Green, Computer Aided Persuasion and the Interface at the Edge  |  November 20, 2009  

An article in New Scientist explores how user interface researchers are investigating computer aided persuasion as a technique to assist people to make choices. To me this is a perfect example of understanding how to use the edge computing interface to shift behavior.

"Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands are using iCat, a robotic cat made by Philips, to advise on energy use. It talks and can move its lips, eyelashes and eyebrows.

One experiment showed that when programming a washing machine, people were more inclined to follow energy consumption advice about different cycles when it came from iCat rather than graphs and numbers. That suggests the savings which simple awareness can provoke can be magnified by using more 'social' mechanisms to deliver advice."

It's been shown before that if you can give the consumer more information about their consumption and its effect on their spending that they'll act upon it and consumer consumption of electricity has a significant effect on the fluctuation in demand.

I've posted before about Edge computing and the possibilities of edge interfaces. One of the best examples in the marketplace of someone redefining the edge of a product is Webkinz. This company took a tens of thousands of year old "commodity" product - a stuffed animal and shifted the edge interface.  Children can have their doll on the computer as well as in their hands. They can have their friends Webkinz come over to their virtualized world and play with their webkinz. Needless to say, the shift in edge experience worked. Kids usually don't just buy one of these toys. So for companies understanding the edge interface for the consumer and redefining it can be rewarding.

Charlie Bess
The Next Big Thing blog