Karen Johanne Kortbek

Kinesthetic interaction: revealing the bodily potential in interaction design

Within the Human-Computer Interaction community there is a growing interest in designing for the whole body in interaction design. The attempts aimed at addressing the body have very different outcomes spanning from theoretical arguments for understanding the body in the design process, to more practical examples of designing for bodily potential. This paper presents Kinesthetic Interaction as a unifying concept for describing the body in motion as a foundation for designing interactive systems. Based on the theoretical foundation for Kinesthetic Interaction, a conceptual framework is introduced to reveal bodily potential in relation to three design themes --- kinesthetic development, kinesthetic means and kinesthetic disorder; and seven design parameters --- engagement, sociality, movability, explicit motivation, implicit motivation, expressive meaning and kinesthetic empathy. The framework is a tool to be utilized when analyzing existing designs, as well as developing designs exploring new ways of designing kinesthetic interactions.

IGameFloor: a platform for co-located collaborative games

This paper introduces a novel interactive floor platform for social games and entertainment involving multiple co-located users in a collaborative game environment. The interactive floor used as the prototype platform, is a 12 m2 glass surface with bottom projection and camera based tracking of limb (e.g. foot, hand, and knee) contact points. The iGameFloor platform supports tracking of limb points for more than 10 users at the same time. This paper describes the technological platform and the interaction techniques used for social gaming and entertainment. Three iGameFloor applications are discussed with the purpose of displaying the potential of the physical computer game platform. Experiences and perspectives for further development of the iGameFloor platform are discussed.

Interactive spatial multimedia for communication of art in the physical museum space

This paper discusses the application of three spatial multimedia techniques for communication of art in the physical museum space. In contrast to the widespread use of computers in cultural heritage and natural science museums, it is generally a challenge to introduce technology in art museums without disturbing the art works. This has usually been limited to individual audio guides. In our case we strive to achieve holistic and social experiences with seamless transitions between art experience and communication related to the artworks. To reach a holistic experience with minimal disturbance of the artworks we apply three spatial multimedia techniques where the only interaction device needed is the human body. The three techniques are: 1) spatially bounded audio; 2) floor-based multimedia; 3) multimedia interior. The paper describes the application of these techniques for communication of information in a Mariko Mori exhibition. The multimedia installations and their implementation are described. It is argued that the utilization of the spatial multimedia techniques support holistic and social art experience. The multimedia installations were in function for a three and a half month exhibition period and they were approved on beforehand by the artist to be in concordance with the artworks.

Interactive floor support for kinesthetic interaction in children learning environments

This paper introduces a novel kinesthetic interaction technique for interactive floors. The interaction techniques utilize vision-based limb tracking on an interactive floor - a 12 m2 glass surface with bottom projection. The kinesthetic interaction technique has been developed for an interactive floor implemented in a school square. The paper discusses the kinesthetic interaction technique and its potentials in the domain of learning applications: Kinesthetic interaction supports body-kinesthetic learning as argued in the learning literature. Kinesthetic interaction is fun and motivating thus encourages children to explore and learn. Kinesthetic interaction on large display surfaces supports collaborative, co-located play and learning through communication and negotiation among the participants. Finally, the paper discusses prospects and challenges in development of kinesthetic interaction for interactive floors.

Stepstone: an interactive floor application for hearing impaired children with a cochlear implant

This paper describes a novel interactive floor application suited for hearing impaired children with a cochlear implant (CI). Existing linguistic learning materials for CI children are restricted to analogue books and CD ROM application in which bodily interaction is rather limited. The paper highlights the relation between language and body movement and proposes interactive floor technology as a foundation for CI childrens linguistic learning. The Stepstone application described in this paper combines body movement and group collaboration as a mean for practicing and enhancing speech and language skills for CI children in a school environment. Two Stepstone games for CI children are presented: the Stepstone Ling Game helping the children to calibrate their cochlear implants, and the Stepstone Language Game which is a framework for language concept training.

Mobile Urban Drama: interactive storytelling in real world environments

This article presents methods and tools for producing location-based Mobile Urban Dramas. In a Mobile Urban Drama, the user becomes the main character in a play that is presented as a multimedia production (through audio, images, animations and videos) on the users mobile phone and in the physical surroundings. The media files are linked via tags (2D barcodes/RFID) or GPS to the real world set as the stage of the drama. The dramaturgical concept is described, and a narrative architecture is introduced. It supports a rich variety of plot graphs implemented in a software framework that supports producing Mobile Urban Dramas. Dramas produced with the framework may span from pure art pieces to structured learning experiences, for example, biology learning framed in a thriller. Experiences from six dramas produced with the framework by a Danish theatre group are discussed. The results are general findings on the concept, the narrative structure, scenographic effects and tools for technical production.

Communicating art through interactive technology: new approaches for interaction design in art museums

This paper discusses new approaches to interaction design for communication of art in the physical museum space. In contrast to the widespread utilization of interactive technologies in cultural heritage and natural science museums it is generally a challenge to introduce technology in art museums without disturbing the domain of the art works. To explore the possibilities of communicating art through the use of technology, and to minimize disturbance of the artworks, we apply four main approaches in the communication: 1) gentle audio augmentation of art works; 2) conceptual affinity of art works and remote interactive installations; 3) using the body as an interaction device; 4) consistent audio-visual cues for interaction opportunities. The paper describes the application of these approaches for communication of inspirational material for a Mariko Mori exhibition. The installations are described and argued for. Experiences with the interactive communication are discussed based on qualitative and quantitative evaluations of visitor reactions. It is concluded that the installations are received well by the visitors, who perceived exhibition and communication as a holistic user experience with a seamless interactive communication.

Designing playful interactive installations for urban environments --- the swingscape experience

This paper discusses design issues in the development of playful outdoor interactive installations featuring kinesthetic interaction and immersive music experiences. The research is based on the development and evaluation of the novel SwingScape installation, which is a permanent installation at an urban playground. The objectives of SwingScape are to encourage physical activity as well as creating a playful and social experience in an urban space. The interaction techniques include movement sensors built into swings, LED lights, and an ambient loudspeaker system covering approx. 180 square meters. The design issues include: creating playful and collective interaction, making a familiar swing interaction simulate the experience of a music mixing board, providing gentle integration of multimedia (light and sound) in the atmosphere of an urban space, and finally making installations robust and safe for an urban outdoor setting. The SwingScape installation has been developed in three phases for quite different urban settings, and the experiences from these are generalised to contribute to a foundation for design of interactive urban installations.