Stefan Agamanolis

Designing sports: a framework for exertion games

Exertion games require investing physical effort. The fact that such games can support physical health is tempered by our limited understanding of how to design for engaging exertion experiences. This paper introduces the Exertion Framework as a way to think and talk about Exertion Games, both for their formative design and summative analysis. Our Exertion Framework is based on the ways in which we can conceive of the body investing in game-directed exertion, supported by four perspectives on the body (the Responding Body, Moving Body, Sensing Body and Relating Body) and three perspectives on gaming (rules, play and context). The paper illustrates how this framework was derived from prior systems and theory, and presents a case study of how it has been used to inspire novel exertion interactions.

Designing Displays for Human Connectedness

How can we design displays that foster a sense of presence and awareness... that enhance a sense of community and togetherness... that enable human bonds to grow and flourish? Using five prototypes from the Human Connectedness research group at Media Lab Europe as a context for reflection, this chapter attempts to assemble a framework of questions and strategies for designers to consider when working to achieve these kinds of effects. The prototypes discussed include a media space that connects several physical locations in our organization, a video conference system based on the metaphor of a magic mirror, a video installation that displays layers of recorded social interaction, an ambient display for hospital patients in isolation wards, and a “sports over a distance” application with an “exertion” interface.

Toward wearable social networking with iBand

The iBand is a wearable bracelet-like device that exchanges information about its users and their relationships. This exchange happens during the common gesture of the handshake, which is detected by the device. As such, iBand seeks to explore potential applications at the intersection of social networking and ubiquitous computing. In this paper, we discuss the iBand technology and feedback from an initial study in which 11 devices were used at two different social networking events. The results suggest that control over personal information is an ongoing issue, but they also highlight the possibility for wearable devices to enable the creation of a set of invented techno-gestures with different affordances and constraints that might be more appropriate for certain social interaction applications.

Viper: a framework for responsive television

Web content commonly incorporates user profile and tracking data to personalize information to clients. Video post-production and delivery systems, however, generally promote a one-size-fits-all authoring approach. Viper lets producers create complex video programs that can re-edit themselves in response to various audience-related factors.

Tuna: Socialising Music Sharing on the Move

The Sony Walkman was one of the first mobile personal technologies introduced in the market (du Gay et al., 1997). Its success, together with the following development and high penetration of mobile phones, has stressed the importance that ubiquitous technologies play in our everyday life. There are, at this stage, many new opportunities to explore for the design of future mobile devices, especially if we consider the fast improvements in terms of broadband wireless technologies and powerful handheld computers. The main interest of the researchers involved in the project presented below is, in general, to design technologies and applications able to create, support and maintain social interactions among people who happen to be in physical proximity, while performing various everyday activities within an urban environment. Cities are becoming in fact more and more alienating places where people mostly ignore whoever is nearby in their everyday routine (Putnam, 2000). Our aim is to design new personal technologies that could support the creation of a ‘neighbourhood feeling’ and the improvement of the social capital on a local scale. While many definitions have been assigned to the concept of ‘social capital’, it could be here summarized as the sum of relationships, norms and institutions that shape the quality and quantity of a society’s social interactions (World Bank, 1999). This research has started from the analysis of common habits in terms of mobile devices usage, and has investigated potential incentives that would make people use these devices to connect to other people nearby, even strangers. Many studies have tried to explain why the personal music player has become so popular, and to research habits of consumption related to this technology (du Gay et al., 1997; Bull, 2000). From these investigations it emerges that music can constitute a tool to

Exertion interfaces

Exertion as an interface has gained an increased momentum recently due to the belief that it can address current issues such as obesity, contribute to technology developments such as pervasive computing, and open new markets for entertainment industries. We are proposing a workshop on this topic to bring researchers and industry participants from this area together to further refine the field and promote the area as distinct topic. The workshop will support developing future collaborative efforts and encourage a constructive reflection on the issues of this novel area.

RAW: conveying minimally-mediated impressions of everyday life with an audio-photographic tool

This paper traces the development of RAW, a system combining a tool and a process for capturing and conveying audiovisual impressions of everyday life. The project aims to enable a relationship between the user of the tool and an audience in a different place or time with an absolute minimum of editorial mediation by a third party. The tool itself incorporates a digital camera and a binaural audio recording device that captures the minute of sound before and after a picture is taken. To inform the design process, we tested prototypes in a progression of three studies within different cultural contexts in Ireland, France, and Mali. We present the results of these experiences, in which we observed among our participants an emerging set of ways of exploiting the tool for different purposes: social glances, depictions of activities, active documentation, and intentional discourses. We also discuss more generally the advantages and pitfalls of multicultural analyses of prototype technologies like the one we undertook.

Design space of networked exertion games demonstrated by a three-way physical game based on Table Tennis

Physical leisure games can be beneficial to physical as well as mental health and offer a means to connect with others socially. However, players have to be in the same physical location to play. Recent trends in the gaming industry and research labs have started to embrace exertion games: physical games that are expected to be exhausting because they require intense physical effort. However, there is still a lack of a design space that can guide in evaluating such exertion games, help designers in creating future games by maximizing their potential, and inspire new directions in this domain. We present such a design space for exertion games, based on the characteristics of traditional physical games but extended to support distributed interactions. Our motivation is based on the belief that the physicality found in traditional leisure games contributes to facilitating social bonds. We used this design space to develop a networked table tennis-like game called “Table Tennis for Three.” It is played with a real paddle and ball and augmented with a large-scale video-conference. Our prototype shows how the application of the design space can leverage the potential for novel exertion gaming experiences such as supporting three players in three geographically distant locations. An evaluation with 41 participants indicated a successful application of some of the ingredients of the networked exertion games “cocktail”; however, some participants did not enjoy the game, and we present informed interpretations to explain their reactions. With this work we aim to provide other researchers and designers with a practical design space of the main components that can create a networked exertion game, and hence inspire and guide them in designing and evaluating future networked exertion games.

Service users' views of a mainstream telecare product: the personal trigger

Telecare is a term that covers a range of products and services that use new technology to enable people to live with greater independence and safety in their own homes. This paper considers the need for design development of a mainstream telecare product called a personal trigger, which provides a means of summoning assistance when help is needed. It is provided as part of a community alarm service and should be worn at all times for continuous protection. The discussion is based on key findings from a survey of 1,324 service users in North East Scotland with a 60% response rate. Telecare technology is often unattractive because the emphasis is on producing a functional, rather than a desirable product. We argue that the telecare industry needs to consider the social and emotional aspects of design as well as function, even though many of todays service users find the current design acceptable. The survey findings can be incorporated into future product designs.

Evaluation of the User Experience of a Standard Telecare Product - The Personal Trigger

Telecare is a term that covers a range of products and services that use new technology to enable people to live with greater independence and safety in their own homes. In this paper, we present an evaluation of the user experience of a familiar telecare product called a ‘personal trigger’ that provides a means of summoning assistance when help is needed. It is supplied as part of a community alarm service and should be worn at all times for continuous protection. Our evaluation is based on a survey distributed to over 1,300 clients in Moray, North East Scotland with a 60% response rate. The main findings are: clients view the service extremely positively, but almost two-thirds have never used their personal trigger to summon help and less than 8% wear it at all times; over two-thirds of clients wear their personal trigger most or all of the time, predominantly because it makes them feel safer; almost one-third of clients wear their personal trigger only some of the time to not at all, mostly because it is too sensitive or they forget to put it on. The appearance of the personal trigger was found to be less significant, despite the large majority of respondents being women. However, there is a need for better design to make it more comfortable and enjoyable to wear. Over the coming years, many older people will have higher expectations of public services. Designers can make things that are attractive and work well, and should be included in teams that develop telecare technology.