Stanford'se ARPA-e Sensor and Behavior Initiative

Smart meters and related sensing technologies promise that energy information will change energy use. Poorly designed interactions with energy information, however, jeopardize billion dollar infrastructure investments. The current problems are numerous: sensor information is complex and dull, incentives are inappropriate, informational barriers to action are high, and social context is ignored. These problems all involve the intersection of human behavior and technology. The goal of the Stanford ARPA-E Sensor and Behavior Initiative is to develop a comprehensive human-centered solution that leverages the anticipated widespread diffusion of energy sensors to significantly reduce and shift energy use. The Stanford ARPA-E Sensor and Behavior Initiative, funded by DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy and the California Energy Commission, includes 20 projects spanning 10 Stanford academic departments with multiple industry collaborators. The Initiative can be divided into three types of projects: (1) technology-oriented projects: hardware, analytics, and a software platform that enables behavioral programs to be implemented at scale; (2) behavioral programs to reduce and shift energy use; and (3) data modeling that incorporates behavior into prescriptive engineering and economic analyses. The behavioral programs include media (interaction design, social networking, games and feedback interfaces), policy (behavioral economic incentive programs), and community (e.g., a Girl Scout program).

Panel: Byron Reeves, June Flora and Tom Robinson, Moderator: Carrie Armel.  All from Stanford University.