Today’s 'smart devices' are a product of the technology and mental models of our past. From a connected lightbulb to a robot vacuum, using most of these devices requires a (native) app. This in turn greatly limits their contexts of use. Can we really expect users to download an app to interact with a random ’thing’ they encounter at the mall, a space they explore for an hour at the museum, or a city they will only visit for a day? What devices could we build, what 'smart' environments could we enable if users could simply discover, “walk up and use”(and then if needed, abandon) these objects and environments as they do a web site?

What you’ll learn

This workshop will discuss two new technologies--Physical Web and Web Bluetooth--that can enable on-demand interaction with physical things and spaces using no more than a browser. Physical Web support is already live on Chrome for iOS and is expected on hundreds of millions of Android devices by May. Other browser implementation are in Beta and expected to follow. What better time to start experimenting with these new capabilities!

Through presentations and breakout exercises, the aim of this workshop is to give you:

• An understanding of how these technologies work, their benefits, and the user-centered design principles that underpin them.
• Three key use cases and their associated UX challenges.
• How to build strong conceptual models and apply principles of progressive enhancement to design more resilient touchpoints and interactions.
• An opportunity to explore how you would use these technologies for different types of products and contexts of use.

Who is the workshop for?

This workshop is for anyone who designs or makes decisions about a (physical or virtual) product, including user experience designers, project/product managers, content strategists and developers. A laptop is not required but you will benefit from having the very latest version of Chrome (Android or iOS) on you mobile.

In this presentation we explore some of the fascinating and innovative services that are re-shaping the internet at the hands of consumers in emerging economies. Driven by mobile, the power of personal relationships, and the breakneck pace of globalisation, these services provide a glimpse into the business models, opportunities, and challenges, we will face when growing a truly global web.