Deploying Ubiquitous Computing Applications in a Farmers' Market

Abstract

Farmers’ markets are the source of a rich and pleasurable consumption experience. In this paper, we explored how we could support and augment these experiences through the deployment of a pervasive computing application. We describe the ethnographic approach we used to delineate the areas of enjoyment and pleasure, how narratives are weaved around and through the stalls and their products, and how trust is formed and maintained between the stallholders and the customers. We show how this understanding can be applied in the design of supporting applications. We then evaluate the applications using the same ethnographic approach, uncovering problems which would not have been visible with other evaluation techniques.

Publication
Proceedings of Pervasive Advertising and Shopping 2010i (workshop at Pervasive 2010)