Ferran Altarriba Bertran

University of Girona | UDG · Escola Universitària ERAM

We share an emergent repository of nature-entangled methods-to-be shared, experimented with, and discussed during a conference workshop. We present them in-use, as they are in formation. We do not seek to theorise or even fully articulate these methods-to-be. Rather, to make them approachable and actionable for others by showing them not fully poli...

Technological advances offer opportunities to motivate and support meaningful interactions with forests and nature. This paper outlines the findings of three distinct design days, all centred on human-forest interaction. The objective is to explore the gameful potential of the intersection between humans, forests, and technology. The design approac...

There is an increasing interest in combining interactive technology with food, leading to a new research area called human-food interaction. While food experiences are increasingly benefiting from interactive technology, for example in the form of food tracking apps, 3D-printed food and projections on dining tables, a more systematic advancement of...

Location-based multiplayer games such as Pokémon GO are tied to real-world locations. Past research has demonstrated that, consequently, these games influence where players move. In order to explore what dynamics in these games incentivize travel to specific places or areas, we engaged in interviews with active players. We discovered 11 unique game...

The Wild Probes (WPs) are a set of hybrid tools for designers and researchers to facilitate multi-stakeholder co-design engagements within the forest. They support situated forestry future-making by helping the participants of a co-design process pay attention to, reflect on, ideate around, and document their forestry experiences in ways that can i...

In our digitized modernity, there are an increasing number of discourses related to the benefits of returning to nature for well-being, health, lived daily experiences and promoting ecological sustainability. Concurrently, location-based games (LBGs), such as Pokémon GO, have become a prominent game-technological trend, which influences players' mo...

There is an increasing interest in food within the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) field with emerging interactive prototypes that augment, extend, and challenge the various ways in which people engage with food. The emerging subfield is defined as “Human-Food Interaction” (HFI). Given the rapid advancement of interactive technology that converges...

With one-person households being increasingly common and Covid-19 lockdown policies forcing people to stay home, remote dining has become common practice for many, who take it as an opportunity to connect with others in times of loneliness. Sharing meals online, also known as digital commensality, is a rich form of interaction, where people leverag...

A third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to the food sector, however dietary change could reduce this by half. Educating consumers on the environmental impact of their choices through eco-labels as a form of sustainability signalling may be a powerful approach to tackling climate change if it can bring about a large scale t...

We present a Research-through-Design case study of the design and development of an intimate-space tangible device perhaps best understood as a socially assistive robot, aimed at scaffolding children’s efforts at emotional regulation. This case study covers the initial research device development, as well as knowledge transfer to a product developm...

Within the general development of games becoming more pervasive and daily life turning more gameful, various location- and movement-based games have become prominent in contemporary culture, and are increasingly used in augmenting the physical reality. This study investigates tensions that arise in augmenting the mundane experience of walking in bo...

Recognizing the significant potential impact that HCI has on food practices and experiences, researchers and practitioners are undertaking a growing number of explorations of novel computing technology and food combinations. These explorations have so far primarily emphasized technology-driven systems and taken a human-centric perspective. We propo...

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted processes interaction designers took for granted, challenging some of our most commonplace design practices. Participatory and situated approaches have been impacted the most: where we engaged stakeholders in-person and in-context, during this time we must co-design remotely and in virtual environments. Such a dramat...

In this paper, we present an annotated portfolio of speculative ideas that emerged from a co-design process where we investigated the playful potential of day-to-day mealtime. Our portfolio illustrates the learnings from our participatory engagements: it embodies ours and our participants' ideas of how technology might support increasingly playful...

There is an open call for technology to be more playful and for the design of tech to be more inclusive of people with disabilities. In the era of COVID19, it is often unsafe for the public in general and people with disabilities in particular to engage in in-person design exercises using traditional methods. This presents a missed opportunity as t...

There is an increasing interest in food within the HCI discipline, with many interactive prototypes emerging that augment, extend and challenge the various ways people engage with food, ranging from growing plants, cooking ingredients, serving dishes and eating together. Grounding theory is also emerging that in particular draws from embodied inter...

We present a Research-through-Design case study of the design and development of an intimate-space tangible device perhaps best understood as a socially assistive robot, aimed at scaffolding children's efforts at emotional regulation. This case study covers the initial research device development, as well as knowledge transfer to a product developm...

In this paper we present MESMER, a work-in-progress tangible conversation tool for playful design. Our work extends the Otherworld Framework (OF) [7] for tangible tools by centering specifically on play as a conversation topic. Here we unpack how early experiments with OF motivated our work and describe the current iteration of the MESMER tool, whi...

Digital technology has become a frequent companion of daily food practices, shaping the ways we produce, consume, and interact with food. Smart kitchenware, diet tracking apps, and other techno-solutions carry promise for healthy and sustainable food futures but are often problematic in their impact on food cultures. We conducted four Human-Food In...

According to EAT-Lancet: Food is the single strongest lever to optimize human health and environmental sustainability on Earth. However, current food practices are threatening both people and planet. Digital food technologies offer potential for efficient food lifestyles but they present limited opportunity for imagining ‘fantastic’ food futures. I...

Despite the capacity of play to spontaneously emerge in our daily life, the scope of application of play design in HCI is generally narrower, specifically targeting areas of pure leisure, or wholly utilitarian and productive play. Here we focus on the value of play design to respond to and support our natural gravitation towards emergent play that...

In this paper, we respond to recent calls for more playfulness in gastronomy by discussing Interaction Design inspired strategies to craft food experiences that are more social, emergent, and fun. First, we discuss the state of play in gastronomy, highlighting opportunities for an increasingly interactive approach to food design. Then, we present s...

In this paper we discuss strategies to support our design research agenda of promoting playful engagement within everyday activities and situations. We argue that this agenda is in alignment with the ethos of the third wave of HCI. To support design in this space, we build upon Situated Play Design, an open methodological frame that focuses on unco...

In response to calls for sense-making in the field of Human-Food Interaction, we offer a systematic review of a subset of HFI works that we call Playful HFI-interventions that use game- or play-inspired mechanisms to add value to food-related experiences. To support our review, we offer a conceptual model of Playful HFI informed by: (i) the 34 publ...

We propose a Situated Play Design (SPD) workshop aimed at exploring how culture and traditions can guide playful design. Using food as an accessible starting point, we invite scholars from diverse communities to share, analyze, and make creative use of playful traditions, and prototype new and interesting eating experiences. Through hands-on engage...

We present 'True Colors,' a social wearable prototype designed to augment co-located social interaction among players in a LARP (live action role play). We designed it to enable the emergence of rich social dynamics between wearers and non-wearers. True Colors is Y-shaped, worn around the upper body, and has distinct front and back interfaces to af...

We present 'True Colors': a social wearable prototype designed to augment co-located social interaction of players in a LARP (live action role play). We designed it to enable the emergence of rich social dynamics between wearers and non-wearers. True Colors is Y-shaped, worn around the upper body, and has front and back interfaces to distinguish be...

User involvement is well established in game and play design. But in a time when play design is becoming relevant in domains beyond pure entertainment, and play blends into everyday activity in diverse ways, we need to revisit old, and develop new, user involvement methods. Using a situated perspective and Research through Design, we present Situat...

Wearables are integrated into many aspects of our lives, yet, we still need further guidance to develop devices that truly enhance in-person interactions, rather than detract from them by taking people's attention away from the moment and one another. The value of this paper is twofold: first, we present an annotated portfolio of 'social wearables'...

From cooking and growing to shopping and dining, digital technology has become a frequent companion in our everyday food practices. Smart food technologies such as online diet personalization services and AI-based kitchenware offer promises of better data-driven food futures. Yet, human-food automation presents certain risks, both to end consumers...

Activity in Human-Food Interaction (HFI) research is sky-rocketing across a broad range of disciplinary interests and concerns. The dynamic and heterogeneous nature of this emerging field presents a challenge to scholars wishing to critically engage with prior work, identify gaps and ensure impact. It also challenges the formation of community. We...

Activity in Human-Food Interaction (HFI) research is sky-rocketing across a broad range of disciplinary interests and concerns. The dynamic and heterogeneous nature of this emerging field presents a challenge to scholars wishing to critically engage with prior work, identify gaps and ensure impact. It also challenges the formation of community. We...

Vulnerability is a common experience in everyday life and is frequently perceived as a flaw to be excised in technology design. Yet, research indicates it is an essential aspect of wholehearted living among others. In this paper, we present the design and deployment of 'True Colors', a novel wearable device intended to support social interaction in...

Socialization, eating and play are core activities that make us human. While they are often brought together, play theory suggests that their combination has unexplored potential in the context of gastronomy. Our research also indicates that a chef’s desire to control the meal may be a key impediment to developing dining experiences in which the di...

Interventions that help children develop protective factors against mental health disorders are an inherently social endeavour, relying on a number of actors from within the family as well as the school context. Little work thus far in CSCW and HCI has examined the potential of technology to support or enhance such interventions. This paper provide...

Interventions that help children develop protective factors against mental health disorders are an inherently social endeavour, relying on a number of actors from within the family as well as the school context. Little work thus far in CSCW and HCI has examined the potential of technology to support or enhance such interventions. This paper provide...

While conducting a review of food-related technology research, we discovered that activity in this area is skyrocketing across a broad range of disciplinary interests and concerns. The dynamic and heterogeneous nature of the research presents a challenge to scholars wishing to critically engage with prior work, identify gaps and ensure impact. In r...

Much technology is designed to help people enact processes faster and more precisely. Yet, these advantages can come at the cost of other, perhaps less tangible, values. In this workshop we aim to articulate values associated with handmade through a co-creative exploration in the food domain. Our objective is to explore the potential of integrating...

Domestic food waste is a world-wide problem that is complex and difficult to tackle as it touches diverse habits and social behaviors. This paper introduces the Grumpy Bin, a smart food waste bin designed for the context of student housing. The Grumpy Bin contributes to the state of the art of food waste prevention solutions by challenging the trad...

This paper explores the interactive nature of the eating ritual and discusses how such interactivity is currently being articulated in the specific context of gastronomic restaurants. An account of the basic concepts related to interactivity is given in order to facilitate the discussion. A reflection on the role of the diners in gastronomic restau...

Gastronomy is a creative discipline in which all senses play an important role. Research on flavor perception in multi-sensory experiences is discussed, as well as examples of gastronomic proposals in which multi-sensory inputs are paired with food. Game thinking is suggested as a source of relevant knowledge in the attempt to build multi-sensory g...