Perceptibility of Mobile Notification Modalities during Multitasking in Smart Environments

Smartphone notifications are a major source of interaction with mobile devices. In this paper we address a gap in literature by establishing a foundation that explains the role of modalities with which a notification is delivered on a mobile device. Though previous studies have attempted to address this question, we find that they suffer from significant internal validity problems. As such we conducted an ecologically valid and carefully designed experiment in a controlled environment that simulates a smart home environment. Our work extends into smart environments, by examining a new modality, implemented by pairing the smartphone to a connected lighting system and replicating mobile notifications to smart light bulbs in the user's field of vision. We derive a set of guidelines for choosing notification modalities and set future research directions.