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Water Shadow system containing concrete slab which displays different graphics based on different hand gestures.
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Concrete is a composite material that has mostly been used for buildings and road surfaces since early human history. It is also applied to contemporary product design, as it has rather interesting aesthetic properties. In this late-breaking work, we present a series of small-scale explorations of concrete: first in which we exploited its hydroscop...
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... Shadow was designed as a dynamic, playful concrete display system (Figure 1). The display works by exploiting the fact that concrete darkens when wet to create a natural color-changing (i.e., shadow) interface in the material, which automatically disappears after a brief period of time. ...
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There is a long history of creative encounters between tangible interface design and the Arts. However, in comparison with media art, tangible interaction seems to be quite anchored into many of the traditional methodologies imported from human–computer interaction (HCI). How can the Arts help tangible interaction design? Building on Søren Pold’s I...
Citations
... also prove its electrical and thermal conductivity properties which can turn it into capacitive surfaces. HCI already applied concrete as an interactive material [35,44,79]. However, these projects mostly focused on the technological feasibility and less on the question how to design these interfaces to create a clear usage affordance. ...
... Furthermore, Ishii et al. [35] imagined architectural spaces as interactive places where users, spaces, and data merge into a single continuum. In such spaces, technology is no longer a foreign body but rather reflects its surroundings by using the same materials such as concrete or wood [44] or is directly included in the environment [79]. Other concrete interfaces (cf. ...
... vibration [12,64]) or shape-shifting [38,39]. Research shows that the interaction with tangible interfaces, due to their haptic qualities, is perceived as evocative [6], engaging [46], inviting to explore [79] and natural [29,33]. Visual affordances use the look of an interface to extend a user's visual perception and interpretation of it. ...
Concrete is a ubiquitous material in urban environments and increasingly used by industry and the maker movement. However, there is little research about its affordance and its potential for embedded User Interfaces (UI). In our ongoing work, we investigate different manufacturing processes and design strategies to change and adapt the affordances of concrete to make it appear interactive. We tested three interface elements, a button, a scroll wheel, and a slider, with 33 participants in a lab elicitation study. Each was created in two versions following two design strategies, one with a more natural look, the other more abstract. Five participants then bodystormed ideas with the prototypes in an outdoor environment. Based on our explorations, we discuss design considerations for creating concrete interfaces including the potential of both design strategies, and present different application scenarios.
... In regards to the design of interactive artifacts, design materials can be understood in various ways; material things, such as leather [43] or concrete [45], immaterial things, such as light [50] or radio [5], as well as digital materials, such as code [20], play a crucial role, as they only together result in interactive things. Consequently, Interaction Design may be understood as the practice of imagining and designing interaction through material manifestations [48]. ...
In the past few years, the materials of which objects are made of have increasingly gained attention, particularly in relation to the design and usage of computational objects. Different kinds of materialities have been investigated, discussed, and attentively designed. In order to contribute knowledge on how the materiality of things influences how individuals experience (im-)material artefacts, this paper presents an inquiry into two independent debates on Twitter about whether or not consuming alternative material representations of books (audiobooks or ebooks) “count as” reading. Our findings indicate that experiential aspects of the material instantiations of books are of high relevance and that individuals show strong emotional and reflective responses about them. We discuss several aspects of materialized reading and conclude by detailing how the findings may influence (research on) the design of future books.
... To produce fit quality, we combined the form of a traditional desktop calendar with concrete material [29,30,36] to match surrounding furnishings ( Figure 2c). We chose to use an Eink display to represent a schedule on the screen, as we believe it will promote user engagement with the device. ...
We introduce Monomizo, a tangible daily and monthly calendar in a concrete-casted desktop object that allows users to print out their daily schedules. Monomizo was designed to integrate the benefits of digital and paper-based scheduling by providing easy conversion of schedules in digital devices to analog media (e.g., paper). To investigate users' schedule management experience with Monomizo, we conducted an in-field study of 10 participants over 6 days. The results showed that Monomizo helped users to review and reflect on the day via the screen and through attaching, writing, and physically possessing printed schedules. We also found value in encountering digital information through analog-metaphoric design that provides ambient permeation of schedules. Based on the findings, our study offers new possibilities for designing a tangible artifact that facilitates users' effective planning and use of their days.
... Likewise, the ephemerality of digital information has been investigated, through interaction principles based on soap bubbles [47,10] and even projecting on people's breath [2] in cold environments. Even though stone-based 'data recording' has been cultural practice from the onset of human civilization, it has been used in HCI only rarely (e. g. in [51]). ...
What will future creativity-based work in collaboration with ubiquitous, AI-driven systems be like? In this paper, we argue that following a ‘tangible interaction’ approach can be beneficial in this context. We describe six connected objects that illustrate how the quality of future creative work could be designed. The objects aim to shape embedded computation in ways that support embodied interaction. They include a place for sacrificing one’s phone, an olfactory calendar, a reader/writer for cloud data in everyday objects, a concrete-based data logger, a slot machine for recombining old ideas into new ones, and a dimmer for artificial intelligence. We summarize the results of a critical reflection of the prototypes in an argument for designing interactions that foster collaborative creative processes between embodied humans in a world of embedded computation.
... Thus, only some experiments are attractive to us, e.g., those that define new multilayer systems, come into contact with the skin, and have a craftsmanship essence, evidencing the explicit role of designers. A relevant example is the studies by Vasiliki Tsaknaki and Ylva Fernaeus on the use of raw materials, such as leather, and the realization of interactive jewelry [14]; the soft hardware fabrics [15]; ceramic materials with digital appearance [16]; expanded materials gaining dynamic properties [17]. It is worth mentioning the experiments of the designer and researcher Marcelo Coelho on sensory paper fabrics [18] where the effort is to intrinsically integrate the digital layer of the material with the analog layer generating a new materiality. ...
This paper defines the ICS materiality analyzing behaviors and components of Interactive, Connected, Smart materials. The authors propose a de-structuring analysis of the complexity of intelligent systems to find out the various elements that constitute ICS materiality. Thus, they become easily understood as working systems made of components that can be assembled for a complex and “augmented” whole. In this scenario, traditional materials act as the primary element of physicality, with the related sensory and emotional dimension, i.e., experiential. Depending on the complexity of the composition, their behavior can change, ensuring a level of increasing intelligence. ICS materials can be designed both in its physical and computational dimension, pending the development and diffusion of new additive manufacturing systems that will integrate the components into a unit where their composition will be difficult to trace, opening up to a more interactive, connected and smart dimension of life experiences.
... Within this trend, concrete in particular is often used in designing everyday products, such as clocks [13] and lamps [4], due to its unique color and texture. Moreover, concrete has been applied in interaction with users with a feature that represents traces of moisture [16], however, in the field of HCI, making prototypes with concrete through a professional moldmaking process has rarely been studied. ...
... In line with a previous study [16], we identified the combination of concrete and digital technology has increased user's curiosity about the device, in particular it aroused participants' interest on touch interaction with the device. In addition, our findings have implications about the possibility of concrete could be utilized as new tangible interfaces through its positive visual and tactile quality. ...
We introduce Quietto: an interactive timepiece made of molded concrete and milled wood. It shows upcoming daily schedules and the time through the quiet, ambient motions of a clock hand and light through the concrete touch interface. The results of an in-field user observation of 10 participants over 3 days showed the possibilities of using concrete as a unique and attractive material for designing a tangible interface due to its unexpected haptic feeling. We also found that Quietto provides an intuitive and effective representation of its users' daily schedules and can be used as a private, personal device. Through its distinctive design, Quietto can provide a new way of understanding scheduling through its concrete texture and amusing interaction qualities.
... Nel nostro caso oltre agli aspetti funzionali e prestazionali gli ICS Materials dovrebbero integrare la dimensione emotiva, sensoriale ed esperienziale. In questo senso solo alcune sperimentazioni a nostro avviso risultano interessanti ovvero quelle che definiscono nuovi sistema multilayer e che spesso stanno a contatto con la pelle ed hanno una matrice artigianale con un ruolo esplicito dei designer: esempio la realizzazione di gioielli interattivi (Tsaknaki et al., 2014); il tessuto soft hardware diFernaeus et al. (2012); i materiali ceramici con sembianze digitali (Wang et al, 2016); gli espansi che acquistano proprietà dinamiche (Minuto et al., 2014;Minuto & Nijholt, 2013) Di particolare interesse sono le sperimentazioni del designer e ricercatore Marcelo Coelho sui tessuti di carta sensoriali (Coelho et al., 2009) dove lo sforzo è stato quello di integrare nativamente il layer digitale con quello analogico generando una nuova fisicità[profondimenti per creare una classificazione più ricca e utile alla strutturazione di linee guida per i designer che vorranno e dovranno confrontarsi con la nuova realtà della progettazione. Le enormi opportunità che le tecnologie smart offrono, esplicando nuove e complesse funzioni, dovranno sempre più essere assunte dai designer come un' enorme potenzialità per la definizione di nuovi significati ed espressioni estetiche. ...
Nel panorama del design contemporaneo ci si confronta sempre più spesso con esigenze progettuali fortemente condizionate dal sistema tecnologico caratterizzato dall'u-biquità e dalla connettività degli artefatti del quotidiano che danno vita a sistemi sempre più Intelligenti, Connessi e Smart. I designer sono chiamati a immaginare nuove esperienze materiche, progettando dispositivi comunicanti e interattivi che saranno i futuri oggetti quotidiani. L'articolo ha lo scopo di introdurre la definizione di ICS Materials pro-ponendo una iniziale classificazione di casi studio e di rac-contare come sia ormai evidente il progressivo passaggio verso una dimensione sempre più interattiva, connessa e smart dei materiali, prodotti e servizi di design. Esperienza materica, Interazione, Computazione ubiqua, Materiali intelligenti, Oggetti intelligenti In the panorama of contemporary design increasingly we deal with design requirements strongly determined by the technological system that is asking the ubiquity and con-nectivity of the everyday objects. This situation requires the development of more Intelligent, Connected and Smart systems. In daily life the designers need to imagine new materials experiences contributing to create communicative and interactive devices that will be the future everyday objects. This article aims to introduce to the community the definition of ICS Materials proposing an early classification of cases study and to tell about the gradual transition towards a more interactive, connected and smart dimension of materials, objects and services.
We introduce Quietto: an interactive timepiece made of molded concrete and milled wood. In harmony with a desk-top environment, it shows upcoming daily schedules and the time through the quiet, ambient motions of a clock hand and light through the concrete touch interface. Quietto uses real-time data retrieved from Google Calendar, it displays the time remaining from the current time to the upcoming events. Quietto has a potential for displaying the daily schedule in intuitive and effective ways. Through its distinctive design, Quietto can provide a new way of understanding scheduling through its concrete texture and amusing interaction qualities.
