Design and Field Trial of Tunee in Shared Houses: Exploring Experiences of Sharing Individuals’ Current Noise-level Preferences with Housemates

Title of the Paper

Design and Field Trial of Tunee in Shared Houses: Exploring Experiences of Sharing Individuals’ Current Noise-level Preferences with Housemates

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Shared Living Environments, Social Context Awareness
• Keywords: Noise, Coordinated Behavior, Shared Living, Social Information, Physical Interaction, Noise Preferences, Context Awareness, Design Intervention, User Study, Social Systems

Research Background and Problem Statement

• Identified Problems or Challenges:

  • In shared housing, it is difficult for members to reach a consensus on unexpected living noise and each other's noise tolerance levels, which may lead to conflicts.
  • There are significant differences in individuals' sensitivity to and acceptance of noise, making it challenging to effectively understand and reflect others' noise preferences.
  • Frequent direct communication with housemates about noise levels can feel burdensome and may involve privacy concerns.

• Significance of the Research:

  • Noise is one of the core friction factors in shared environments, and finding a convenient way to express and gauge noise needs is crucial to the quality of life for house members.
  • Developing a system that facilitates communication and coordination of noise behavior while preserving privacy has practical importance.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  • Previous studies have demonstrated that interfaces for information sharing can help users understand each other's preferences and needs.
  • However, there is limited research on methods of sharing noise-related information in shared housing environments.
  • To address the above issues, this paper proposes a new design using a physical interactive device (Tunee) to enhance social context awareness related to noise.

Solution

• Method or Solution:

  • Designed and developed an interactive device called Tunee, which displays each member's noise preference level through the movement of physical nodes.
  • Installed three color-coded Tunee devices in the residents' rooms, representing each member's noise preferences and automatically sharing the information.

• Innovative Aspects of the Solution:

  • Achieved non-verbal information sharing through changes in the position of physical nodes, reducing the burden of direct interaction.
  • Effectively conveyed noise preferences by combining user-intended manual input with physical representation.
  • Incorporated implicit feedback on whether members are at home through node design, achieving context awareness while protecting privacy.

• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:

  1. Users adjust the node on top of their device to set their current noise tolerance level, which is then synchronized to other members' devices.
  2. Bluetooth beacon devices are used to determine whether a user is present; if absent, the device displays the maximum noise tolerance level to minimize unnecessary interference.
  3. The system uses Firebase as a central server for data storage and synchronization, with Arduino and Raspberry Pi driving the device operation.
  4. Users can listen to sample sounds of various noise levels through the built-in speaker in the Tunee device.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Achievements:

  • The node interaction design of Tunee effectively reduced the burden of direct verbal communication among residents, enabling easier sharing of noise-related needs.
  • During a three-week study, sharing noise preferences successfully enhanced awareness of others' noise-related contexts.
  • Developed a tool that expresses everyday trivial needs while reflecting social intentions.

• Advantages:

  • Compared to traditional information-sharing methods (e.g., verbal communication and text messages), Tunee provides a more intuitive and low-burden approach.
  • Encouraged users to adjust their daily behaviors flexibly based on node changes, improving social sensitivity and coordination efficiency.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • After deploying Tunee in real shared housing scenarios, participants paid more attention to others' noise preferences and adjusted their own behaviors.
  • Members with different noise tolerance levels were able to coordinate more quickly and reduce misunderstandings and conflicts through Tunee.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • The nodes can only convey noise preferences without explaining the reasons behind them, sometimes requiring supplementary clarification through other media.
  • The study was limited to an Asian cultural context, and its adaptability to other cultures has not been validated.
  • The system could consider adding emotional intensity expression features to further enhance the completeness of information sharing.
  • Future work will optimize the number of nodes to accommodate more users and explore large-scale, long-term user experiments.