Automated teller machines (ATMs) are a classic example of ubiquitous comput
ing as they pervade our everyday life and, for many, are typical artifacts
of convenient, modern living. More important, most people are unaware that
in using an ATM they are connected via a computer to a powerful network. Th
rough our research reported within this article, we examine the user accept
ance and usability aspects of a novel, "contactless" ATM. This prototype AT
M has iris identification, speech recognition, speech synthesis, and commun
ication to a user's personal digital assistant (PDA). In this article, we d
escribe our experiences of and explorations with "Stella," a contactless AT
M. First, we briefly discuss the background to the study in terms of techno
logy and trends, and then overview previous usability research in the area.
We report our findings from a cognitive walkthrough, the heuristic review
of the prototype, focus groups, and a user trial. These results underline t
he need for multiple evaluation methods for novel concepts. In general, fro
m the findings of this work, consumers believe that speech is a technology
that will create more usable applications, even when faced with the relativ
e failure of current technology to live up to their expectations or fulfill
their practical needs. People are often initially resistant to the concept
of iris identification and the PDA interaction, yet basic experience with
a usable prototype quickly overcame people's reservations. Finally, we outl
ine some of the underlying challenges facing voice-based interaction approa
ches to this form of ubiquitous, public self-service computing.