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Designing technologies for presence-in-absence: illustrating the Cube and the Picture Frame

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Abstract

Presence-in-absence is a subjective feeling of a significant other when he or she is not physically co-present and several emerging technologies increasingly aim to support this feeling of presence. However, no established framework for designing presence-in-absence technologies exists. We report on the design and evaluation of two novel technologies for supporting the experience of an absent significant other being present i.e. presence-in-absence. On the basis of a longitudinal field study of communication in romantic relationships, we constructed two technology sketches with the purpose of supporting presence-in-absence by employing graphical code languages: the Cube and the Picture Frame. The results of a subsequent evaluation involving potential users potentially inform the design of future presence-in-absence technologies.

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Correspondence to Kasper Garnæs.

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Garnæs, K., Grünberger, O., Kjeldskov, J. et al. Designing technologies for presence-in-absence: illustrating the Cube and the Picture Frame. Pers Ubiquit Comput 11, 403–408 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-006-0072-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-006-0072-9

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