Martin Ludvigsen

Aesthetic interaction: a pragmatist's aesthetics of interactive systems

There is a growing interest in considering aesthetic aspects in the design of interactive systems. A set of approaches are emerging each representing different applications of the terminology as well as different inherent assumptions on the role of the user, designer and interaction ideals. In this paper, we use the concept of Pragmatist Aesthetics to provide a framework for distinguishing between different approaches to aesthetics. Moreover, we use our own design cases to illustrate how pragmatist aesthetics is a promising path to follow in the context of designing interactive systems, as it promotes aesthetics of use, rather than aesthetics of appearance. We coin this approach in the perspective of aesthetic interaction. Finally we make the point that aesthetics is not re-defining everything known about interactive systems. We provide a framework placing this perspective among other perspectives on interaction.

Mission from Mars: a method for exploring user requirements for children in a narrative space

In this paper a particular design method is propagated as a supplement to existing descriptive approaches to current practice studies especially suitable for gathering requirements for the design of childrens technology. The Mission from Mars method was applied during the design of an electronic school bag (eBag). The three-hour collaborative session provides a first-hand insight into childrens practice in a fun and intriguing way. The method is proposed as a supplement to existing descriptive design methods for interaction design and children.

Designing technology for active spectator experiences at sporting events

This paper explores the active spectator experience at sporting events, by presenting and reflecting upon a design experiment carried out at a number of football events. The initial hypothesis of the design process, leading to the design experiment has been that the spectator experience is not merely an experience of receiving and consuming entertainment. It is also heavily reliant on the active participation of the spectator in creating the atmosphere of the entire event. The BannerBattle experiment provides interactive technology in sport arenas with a form of interaction based on existing behaviour in the context. The work presented also argues for a need to overcome the inclination to designing technological systems that imitate or compete with the experience of watching the television broadcast of the game. Experiments such as the presented BannerBattle are cornerstones in our exploratory research-through-design approach to designing technologies for social experiences.

Mock games: a new genre of pervasive play

In this paper we identify and characterize, in theory and by design example, a new genre of pervasive play for tweens that lies on the border between play and game, called mock games. The objective is to design digital support for more or less structured playfulness among preteen children, primarily girls, in a way that emphasizes humor, friendly battle and identity construction. The method used is a combination of a review of a number of theories of games and play and a field study into the social reality of childrens playful activities. Based on these two investigations we characterize mock games as a genre and show that it is not covered well by any one of the reviewed theories, taking into account both social and technical aspects. Then we present a design example of such a system, DARE! We conclude by discussing ethical issues and set goals for future research.

Floor interaction HCI reaching new ground

Within architecture, there is a long tradition of careful design of floors. The design has been concerned with both decorating floors and designing floors to carry information. Ubiquitous computing technology offers new opportunities for designing interactive floors. This paper presents three different interactive floor concepts. Through an urban perspective it draws upon the experiences of floors in architecture, and provides a set of design issues for designing interactive floors.

Interaction technology for collective and psychomotor training in sports

The paper introduces a novel pervasive computing based training concept aimed at elite sports. The concept goes beyond interactive sports equipments that are either individual or multiuser with a common display requiring participants focus. These types of equipments are unable to support the kinesthetic empathic elements inherently present within open sports. To put focus on collective training, we draw inspiration from Kinesthetic Empathy Interaction in designing the collective training equipment, TacTowers. The TacTowers prototype is aimed at supporting athletes, particularly team handball players, in honing their psychomotor skills, in particular anticipation and decision making skills, in the one-on-one confrontation. TacTowers is a sensor-actuator based system, with LED lights and no screen-based display. It is placed between the players in order to reintroduce the kinesthetic empathic element in the interaction, specific to the sport. We present and discuss results of tests with two elite handball teams. We see prospects for applying the concept for entertaining movement-stimulating games at schools or leisure sports environments.

Designing for Co-located Social media use in the home using the CASOME infrastructure

A range of research has pointed to empirical studies of the use of domestic materials as a useful insight when designing future interactive systems for homes. In this paper we describe how we designed a system from the basis of lessons from such studies. Our system applies the CASOME infrastructure (context-aware interactive media platform for social computing in the home) to construct a system supporting distributed and collaborative handling of digital materials in a domestic context. It contains a collective platform for handling digital materials in the home and also contains a range of connected interactive surfaces supporting the flow of digital materials around the physical home. We discuss applications and use scenarios of the system, and finally, we present experiences from lab and field tests of the system. The main contribution of the paper is that it illustrates how insights from empirical studies can be realized in a concrete system design, and it highlights how colocated, connected and social media use is an area which needs further exploration in concrete systems design.