1,721,155 research outputs found
Materials of Embodied Interaction
No full textEmbodied interaction refers to the way our perception of physical and social phenomena develops in interplay with the world we live in [6]. This paper explores the use of interactive textile interfaces to enable embodied interactions with a robot companion of play. More in detail, we investigate the possibility of achieving by design a shared perception with the robot, with the objective to stimulate reflection during play, development of play styles and learning of social competences. A research-through-design approach is used to investigate the emergence of social behaviors during play, by sparking embodied interaction between child and robot. Two prototypes embedding interactive textile modules have been developed: S-Bristle (sensible bristle), a pressure sensitive fabric module that enables sensory-stimulation games, and Interactive Fur an interactive soft woolen cover that sustains perceptual-motor coordination and symbolic games. Both modules have been developed using a phenomenology inspired design approach to embodied interaction, which focuses on perception and bodily experience as means to foster social skills
In Praise of Beauty and Enchantment: In Praise of Beauty and Enchantment: Setting the Scenery of Respectful Design
No full textRespectful design emphasizes the experience of using systems/products that leads to feelings of emotional engagement, resonance, enchantment and wonder. It entices reflections on value-related and societal relevant questions. Respectful design also implies respectfully addressing all human skills, the perceptual-motor, emotional, cognitive, and social ones through rich, natural, and meaningful interaction possibilities.
This vision requires societal, cultural and aesthetic sensitivity to be achieved. This paper frames respectful design from a theoretical viewpoint, and illustrates two design cases addressing the vision. It also offers methodological insights on art and poetry as resources for respectful design. In particular it describes how to play with the subtleties of those languages, to reflect on values (aesthetic, social, ethical) and use them to drive the design process
La cultura maker per l’innovazione digitale
Full text linkL’articolo traccia una visione del futuro delle tecnologie digitali poste di fronte ad una sfida di sviluppo e innovazione, quella di fondere il mondo dell’immateriale proprio della produzione digitale, con la materia fisica, integrando da un lato intelligenza e capacità computazionali negli oggetti di uso quotidiano, dall’altro utilizzando tecnologie digitali per la fabbricazione stessa di artefatti. Questa visione è promossa dal movimento Fab Lab, la rete mondiale di intelligenze e tecnologie che ha incarnato la cosiddetta terza rivoluzione digitale, quella della fabbricazione digitale. In ciò che segue ripercorreremo i momenti salienti della storia del movimento, nato al Center for Bits and Atoms del MIT, e fotograferemo la realtà italiana, con particolare riferimento al Fab Lab del Santa Chiara Fab Lab, il centro per l’innovazione interdisciplinare dell'Università di Siena. Questo laboratorio è una moderna bottega di design a servizio della ricerca, della formazione e della terza missione, dove la fabbricazione digitale si innesta su progetti che affrontano in modo fortemente interdisciplinare i temi dell'inclusione sociale, dell'accessibilità, della salute, dell’innovazione nei beni culturali e della sostenibilità.The article provides a vision of the future of digital technologies which address an
innovation challenge to merge the immaterial world of the digital production with the
physical world, by integrating intelligence and computational capacity into everyday
objects, as well as by using digital technologies to produce such artefacts. This vision is
promoted by the Fab Lab movement, the international network of intelligences and
technologies which embodies the so-called third digital revolution, namely the digital
fabrication revolution. In what follows, we retrace the highlights of the movement’s
history, that was born at the MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms, and then we focus on the
Italian context with references to the Santa Chiara Fab Lab, the centre for
interdisciplinary innovation of the University of Siena. This lab is a modern design
workshop that supports academic research, training and third mission. The digital
fabrication is fully integrated in these activities to address the challenges of social
inclusion, accessibility, health, cultural heritage and sustainability
Is deafness a disability?: Designing hearing AIDS beyond functionality
No full textThe question whether deafness is a disability causes controversial and emotionally charged debates. The experience of hearing loss is different from the experience of being born deaf, as well as the need and willingness of using hearing aids. Following a medical model of disability, deafness has been traditionally viewed as a physical impairment. This paper points out highly debated issues related to the design of assistive technologies for people with hearing impairment. It illustrates the design case of a suite of smart jewels designed to address their emotional and socio-cultural needs beyond the functional goal of supporting hearing. The design case calls for a shift in the attitude toward disability - from a medical model which sees impairment as a personal deficiency to be "normalized", to a socio-cultural model which views disability as a socially constructed concept defined by the obstacles of a hearing-oriented world
Enriching the food experience: A design journey through innovative technologies for creating, experimenting, consuming, socializing, and playing with food
No full textWhen we were invited to write a chapter on food and technology for
this book, we thought that the enterprise would have deserved an entire
book. Digital technologies are pervading the dining table, the kitchen,
and any digital or physical space where we can grow, create, share, enjoy,
consume, learn about, recycle, store, and distribute food.
This chapter is by necessity a personal journey on the theme, which
touches upon how digital technologies feature the food experience in
diverse faces and directions combining emerging approaches.
To help reflecting on the food experience enabled by digital technologies,
we draw a fil rouge around the way digital technologies are likely to
change our experience of food. Our fil rouge unravels around five themes
that represent stopovers along a narrative and experience-centered journey
focused on creating, experimenting, consuming, socializing, and playing
with food.
Our review does not claim to be exhaustive or complete. Rather, it aims
at devising some “food for thought” and stimulating a sensitivity toward
potential evolutions and transformations induced by digital technologies
in the food realm
"On making"
Full text linkOne of the lenses through which we regard ‘making’ lies in its social dimension: making for and by yourself, making for and by a small group, and making for and by communities. The six articles included in this special issue provide alternative lenses, which, superimposed on our model, create a matrix. We realize of course that in such a superimposition the articles will not fit neatly in individual cells of the matrix, but indicate (future) lines of investigation.
For example, the salient aspects of the articles in this special issue include: (1) the notion of making as critical thinking; (2) the democratization of making, including tools platforms and toolkits; (3) connected to this, the notion of expertise; (4) making as social practice; (5) the tension between intellectual ownership and business. When addressing these topics through our lens of scale, reflections emerge such as “What does the democratization of making mean for the traditional craftsman, for the composition of maker teams of for the inclusion of laymen in the process?”, “Is there such a thing as collective critical making?”, or “Do the current models for intellectual ownership and business suffice at the level of the individual, small group or community?”
These are of course only three of the countless reflections that will emerge from the current dynamics in the world of making. Through this special issue we hope to provide a glimpse of these perspectives on making, and to provide inspiration for future research on making for the individual researcher, research groups and our research communit
Coupling the digital and the physical: a way on in the design of tangible media
No full textThe Multi-sensory Room is an ongoing project aiming to develop non pharmacological therapeutic protocols and IT solutions for the treatment of dementia in institutionalized contexts. The project exploits the potential of ambient technologies and tangible media for developing a therapeutic environment to stimulate patients’ residual cognitive, behavioral and physical abilities. The Multi-sensory room is currently used in an Italian Home Care. Initial trials and preliminary results are described in the paper
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
- …
