Capturing the Connections: Unboxing Internet of Things Devices

TL;DR

This paper investigates the ethnographic challenges of capturing data from IoT devices during initial setup, highlighting the complexity of their ecosystem and interactions for data-centric design.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive study using multiple methods to document IoT device interactions, revealing challenges in ethnographic data collection in connected environments.

Findings

Complexity in capturing IoT device interactions during setup

Challenges in ethnographic documentation of connected ecosystems

Need for multi-modal methods to understand IoT device behavior

Abstract

Based upon a study of how to capture data from Internet of Things (IoT) devices, this paper explores the challenges for data centric design ethnography. Often purchased to perform specific tasks, IoT devices exist in a complex ecosystem. This paper describes a study that used a variety of methods to capture the interactions an IoT device engaged in when it was first setup. The complexity of the study that is explored through the annotated documentation across video and router activity, presents the ethnographic challenges that designers face in an age of connected things.