Interaction primitives: Describing interaction capabilities of Smart Objects in ubiquitous computing environments

The design of ubiquitous computing environments introduces challenges on both infrastructure level and the level of interaction design. To support the transition from a device-oriented paradigm towards a system-oriented paradigm with increased interoperability, we need a framework to describe interactions and interactive objects in such a way that the physical and contextual meaning of the interaction is preserved. In this paper we describe a way to model interactions in terms of their essential elements, which we call interaction primitives: The smallest addressable interaction elements that have a meaningful relation to the interaction itself. By semantically describing the user interaction capabilities of devices which are meaningful to be shared with other devices, interoperability will not only become possible at infrastructure level, but may also improve user interaction in ubicomp environments.