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Interconnected applications naturally gravitate toward tracking
and improving the environmental conditions they are ideally
suited to monitor. Applications can alert individuals to dangerous
conditions in a surrounding space, for example if toxins are build-
ing up in a confined room,^31 if noise levels have increased,^32 if a
space is threatened by flooding when water is detected on the floor.
Environmental alerts can range in scale from a single room, to a
building, complex, or community scale. Environmental conditions
for a specific building or campus can alert individuals or systems
to take action to control energy usage, for example.
f gure 13-3. i a framework for connected environments with examples of
potential tools at the intersection of each interaction mode and sphere of
inquiry
- Behavioral: can we incent preferred behaviors? Can we monitor
human interactions, and assess and modify conditions based on
knowledge of preferences?
Environments are capable of exerting pressure on individuals and
shaping behavior. Data about behavior or environmental condi-
tions force individuals to confront situations and these confronta-
tions can drive change. The proliferation of interconnected devices
to drive improved health behaviors (such as WiFi-connected
31 https://www.alertme.com/
32 http://www.widetag.com/widenoise/