Automated Journeys—
Automated Connections
Lars Erik Holmquist

Swedish Institute of Computer Science | [e-mail]

 

I’ve rarely felt more urbane than the last time I arrived in Tokyo. I had the foresight to bring my SUICA (Super Urban Intelligent Card), an RFID-based smartcard already loaded with yen left over from my last trip. Card in hand I swept through the gates of the JR transit line at Shinjuku station to the nearest automatic noodle restaurant, where I selected my meal from pictures on a vending machine positioned at the entrance. I touched my card to the machine and received a ticket that I handed to the staff at the desk, where the hot noodles were already waiting for me. Meal eaten, I proceeded to check out which bottled water was No. 1 at ranKing ranQueen (a local chain of stores, where items are ranked), and again paid using a simple gesture with my card. The only thing that could have made the experience more complete was if the RFID chip had been integrated in my keitai (mobile phone). Although the SUICA is now at least seven years old, and many similar systems are in use in Hong Kong, Seoul, London, and elsewhere, it still is a remarkable example of how ubiquitous technologies such as sensing, networking, and data access can be used in everyday applications.

It is interesting to note how most of this technology is cur-

rently used to increase convenience—and reduce human contact. SUICA eliminates the fumbling with coins at shops and subway gates, which could lead to embarrassing lines. But it also cuts down on interaction with other people, especially when combined with various vending-machine services. In ubiquitous computing research, on the other hand, we have seen RFID tags and other near-field communication technologies such as Bluetooth often being used with a view to increase human contact. Projects such as Meme Tags, an interactive nametag that communicates the wearer’s interests to act as an icebreaker [ 1], or Ticket2Talk, which presents a person’s interests on a public display to initiate conversation [ 2], or tunA, a system for listening to other people’s

music [ 3], all promote a vision that technology can and should encourage communication, especially among strangers.

In fact, it seems researchers more often than not want to imagine a utopia, where everybody loves everybody and wants to hang out with everybody else. “Wouldn’t it be great,” we say, “if a device on my body could broadcast my interests to everyone around, so that I could strike up exciting conversations during

[ 1] Borovoy, R., F. Martin, S. Vemuri, M. Resnick, B. Silverman, and C. Hancock. “Meme Tags and Community Mirrors: Moving from Conferences to Collaboration.” In the Proceedings of CSCW 1998. Seattle, Washington, 1998.

[ 2] McCarthy, J., D. McDonald, S. Soroczak, D. Nguyen, and A. Rashid. ”Augmenting the Social Space of an Academic Conference.” In the Proceedings of CSCW 2004. Chicago, Illinois, 2004.

• Images of the SUICA penguin, well-known mascot for Japan’s Super Urban Intelligent Card, can be found throughout Japan where a quick, contactless swipe allows cardholders to pay for mass transit tickets and many other purchases.