Paul Haimes

Mobile map applications and the democratisation of hazard information

The geospatial web --- exemplified by the popularity of Google Maps --- has democratised the accessibility of geospatial data that was previously available only to those with expertise in GIS (Geographic information systems). This increased accessibility has resulted in critical information---such as the location of bushfires in Australia --- being made more accessible to communities vulnerable to such risks. This paper reports on the findings of a research project in Australia that aimed to present near real-time bushfire information in an interface that community-based users found intuitive and easy to use. It also describes the early prototype stages of an iPhone application that aims to demonstrate how Japanese natural hazard data can be presented in a more intuitive way. The work described here is intended to encourage organisations and individuals presenting spatial hazard information to non-expert users to consider the needs, abilities and concerns of their intended audience. It also describes the technologies and processes used in the design and development of the MyFireWatch and Mapping Hazards in Japan applications.

Katsukazan: An Intuitive iOS App for Informing People About Volcanic Activity in Japan

Events in recent years have drawn attention to disaster risks related to volcanic activity in Japan. People having easy access to information regarding Japans active volcanoes is of great importance - particularly as early work in our research indicated that visitors to Japan are unaware of these risks. Both disaster literature and interaction design theory emphasise considering the needs of users as part of the design process. Therefore, we are involving users at each step of the design process as we create an iOS application that allows people to explore and contextualise this information in a simple yet meaningful way.

Zen and the art of website maintenance

and wabi-sabi share traits of modest forms and an emphasis on form after function. Today many of the signs you see in Japan give a modernist impression with an emphasis primarily on function and readability. Helvetica is as pervasive in Tokyo as it is in the International Typographic Style of 1960s Switzerland. This seemingly intuitive Japanese sense of functional simplicity is even apparent in Honda’s famous Asimo robot, which has a sleek and smooth exterior worthy of the next Apple product. So why is it then that a country steeped in beautiful, functional simplicity has websites that are crowded and often almost impossible to read, that seem to ignore modern design conventions, much less incorporate even a trace of wabi-sabi? Since Web 2.0 in the mid-2000s, interface design globally has moved toward a more simple but functional approach, resulting in the recent preference for flat design over ornamentation (e.g., consider how buttons have gone from a 3D beveled appearance to a more 2D style). Yet despite its long-term love of laptops and smartphones and some of the best Internet speeds in the world, somehow the sparse simplicity of wabi-sabi does not seem to have translated to the Web. Somehow the realities of 21st-century interface design have not caught on. (Japan is, incidentally—much to the surprise of many immigrants—a country where fax machines remain common.) As a design researcher living in Tokyo, I am trying to understand why this is the case. How can an innovative and creative culture—where timehonored wabi-sabi aesthetics seem to have permeated even robot design— have so many websites that look like they have not been updated in more P icture a Zen garden. Peaceful, serene, and meticulously maintained by monks with the kind of patience that can only be gained through the pursuit of enlightenment. A visit to a temple in the ancient town of Kamakura a few years ago left me with a tiny glimpse into the world of Zen and a taste of what is required to achieve such simple beauty. This aesthetic sense is summed up by the Japanese term wabisabi, which refers to the application of mindfulness to everyday life. Leonard Koren, who wrote one of the definitive Western guides to wabi-sabi [1], defined its essential characteristics as a beauty that is imperfect and impermanent but also humble and modest. It requires a rejection of the ostentatious in favor of function. To experience wabi-sabi takes patience and attention to detail. In his BBC documentary In Search of Wabi-Sabi, Marcel Thereoux [2] surmised that wabi-sabi was more than an intellectual pursuit of aesthetic ideals; it was something closer to a spirituality ingrained in the Japanese psyche. Since 16th-century Japan, the wabi-sabi aesthetic has revealed itself in several physical forms: from the elegant ritual of tea ceremonies and the minimalist floristry of ikebana to traditional musical instruments such as the shamisen. In the post-war period of the second half of the 20th century, this aesthetic has continued through the modern and post-modern eras. Architects such as Tadao Ando and Toyo Ito (Figure 1) have created elegant structures that manage to be as simple and functional as they are beautiful. This sublime sense of simplicity has manifested itself across various media. On film, Yasujiro Ozu captured an elegant beauty that inspired generations of directors. Similarly, graphic designers in Japan such as Shigeo Fukuda and Yoshiro Yamashita also reflected this aesthetic. Despite their disparate origins, modernist style

Textile++: low cost textile interface using the principle of resistive touch sensing

Here we introduce our system Textile++, a touch-sensitive cloth consisting of fiber materials. With this system, it is possible to detect the XY coordinate position of the substance touching the cloth. In addition, pressure can be detected. Textile++ is flexible and lightweight, making it is easy to apply to conventional clothes. Compared to existing methods, the structure is simple, so it is possible to manufacture at very low cost. This paper explains the proposed Textile ++ system and its application to a cuff-based user interface (UI) created for a jacket (Figure 1).

Switch++: An Output Device of the Switches by the Finger Gestures

Regarding human-machine-interfaces, switches have not changed significantly despite the machines themselves evolving constantly. In this paper, we propose a new method of operability for devices by providing multiple switches dynamically, and users choose the switch that has the functionality that they want to use. Switch++ senses the mental model of the operating sensation of switches against the users finger gestures and changes the shape of the switch and its affordances accordingly. We design the interface based on the raw data.

Taifūrin: Wind-Chime Installation As A Novel Typhoon Early Warning System

Taifūrin is a novel typhoon early warning system that informs people when a typhoon is approaching. We combined a traditional Japanese wind-chime (known as fūrin) with near real-time remotely-sensed typhoon data and electronic components connected to a single-circuit board computer to create a unique IoT (Internet of Things) device in the form of a simple art installation. In doing so, we aimed to combine modern interactivity with a traditional sense of Japanese aesthetics, known as wabi-sabi.