WaterLady: A Case Study for Connecting Physical Devices into Social Networks

An increasing number of connectable devices have been used in our everyday living environments. However, their working status usually cannot be remotely monitored in a ubiquitous way, leading to potential inefficiency in energy consumption. In this paper, we conducted a case study to investigate the effectiveness of connecting devices into social networks for status monitoring. In our study, we developed Water Lady, a water dispenser that posts its working status automatically to one of the biggest social networks in China, and interacts with human beings in this social network. Our evaluation revealed that this approach is convenient, efficient and reliable. Moreover, users' acceptance is much higher than expected. Finally, the personification of physical device is well received by social network users.