Mobile, Modal, and Ambient Health - Part Three

In our last blog entry, we took a look at the history and development of the ambient space.  In this latest entry, we explore how ambient devices dedicated to health and wellness can make a significant contribution “in the moment” – that is, when and where it is most effective.

The right information, delivered in the right way for each individual “in the moment,” has the potential to nudge behavior in healthier directions.  “Glanceable” and “skimmable” are the key words for Ambient Communication.

Extending Sensory Awareness

When it comes to sensory awareness, humans lag a very distant second to most animals.  The average dog has more than 220 million olfactory receptors to pick up scent molecules - more than 40 times more than the average human’s five million.[1]Dogs can even sniff out human illnesses such as cancer.[2]   The average cat sees six times better in low light than we do[3]and picks up sounds from as low as 45 HZ right up to 64,000, compared with the human range of 64-23,000.[4]  A number of animals are even thought to detect earthquakes and tsunamis well before they strike.[5]

On the other hand, what humans lack in natural sensory acuity, we are quickly making up in digitally-augmented awareness.  Devices such as digital hearing aids and cochlear implants have been created to compensate for health impairments.  Others, such as night vision goggles boost our natural abilities.  And now, ambient devices are extending human awareness in ways that match animal abilities or, sometimes, far exceed them.

One of the most discussed examples over the past two years has been people’s awareness of what their social networks are doing.  This has been dubbed “Ambient Awareness” and was highlighted by Clive Thompson in a controversial 2008 New York Times article, “Brave New World of Digital Intimacy”.  Essentially, it states that while each little Twitter or Facebook update from a friend or family member may be trivial on its own (“Overslept and missed my bus this morning”, “Looking forward to Lost and a beer”), over time the little snippets of information add up to a bigger picture, a constantly-updated awareness of what’s happening in each other’s lives.  These little updates match the criteria for “ambient information” perfectly.  “Skimmable” or “glanceable,” they can be scanned easily and often. They’re omnipresent and updated all the time. Much like Ambient Music (see previous blog), they don’t demand attention, but they do reward it.

Social media amplify human ambient awareness far beyond anything found in nature.  Herd animals such as horses are undoubtedly smart and tuned in to one other, but even they aren’t aware of what’s happening in herds in the next state, let alone thousands of miles away.

Gradually, through processes of scientific investigation combined with mass trial and error, we are understanding the value of the “in-between” ambient space, and developing systems that can deliver valuable information within that space, an area that’s ideal for health-related information.

Ambient Health Awareness

Health maintenance and medication compliance are notoriously difficult areas to crack.  Everybody has been warned for decades that smoking causes serious health risks, yet some people still smoke, even some who have previously decided against it.  Everybody knows exercise is important, yet far from everyone does something about it.  Anybody with a health condition such as diabetes or hypertension knows it’s essential to manage their condition and take their medication, yet all too often, these things slip. 

The issue common to these situations is not the absence of appropriate information in itself, which is typically common sense; rather, it’s not having the right information in the right form at decisive moments.   It’s the timeless conflict between long-term goals (e.g. reduce weight, get fit, manage disease) and in-the-moment stimulus- and impulse-driven responses (smoke that cigarette, grab that donut).  Ideally, individuals learn to remember theirs goals at crucial moments, so their goals influence their decision-making and steer behavior in the desired direction. In practice, this is tough; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Now Ambient Health Communication looks like a factor that can shift the balance and make a significant difference.  As the team at Ambient Devices says, “ambient awareness of information changes behavior”.[6]

The company has explored ambient displays in order to motivate medication and exercise compliance, as well as ambient displays for body metrics, such as blood pressure and peak flow, as well as for behaviors that influence health such as the number of steps walked.

One way that ambient information changes behavior is simply by presenting individuals with key information at key moments.  One example is for asthma sufferers; an air quality sensor alerts them to critical pollution levels and reminds them to take the recommended dose of medication; currently a high proportion of sufferers don’t even take the minimum dose.   Another way is when individuals share health information (e.g. weight lost, calories consumed, distance walked) with a select group of contacts through social media. Individuals who see others’ updates and, in turn, share their own updates, create the sort of peer effect that makes face-to-face groups such as Weight Watchers so effective.[7]

In the next and final installment of this four part blog, we will look at how ambient health care devices can create new levels of health awareness by combining familiar and previously hidden information in persuasive forms.

[1]http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/U/UNP-0066/UNP-0066.pdf

[2]http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0112_060112_dog_cancer.html

[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat#CITEREFCase2003                  

[4]http://cats.about.com/od/healthfaqs/f/hearingsense.htm

[5]http://www.scientiareview.org/pdfs/102.pdf

[6]http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~jofish/writing/social-ambient-healthcare.pdf

[7]http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~jofish/writing/social-ambient-healthcare.pdf