Teng-Wen Chang

Typed feature structures and design space exploration

Design space explorers are computer programs that play on an exploration metaphor to support design. They assist designers in creating alternative designs by structuring the process of design creation in a space of alternatives. Subsidiary metaphors relevant to design space explorers are generation, navigation, and reuse. This paper introduces, in two sketches, typed feature structures as a formal system in which a design space explorer and its knowledge level might be implemented. First, informal and abstract properties of typed feature structures suffice to build a sketch of the behavior of a design space explorer. Second, using an example based on single-fronted cottages (a common Australian housing type), we outline the typed feature structure machinery most relevant to design space exploration.

A camera-based multi-touch interface builder for designers

In our daily life, human beings tend to use both hands to accomplish complex tasks, but not to computers. However, multi-touch technology allows users to control all objects on the screen with more than just one finger. Therefore, how designers can take advantage of such technology and explore its potentials? So we propose a multi-touch interface builder called MToolKit for easy and effective construction of multi-touch interface for designers. By using camera-based sensor framework, we further analyze the multi-touch examples available for the interactive patterns. With these analysis and design requirement for building up an interface builder for designers, we conduct a two-point input and implemented them into our system called MToolkit. MToolkit was implemented by java and based on processing programming environment and a video processing C++ library with java wrapper. An example of using our MToolkit is elaborated in this paper.

Supporting Design Learning with Design Puzzles

The design process is a puzzle-solving process. Two groups of researches that share many similarities with Puzzle-solving design process are the process of game-playing and playful learning. The main argument is using the “playing” characteristics to amplify and explore the learning process, furthermore the design process. In addition, puzzles imply playful exploration that utilizes the characteristics of “playing a game” as “solving a puzzle”. Puzzle making and puzzle solving provides an incremental exploration mechanism that is more intuitive for design learning. For understanding and realizing puzzles in design learning, this research is divided into two stages of researches—manual design puzzles and interactive design puzzles. By analysing the outcome from manual design puzzles, this research proposes a framework called (interactive) “design puzzles”. The conceptual and implementation framework of this view of design is elaborated in this paper as well as a particular design puzzle called puzzle collage is described as the realization of design puzzles.

Reacting with care: the hybrid interaction types in a sensible space

Our family members are used to interact with virtual characters than real world. One way to solve this problem is to stop using computers. The other solution is a usable communication platform that can take advantages of both worlds. With the spaces equipped with the media technology defined above, what are the enhanced interfaces for supporting family members communication? We developed the information transmission framework for the refined coexisting spaces that we called hybrid interactive co-existing spaces (HyCoe spaces). The result for implementation is tremendous due to the complex of sensible spaces and the implicit intention during the communication among family members.

Constructing a virtual tower of Babel: a case study in cross-cultural collaboration across three continents

The collaboration project described in this paper revolves around the construction of a virtual Tower of Babel in a 3D Collaborative Virtual Environment (3D CVE). It involved students across three cooperating institutions, on three different continents in different time zones. It addresses the increasing need for students to engage in international collaboration, as much of todays Information and Communication Technology work demands it. This requires cross-cultural understandings with ones co-collaborators, yet there are few opportunities for this to occur in a pedagogical setting. Therefore, this paper discusses a pedagogically-oriented case study of the use of a 3D CVE as a multi-cultural classroom, describing and discussing different phases in the cross-cultural collaborative process.

Physical representation social presence with interactive grass

The hypothesis that happy team members are more cooperative than sad team members has become a popular presumption in social and applied psychology. The member negatively may affect the emotion, mood or attitudes, and continually annoys the rest in the team, and positive either. Also, how do es team member learn more adaptive emotion strategies in complex relationship. This paper introduces a research program on social presence theory and practice of technology creation based on application of emotional physical device. The simple concept of our study is to create an interactive system of expression in the following areas: (1) Theoretical Research: research of social presence and the team members in adopted an emotion system; we will study social media concept in scientific fields, and then establish a program of slow theology. (2) The interactive table as human emotion.

SAM: a spatial interactive platform for studying family communication problem

Communication among nuclear family is a complex but immediate problem due to the small number of family members and the diverse daily schedule of modern society. Because family members have to live together every day, so they must consider and coordinate mutually in communication to avoid estranging by over indifference. With the ambient environment and sensible space technology mentioned above in place, the aim of this study is to explore the possible calm interface. While with nuclear family context in mind, how to build such interface and its implication to the family communication is the problem. For building up an interface using plant-as-media, this study is using the property of plant phototropism. According the above concept, we build up the wall-formed plant interface and two perceptible family spaces practically. Starting with studying on family communication, and this research implements an ambient environment (Spatial Ambient environment, SAM) utilizing sensible space technology and calm interface.

Computation and construction of vault geometry prototypes

Physical models and scaled prototypes of architecture play an important role in design. They enable architects and designers to investigate the formal, functional, and material attributes of the design. Understanding digital processes of realizing scaled prototypes is a significant problem confronting design practice. This paper reports on three approaches to the translation of Gaussian surface models into scaled physical prototype models. Based on the geometry of Eladio Dieste’s Gaussian Vaults, the paper reports on the aspects encountered in the process of digital to physical construction using scaled prototypes. The primary focus of the paper is on computing the design geometry, investigating methods for preparing the geometry for fabrication and physical construction. Three different approaches in the translation from digital to physical models are investigated: rapid prototyping, two-dimensional surface models in paper and structural component models using CNC fabrication. The three approaches identify a body of knowledge in the design and prototyping of Gaussian vaults. Finally the paper discusses the digital to fabrication translation processes with regards to the characteristics, benefits and limitations of the three approaches of prototyping the ruled surface geometry of Gaussian Vaults. The results of each of three fabrication processes allowed for a better understanding of the digital to physical translation process. The use of rapid prototyping permits the production of form models that provide a representation of the physical characteristics such as size, shape and proportion of the Gaussian Vault.

3D Remote Design Collaboration: A Pedagogical Case Study of the Cross-Cultural Issues Raised

Much architectural design work increasingly addresses an international audience. But many designers continue to work in isolation. In practice, however, their work includes international collaboration. This requires cross-cultural understandings with their co-collaborators. There are few opportunities for this to occur in a pedagogical setting. The 3D co-located laboratory (3DCollab) described in this paper was used as a cross-cultural exchange platform to address the need for design students to practice collaborating remotely. What the 3DCollab did was to facilitate cross-cultural exchange in a fun and informative environment where learning was constructed and played out in a 3D virtual environment (3DVE). The project involved students across three cooperating institutions: The University of Queensland (Australia); the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (Taiwan); and, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim (Norway). It builds on previous exercises conducted by the authors. As far as the authors of this paper are aware this is the first e-learning application to focus on cross-cultural understanding in a 3DVE.

HiGame: Improving elderly well-being through horticultural interaction:

Family support is the key to the well-being problems of elderly. Unlike health problem, mental problem often depends on the social network of elderly. How to enhance elderly well-being problems will become how to increase the interaction between elderly and their family. Horticultural interaction proves to be an effective but smooth impact on improving well-being problems of elderly. By designing a horticultural interaction game for motivating or invoking the communication between elderly and their family members, the prototype is developed based on the framework of behavior setting and semi-fixed features. Three groups of games, physical games, virtual games, and spatial interaction games, are analyzed and 14 cases are studied and evaluated for the features required. Particularly, spatial interaction games with both physical and virtual games are brought into scope, and HiGame (Horticultural Interaction Game, hi game) is developed. Five scenarios using sensor network and mobile interface are unleashed and tested in an experiment with two sets of elderly family participants. HiGame has connection to both physical and virtual spaces for elderly and their family. Elderly interact with distant family through physical watering, weeding, and fertilizing. And distant family use virtual game to support elderly. The interaction process can be further enhanced with the following: (1) separating the tasks for elderly and family ends individually and then cooperating together might enforce the intergenerational interaction and reflection on cooperation in the gaming process; (2) the connection among each scenario can be further developed into a different process, such as competition of different members for helping the elderly to complete certain task might motivate the game experience further.