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July 18, 2005

InteractiveSpaces.net

Research Themes.jpg

Concepts for Future Interactive Spaces

InteractiveSpaces is an interdisciplinary research center bringing together architecture, engineering, and computer science with the research mission to create new concepts for future interactive spaces. InteractiveSpaces.net also bring together companies and public researchers in a R&D activities leading to new products and services for specific domains. Research themes include:

Space as Interface: Through the emergence of pervasive computing our surrounding space contains both physical and virtual proporties. Interacting with these environments require a new way of understanding the relation between space and technology. To us interactions should not only be limited to simple displays but be a part of and take place in the space, and in that way using the space as the interface. This is done by combining the spatial and technological properties with the user as an interacting device – speaking to, gesturing with, moving in and touching the surrounding space. That way our interactions with technology gets a closer relation to the environments they are applied to.

Tangibility and palpability

The current focus on invisible computing and ambient intelligence does not take into account that users need to understand their environment and wish to be in control of the situation. To achieve comprehension and control we develop tangible and palpable environments. Tangible and palpable environments share similarities with pervasive and ubiquitous computing environments in that they consist of configurations of a number of components running on different devices in ephemeral interaction to serve certain purposes in a given context #lang sćtning. However, tangible and palpable interactive spaces are different in that they are not based on the assumptions that computing is invisible, autonomous, and intelligent on behalf of its users. Instead we strive to create ready-to-hand understandable, visible and tangible services integrated in interactive spaces. We augment spaces such that they respect the qualities of the physical world.

Context aware interaction

We create seamless access to information and services in spaces without cumbersome logon and user interfaces that adapt to users based on e.g. location and profiles. We make the environments that carry user files and store information produced by users based on the context rather than try to let the users carry all their data on portables and the like. Computing support is called context aware, when the available services and information are provided based on a sense of the context, i.e. the time of day, the weather, the light, the user’s location, tasks, preferences etc. Context may be sensed by tracking the location of users and objects and by retrieving status, profile, or preference information from users’ active badges, PDAs or mobile phones. Services in an environment use the context-awareness to adapt functionality and user-interfaces of services to the context. The environments we develop will take advantage of context awareness and provide the users with relevant services.

Augmenting reality

The focus is on seamless augmentation of the physical environment with digital information and services without spoiling the affordances of the physical artefacts and the environment. Techniques include tagging and labelling the physical world with RFID or visual markers to link to digital information. Digital information may be superimposed on real world objects with different techniques, such as project or see-through displays.

Aesthetic interaction

The typical image of computers is closely related to grey boxes on our desktops. owever, as technology moves beyond the work environment into the domestic and cultural realms of life, the roles and ideals of information technology must reflect the experiential aspects of life. Through designing for aesthetic interaction we wish to make technology serve and enrich people's everyday life. Aesthetic interaction emphasizes a focus beyond functionality of computational devices taking departure in the more subtle and poetic sides of life. It aims for creating involvement, experience, surprise and serendipity in interaction with everyday artifacts and interactive spaces.

Aesthetic interaction

The typical image of computers is closely related to grey boxes on our desktops. owever, as technology moves beyond the work environment into the domestic and cultural realms of life, the roles and ideals of information technology must reflect the experiential aspects of life. Through designing for aesthetic interaction we wish to make technology serve and enrich people's everyday life. Aesthetic interaction emphasizes a focus beyond functionality of computational devices taking departure in the more subtle and poetic sides of life. It aims for creating involvement, experience, surprise and serendipity in interaction with everyday artifacts and interactive spaces.

Playfulness

A playful approach enhances people’s imaginary resources enabling new ways of perceiving and adopting the surrounding world. In our research playfulness is considered to reach beyond a temporary amusing activity; play is characterised as a voluntary, structured, purposeful and pleasurable activity involving the imaginary. It challenges and transcends established paradigms and ideas, and shares aspects of informal learning. The ambition is to design playful IT enhanced environments and artefacts that will enable new ways of seeing and support the person engaging with a system to take initiative and challenge its rules and conceptions.

Social Computing

Computing potentials are moving beyond the office into the spatial context of homes, institutions and the urban environment. Traditionally computers and artefacts have been designed for the individual user. However, the migration of technology towards a social environment, stresses the need for focusing on the use of technology in a social and spatial context. Taking point of departure in domestic and public contexts, interactivespaces design environments supporting social interactions, e.g. sharing information and knowledge and establishing new relations and contacts.

Posted by jo at July 18, 2005 08:40 AM

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