Calm technology aims to reduce information overload by allowing users to select what information is central to their attention and what is peripheral. It was coined in 1995 by Mark Weiser and John Seeley Brown of Xerox PARC. Calm technology shifts focus to the periphery and uses ambient awareness through different senses to communicate without taking the user away from their task. It informs and calms users and makes use of their peripheral attention. Examples of calm technology include a tea kettle, inner office windows, sleep trackers, and smart badges - technologies that remain quiet until needed and provide information subtly and calmly.

1. Calm Technology
Mudit Kumar Jain
BCA V Sem ‘A’

3. Te chnology that re mains in the back ground until ne e de d and
thus e nable s a pe rson to inte ract with it in a calm, e ngage d
m anne r.
Definition :
C alm Te chnology aims to re duce the " e xcite ment" of
inf ormation ove rload by le tting the use r se le ct what
inf ormation is at the ce nte r of the ir atte ntion and what
inf ormation is pe riphe ral.
Calm Technology mak es use of our p er ip h er al attention ,
allowing us to be aware of more things with le ss cognitive
ove rhe ad .

4. The te rm was coine d by M ark We ise r, chie f te chnologist, and
John Se e le y Brown, dire ctor of the Xe rox Palo Alto Re se arch
Center(PARC) in 19 9 5.
Mark Weiser
Chief Technologist of Xerox PARC
John Seeley Brown
Director of Xerox PARC
Introduced By :

5. Principles of Calm Technology
Te chnology should re q uire the sm alle st am ount of our
attention.
a. Technology can communicate, but doesn’t need to speak.
b. Create ambient awareness through different senses.
c. Communicate information without taking the wearer out of their environment or task.
Te c h n o l o g y s h o u l d i n f o r m a n d e n c a l m .
a. A person's primary task should not be computing, but being human.
b. Give people what they need to solve their problem, and nothing more.
Te c h n o l o g y s h o u l d m a k e u s e o f t h e p e r i p h e r y .
a. A calm technology will move easily from the periphery of our attention, to the center,
and back.
b. The periphery is informing without overburdening.

6. Calm technology has three basic characteristics :
• Calm technologies shift the focus of our attention to the periphery. This
technological orientation can be achieved either by smoothly and easily shifting
from the center to the periphery and back, or by transferring more details to the
periphery. An example is a video conference that, by comparison to a telephone
conference, enables us to attune to nuances of body posture and facial expression
that would otherwise be inaccessible.
• A technology is calm when it increases peripheral perceptions with direct
implications on our knowledge, which increases abilities to act adequately in
various circumstances without being overburdened with information. Thus, the use
of calm technology develops a pleasant environment.
• Technological connectivity enables a quick anchoring in certain circumstances
against the background of a quick shifting from the center to the periphery of our
attention, which determines a quick perception of the past, present and future of
the subject. This characteristic leads to what Weiser and John Seeley Brown call
"locatedness“.
Characteristics of a Calm Technology

7. Examples of Calm Technology
Tea Kettle
If a technology works well, we can ignore it most of the time. A teapot
tells us when it is ready, and is off or quiet the rest of the time. A tea kettle
can be set and forgotten, until it sings. It does not draw constant attention
to itself until necessary.
Inner Office Window
An inner office window provides an understanding of whether someone
is busy or not without the need to interrupt them.

8. Jawbone Up
The Jawbone Up has a single button and a colored status light. The device
can be set to buzz after a short nap or at the optimium sleep cycle for a good
night of sleep.
Jawbone tracks movement in the background without requiring additional
action from the wearer. The device syncs to the user's phone through the
audio jack and gives a summary of the wearer's individual day in sleep and
physical activity.
Lavatory Sign
This simple display easily allows one to see whether the restroom on a plane
is occupied or not. The message is universal and requires no translation.

9. Sleep Cycle
Sleep Cycle is a mobile application that monitors your sleep and allows you to
track times of deep sleep . Set an alarm and Sleep Cycle will wake you up
before the time at the best place in your sleep cycle with a soft noise or buzz.
Because the haptic alert occurs under your pillow, you can configure it so
that you can wake up without anyone else being affected by the alarm. Sleep
Cycle rewards users with a sleep score, detailing how well they slept that
night.
Smart Badge
A smart badge is simple. Smart badges are small, wearable technologies that
don't require a charger, user interface or operating system.
Simply touch a provisioned smart badge to a door or elevator panel and
you'll easily gain access.

10. Calm Communication

11. • The field of computer science tackles more and more types of data (text, sound,
static images, dynamic images etc.). That is, it works with many different media
with a minimum effort. This leads to a super-computer-assisted world where
computers are ubiquitous in people's lives.
• Data processing technologies should calm down and induce calm, in other words
be calm technologies. This is easily achieved if we take into account the multimedia
aspect of data processing equipment and applications.
We conclude with the conviction that in a super-computer-assisted
world we feel better when special emphasis is placed on the visual
side of the means of communication or information/knowledge
transfer, which is a multi-media presentation of the world we relate
to. Moreover, if this makes using technologies less tiresome, then we
will have the satisfaction of a "child playing at his work place".
Conclusion :