Informative things: how to attach information to the real world

We describe a new method and implementation for managing information through the use of physical objects. In today’s networked world, the trend is toward working in a global virtual environment. To transfer information, users are responsible for finding an appropriate storage location, naming the information, selecting the transport mechanism, and setting the access permissions. Much of the time, these burdens are needless and, in fact, stand in the way of productive use of the networked environment. In many circumstances, a physical floppy disk is the ideal medium for transferring information, as it eliminates these complications. Our Informative Things approach provides a “floppy-like” user interface that gives the impression of storing information on physical objects. In reality, our system stores information in the network, associating pointers to information with objects in the physical world. By hiding these details, we simplify information management. By linking the physical and virtual worlds, we leverage users’ highly-developed ability to work in the real world.