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McPhail, S. (2002)
Buddy Bugs: A Physical User Interface for Windows Instant Messenger. In Proceedings of Western Computer Graphics Symposium – Skigraph’02, March. Note that iLab-2002-1 video was aslo shown during the conference talk.
Type: Refereed conference (short paper).
Additional materials: powerpoint presentation including iLab-2002-1 video.
Download as: Pdf
Additional download: 
Powerpoint – preview (below) only works for smaller files
Abstract.
Buddy Bugs is a physical user interface to Windows Instant Messenger (IM), where people are represented by glass bugs on a leaf. A bug lights up and moves about depending on the status of the person it represents. Touching a bug initiates an instant messaging conversation. Buddy Bugs’ basic ideas include: making status information of a few key people more readily available; using its physical form as a peripheral display that can be situated appropriately in the environment; and taking advantage of people’s spatial memory by having contacts associated with bugs at particular positions on the leaf.
Keywords: Notification, peripheral displays, physical and tangible user interfaces.
« back to Publications
McPhail, S. (2002)
Buddy Bugs: A Physical User Interface for Windows Instant Messenger. In Proceedings of Western Computer Graphics Symposium – Skigraph’02, March.
Type: Refereed conference (short paper).
Additional materials: powerpoint presentation including iLab-2002-1 video.
Download as: Pdf
Additional download: Powerpoint – preview (below) only works for smaller files
Abstract.
Buddy Bugs is a physical user interface to Windows Instant Messenger (IM), where people are represented by glass bugs on a leaf. A bug lights up and moves about depending on the status of the person it represents. Touching a bug initiates an instant messaging conversation. Buddy Bugs’ basic ideas include: making status information of a few key people more readily available; using its physical form as a peripheral display that can be situated appropriately in the environment; and taking advantage of people’s spatial memory by having contacts associated with bugs at particular positions on the leaf.
Keywords: Notification, peripheral displays, physical and tangible user interfaces.