Mattias Esbjörnsson

Mobile collaborative live video mixing

We report on design research investigating a possible combination of mobile collaborative live video production and V Jing. In an attempt to better understand future forms of collaborative live media production, we study how VJs produce and mix visuals live. In the practice of producing visuals through interaction with both music and visitors, VJing embodies interesting properties that could inform the design of emerging mobile services. As a first step to examine a generation of new applications, we tease out some characteristics of VJ production and live performance. We then decide on the requirements both for how visitors could capture and transmit live video using their mobile phones and how this new medium could be integrated within VJ aesthetics and interaction. Finally, we present the SwarmCam application, which has been implemented to investigate these requirements.

Watching the cars go round and round: designing for active spectating

Spectating at sport events is a common and popular leisure activity worldwide. Recently spectating has also become a topic of interest to CHI, particularly the design of technology for both performers and audiences. In this paper we describe an in-depth study of spectating, drawn from fieldwork of outdoor car rallies in the UK and Sweden. We describe three findings with relevance to design: the viewing paradox of spectating, active spectating and the role of sociability. We describe the MySplitTime prototype which address these issues while retaining the active sociable nature of the spectating experience.

Traffic encounters and Hocman: associating motorcycle ethnography with design

Brief encounters between acquainted and unacquainted motorcyclists are enjoyable moments. This truly mobile form of social interaction is difficult to study through traditional ethnographic fieldwork. However, the method is applicable when integrated into a design approach where the participants collaborate to integrate the field study, the design, and the evaluation. This has made it possible to generate a novel mobile service. The service, named Hocman, is a peer-to-peer application with mobile wireless ad hoc networking for PDAs. It enhances brief traffic encounters between bikers by playing a sound clip and automatically exchanging personal HTML pages. We have positively demonstrated through performance tests and field trials that it is successful in doing this, and that bikers enjoy such added value to biking, especially hearing the sound clip when meeting other bikers.

Lean collaboration through video gestures: co-ordinating the production of live televised sport

This paper examines the work and interactions between camera operators and a vision mixer during an ice hockey match, and presents an interaction analysis using video data. We analyze video-mediated indexical gestures in the collaborative production of live sport on television between distributed team members. The findings demonstrate how video forms the topic, resource and product of collabora-tion: whilst it shapes the nature of the work (editing), it is simultaneously also the primary resource for supporting mutual orientation and negotiating shot transitions between remote participants (co-ordination), as well as its end prod-uct (broadcast). Our analysis of current professional activi-ties is used to develop implications for the design of future services for live collaborative video production.

Motorcycling and social interaction: design for the enjoyment of brief traffic encounters

We report an ethnographic fieldwork that reveals the importance of social interaction, and especially traffic encounters, for the enjoyment of motorcycling. Motorcyclists spend an appreciable amount of time on the roads to meet other bikers. During the brief traffic encounters, they interact visually by means of their driving, their choice of bike and personal equipment. We uncover problematic issues in this practice and how these are currently addressed. The activities on the roads are partly arranged, and partly complemented by the use of a public message-board on the web. The findings are summarized as a set of implications informing the development of the Hocman prototype. Hocman is a mobile HTTP peer-to-peer application, which supports social interaction between motorcyclists.

Mobile phone talk in context

In light of recent attempts to design context-aware mobile phones, this paper contributes by providing findings from a study of mobile phone talk in context. We argue the benefits of investigating empirically the ways in which a place is interactionally constituted as appropriate, or not, for a mobile phone conversation. Based on a study of naturally occurring mobile phone talk, we show how people handle calls in potentially difficult situations. Availability is negotiated, and it is not always agreed on whether a situation is appropriate. These findings pose challenges to the design of context-aware telephony.

Hocman: supporting mobile group collaboration

We introduce the Hocman prototype, supporting mobile group collaboration among motorcyclists. The design is based on findings from a field study. The motorcyclists are a group with a strong social commitment, however their mobile practice creates collaborative problems. They deal with it by using a website on the Internet, but collaborative issues still remains. For this purpose we have developed a prototype, based on web technology. The prototype is built for handheld computers and wireless communication, allowing the users to share rich content when being in the vicinity of each other.

Motorcyclists Using Hocman – Field Trials on Mobile Interaction

We have performed an ethnographic study that reveals the importance of social interaction, and especially traffic encounters, for the enjoyment of biking. We summarized these findings into a set of design requirements for a service supporting mobile interaction among motorcyclists. The Hocman prototype is designed to meet these requirements. It is an application for handheld devices equipped with wireless ad hoc networking interfaces. It uses a peer-to-peer architecture to accomplish sharing of HTML documents with peers in the immediate proximity. The aim of sharing is to spark social interaction among motorcyclists during brief encounters. We report a field trial on the prototype service in its naturalistic setting. Despite the unmanageable setting, e.g. the vast area, the speed, and unacquainted users, we demonstrate field trials as an effective approach to get feedback on how well a prototype service fulfils the design requirements. The results indicate that the conceptual idea of Hocman was appreciated, which suggest that the focus on interaction in traffic encounters fit with current practice of motorcycling.

Motorcycling and social interaction: design for the enjoyment of brief traffic encounters[10] (abstract only)

We report an ethnographic fieldwork that reveals the importance of social interaction, and especially traffic encounters, for the enjoyment of motorcycling. Motorcyclists spend an appreciable amount of time on the roads to meet other bikers. During the brief traffic encounters, they interact visually by means of their driving, their choice of bike and personal equipment. We uncover problematic issues in this practice and how these are currently addressed. The activities on the roads are partly arranged, and partly complemented by the use of a public message-board on the web. The findings are summarized as a set of implications informing the development of the Hocman prototype. Hocman is a mobile HTTP peer-to-peer application, which supports social interaction between motorcyclists.