Life with an ITwist: technology that promotes awareness

The ideas of ubiquitous and calm technologies were first articulated by Mark Weiser in his seminal 1991 article. Since then different research initiatives emerged to explore various facets of this vision. The focal point though has been, so far, trying to infuse context-awareness and smartness into devices and artefacts in order to serve us better by making us more efficient in completing day-to-day tasks. This paper add another dimension to the ubiquitous computing vision; one that views technology as a means to understand, reflect and meditate on ourselves, our immediate surroundings and our relations. This other facet of IT is illustrated with two example viewpoints and sketches-of-concept that embody most of its characteristics.