in order to understand its relevance for future rolling stock and infrastructure design and its associated manufacturing research. Video recording technology was used to observe the movements of passengers in Oxford Station, and data was collected for nine trains. By reviewing the recordings, the number of passengers boarding through each door of the trains was determined, and the boarding distributions along the length of the platform were plotted. Several reasons for noted trends were offered, and potential solutions proposed. The use of real time information could be invaluable to minimise concentrated boarding, as it would allow passengers to make informed decisions as to where they could board trains to have a better journey experience. These findings indicate the relevance of a human-centred design process, particularly the user research stages in the process of defining priorities for manufacturing and engineering.

Understanding passengers' experiences of train journeys to inform the design of technological innovations

by Luis Oliveira, S. Birrell, Neil Tinworth, Callum Bradley, and Andy Davies

University of Cincinnati, 2017

In this paper, we present results from a collaborative research between academic institutions and... more In this paper, we present results from a collaborative research between academic institutions and industry partners in the UK, which aimed to understand the experience of rail passengers and to identify how the design of technology can improve this experience. Travelling by train can often provide passengers with negative experiences. New technologies give the opportunity to design new interactions that support the creation of positive experiences, but the design should be based on solid understanding of user and their needs. We conducted in-depth, face-to-face semi-structured interviews and used additional questionnaires given to passengers on board of trains to collect the data presented on this paper. A customer journey map was produced to illustrate the passengers' experiences at diverse touchpoints with the rail system. The positive and negative aspects of each touchpoint are plotted over the course of a 'typical' journey, followed by the explanations for these ratings. Results indicate how the design of technological innovations can enhance the passenger experience, especially at the problematic touchpoints, e.g. when collecting tickets, navigating to the platform, boarding the train and finding a seat. We finalise this paper pointing towards requirements for future technological innovations to improve the passenger experience. Sometimes passengers have negative experiences when travelling by train (Wockatz & Schartau, 2015). There are diverse aspects of the rail transport that could be improved (Transport Focus,

Pre-installation challenges: classifying barriers to the introduction of smart home technology

by Luis Oliveira and Val Mitchell

Increasing technological developments indicate potential for a variety of improvements in the dom... more Increasing technological developments indicate potential for a variety of improvements in the domestic environment. As part of an interdisciplinary research project, this study interviewed households prior to the installation of smart home technologies (SHTs) in order to identify critical issues at the pre-installation phase. Semi-structured interviews took place in 16 houses before the installation of SHTs, when a range of smart sensors and controls were presented to households for the first time. At this stage, they started to make key decisions about which devices to use, where to install, and how to position them. Participants mentioned diverse issues surrounding the introduction of SHTs. To guide the qualitative analysis, an organizing framework for research on smart homes and their users was used. This paper indicates that, even though participants appreciate the functional aspects of SHTs and the possibilities of a better living, their concerns related to technology (hardware & software), design (acceptability & usability) and spaces (home as complex places) are numerous. These results complement the existing literature (which focuses more on the use phase) with the perceived enablers and barriers prior to the installation of SHTs.

Phone-based presentation of other commuters’ subjective experiences: impact on car-driver intentions

by Luis Oliveira and Tracy Ross

University of Copenhagen , 2015

Previous research demonstrates that people using active modes of transport (e.g. walking or cycli... more Previous research demonstrates that people using active modes of transport (e.g. walking or cycling) generally report more positive subjective wellbeing than car drivers. This study demonstrates an experiment investigating the impact of this information
on car drivers. We designed a smartphone application (CommuterExperience), which captures drivers’ subjective experiences (via comments and ratings) after the commute and displays similar data from other people using different modes of transport. After a two week trial, participants (n=18) were interviewed and qualitative data were analysed. We evaluate how the application managed to encourage comparison, foster reflection and ultimately influence opinions, intentions to change and, potentially, behaviour.

Scenario analysis as a tool for informing the design of behaviour change interventions

by Luis Oliveira and Val Mitchell

This article presents the design process behind the specification of a behaviour change intervent... more This article presents the design process behind the specification of a behaviour change intervention method to promote energy saving. The amount of energy used for food preparation is highly influenced by people’s behaviours. A user-centred design approach based on scenario analysis was applied to provide understanding of context of use and specification of user requirements. This knowledge was applied to the design of behaviour change interventions to motivate sustainable behaviours.

Pre-installation challenges: classifying barriers to the introduction of smart home technology

by Luis Oliveira, Val Mitchell, and Andrew May

Increasing technological developments indicate potential for a variety of improvements in the dom... more Increasing technological developments indicate potential for a variety of improvements in the domestic environment. As part of an interdisciplinary research project, this study interviewed households prior to the installation of smart home technologies (SHTs) in order to identify critical issues at the pre-installation phase. Semi-structured interviews took place in 16 houses before the installation of SHTs, when a range of smart sensors and controls were presented to households for the first time. At this stage, they started to make key decisions about which devices to use, where to install, and how to position them. Participants mentioned diverse issues surrounding the introduction of SHTs. To guide the qualitative analysis, an organizing framework for research on smart homes and their users was used. This paper indicates that, even though participants appreciate the functional aspects of SHTs and the possibilities of a better living, their concerns related to technology (hardware & software), design (acceptability & usability) and spaces (home as complex places) are numerous. These results complement the existing literature (which focuses more on the use phase) with the perceived enablers and barriers prior to the installation of SHTs.

A Feasibility Study of the Effect of Phone-Based Feedback of Other Commuters’ Subjective Experiences on Driver Intentions to Change

by Andrea Burris, Luis Oliveira, and Tracy Ross

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2015

Using social network games to reduce energy consumption

by Val Mitchell and Luis Oliveira

This research is investigating the potential role of online social network based life simulation ... more This research is investigating the potential role of online social network based life simulation computer games as a persuasive tool for encouraging users to reduce their domestic energy consumption. Games such as 'Farmville'which runs on the Facebook platform have attracted millions of users worldwide who create simple virtual worlds where they interact with others and carry out everyday activities to earn tokens to spend within the game.

Designing a smart phone app for sustainable cooking

by Luis Oliveira and Val Mitchell

UbiComp '13 Adjunct. Proceedings of the 2013 ACM Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing Adjunct Publication, Sep 8, 2013

This research is focusing upon the human-computer interaction (HCI), evaluating the relationship ... more This research is focusing upon the human-computer interaction (HCI), evaluating the relationship between users and cooking appliances mediated by information-communication technologies (ICTs) applications designed specifically to motivate energy saving. User observation, energy monitoring and semi-structured interviews helped to understand user behaviours and its respective determinants. Group discussions and large scale surveys were used to evaluate the acceptance of energy saving techniques and intervention methods. This knowledge informed the development of a persuasive electronic energy saving intervention in the form of a mobile phone application, which is being tested.

Cooking behaviours: understanding energy use to design persuasive applications

by Luis Oliveira and Val Mitchell

Persuasive 2011: The Sixth International Conference on Persuasive Technology, Jun 5, 2011

Electric cookers and kettles are often high electricity consumers amongst household appliances. C... more Electric cookers and kettles are often high electricity consumers amongst household appliances. Cooking requires several interactions with these appliances, and furthermore people’s behaviours play an important role in the energy consumption. This research is seeking to understand people’s behaviours whilst cooking and also identify the determinants of these behaviours. Energy monitoring, video recording and semi-structured questionnaires were used to gather this information. This knowledge will inform the development of an intervention aiming at reducing energy expenditure.

Cooking behaviours: a user observation study to understand energy use and motivate savings

Electric cookers are one of the highest energy consuming domestic appliances, and there are sever... more Electric cookers are one of the highest energy consuming domestic appliances, and there are several aspects that can influence the amount of energy used when preparing a meal. Appliance characteristics are shown to influence consumption, but human factors play an important role in the overall electricity usage. A user observation study was conducted among university students to understand how they use electric cookers. They were asked to perform a specific cooking task, and the electricity usage was measured. Participants' behaviours were analysed and compared with a set of energy saving techniques. Appliance characteristics that influenced how students use energy were also investigated. The results show that users performed the task in several different ways, presenting diverse energy consumption, the average being 3 times above the necessary to complete the task. This information is now informing the design of interventions to motivate people to change their behaviours whilst cooking.

Understanding cooking behaviours to design energy saving interventions

People’s behaviours play an important role in energy consumption, especially whilst dealing with ... more People’s behaviours play an important role in energy consumption, especially whilst dealing with high consumption, highly interactive appliances such as cookers. In a user observation study conducted among university students, participants were asked to perform a simple cooking task. Their behaviours were analysed and compared with a set of recommended practices. The electricity usage and time to complete the activity were also measured. The results show that participants performed in several different ways, presenting diverse energy usage. The determinants of these behaviours were also collected, and will help to inform the design of interventions to motivate people to change their behaviours whilst cooking.