Interaction Ecologies

Henrik Enquist, Konrad Tollmar, Aino Vonge Corry

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingPaper in conference proceedingpeer-review

Abstract

In this paper we present one approach to understand palpability from the perspective of eco-systems of palpable devices. We will introduce the notion of Palpable Interaction Ecology that particular focus upon the properties that emerge from the interaction between people, their practices and palpable devices. This approach is derived from research into the use of pervasive healthcare services that support women during their pregnancies. This is a situation where information is currently distributed among many parties. This makes it very difficult for the pregnant woman to assess her situation. To address these issues we have designed digital artifacts that support the pregnant women’s information management as well as facilitating the interaction with healthcare providers. The concepts have been examined using workshops, user scenarios and low-fidelity prototyping through active participation of both healthcare personnel and pregnant women. The results of this work suggest that the proposed concepts have the potential to be incorporated both in healthcare and in the household routines if particular focus is given to understanding shifting needs and uses over time. Visibility and invisibility, construction and de-construction, and supporting people in making computing palpable are among the important challenges facing the Palcom Project. Originating from the biology field, an ecology is often used to illustrate relations between an organism and the surrounding environment. We have in our case found a similar need to describe diversity in use situation and the interaction between invisible and visible information as well as the interaction of construction and de-construction of devices and data. A Palpable interaction ecology incorporates both a pervasive computing presence and the ability to add and subtract devices and data as desired. The ecology notion offers here an analysis unit of properties that emerge from the interaction between people and palpable services and devices. It is argued that by study how these ecologies emerged we could create a new understanding of palpable interaction and the making of palpable computing.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationWorkshop proceedings from the Fifth International Conference on Pervasive Computing
Publication statusPublished - 2007
EventThe Fifth International Conference on Pervasive Computing. Design Semiotics in Use. SeFun International Seminar. - Helsinki, Finland
Duration: 2007 Jun 62007 Jun 8

Conference

ConferenceThe Fifth International Conference on Pervasive Computing. Design Semiotics in Use. SeFun International Seminar.
Country/TerritoryFinland
CityHelsinki
Period2007/06/062007/06/08

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics
  • Human Computer Interaction

Free keywords

  • interaction
  • ecology
  • Palpability

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