Dynamic Displays at Wrist for Real Time Visualization of Affective Data

Emotions are vital to our lives but could be difficult to recognize and understand. Traditional visualizations of emotions tend to be time-series graph on screen displays limiting user engagement in their real-time sense-making. This paper explores the feasibility of smart materials for developing novel dynamic displays on skin for real time visualization of affective data. We report prototyping two such displays and their evaluation with 6 participants, and discuss their qualities such as ambiguity, slowly unfolding change, and lack of light emission together with their temporal constraints and private-public tension for affective meaning disclosure

Wearable performance

This is the post-print version of the article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2009 Taylor & FrancisWearable computing devices worn on the body provide the potential for digital interaction in the world. A new stage of computing technology at the beginning of the 21st Century links the personal and the pervasive through mobile wearables. The convergence between the miniaturisation of microchips (nanotechnology), intelligent textile or interfacial materials production, advances in biotechnology and the growth of wireless, ubiquitous computing emphasises not only mobility but integration into clothing or the human body. In artistic contexts one expects such integrated wearable devices to have the two-way function of interface instruments (e.g. sensor data acquisition and exchange) worn for particular purposes, either for communication with the environment or various aesthetic and compositional expressions. 'Wearable performance' briefly surveys the context for wearables in the performance arts and distinguishes display and performative/interfacial garments. It then focuses on the authors' experiments with 'design in motion' and digital performance, examining prototyping at the DAP-Lab which involves transdisciplinary convergences between fashion and dance, interactive system architecture, electronic textiles, wearable technologies and digital animation. The concept of an 'evolving' garment design that is materialised (mobilised) in live performance between partners originates from DAP Lab's work with telepresence and distributed media addressing the 'connective tissues' and 'wearabilities' of projected bodies through a study of shared embodiment and perception/proprioception in the wearer (tactile sensory processing). Such notions of wearability are applied both to the immediate sensory processing on the performer's body and to the processing of the responsive, animate environment. Wearable computing devices worn on the body provide the potential for digital interaction in the world. A new stage of computing technology at the beginning of the 21st Century links the personal and the pervasive through mobile wearables. The convergence between the miniaturisation of microchips (nanotechnology), intelligent textile or interfacial materials production, advances in biotechnology and the growth of wireless, ubiquitous computing emphasises not only mobility but integration into clothing or the human body. In artistic contexts one expects such integrated wearable devices to have the two-way function of interface instruments (e.g. sensor data acquisition and exchange) worn for particular purposes, either for communication with the environment or various aesthetic and compositional expressions. 'Wearable performance' briefly surveys the context for wearables in the performance arts and distinguishes display and performative/interfacial garments. It then focuses on the authors' experiments with 'design in motion' and digital performance, examining prototyping at the DAP-Lab which involves transdisciplinary convergences between fashion and dance, interactive system architecture, electronic textiles, wearable technologies and digital animation. The concept of an 'evolving' garment design that is materialised (mobilised) in live performance between partners originates from DAP Lab's work with telepresence and distributed media addressing the 'connective tissues' and 'wearabilities' of projected bodies through a study of shared embodiment and perception/proprioception in the wearer (tactile sensory processing). Such notions of wearability are applied both to the immediate sensory processing on the performer's body and to the processing of the responsive, animate environment

Tensions of Data-Driven Reflection: A Case Study of Real-Time Emotional Biosensing

Biosensing displays, increasingly enrolled in emotional reflection, promise authoritative insight by presenting users’ emotions as discrete categories. Rather than machines interpreting emotions, we sought to explore an alternative with emotional biosensing displays in which users formed their own interpretations and felt comfortable critiquing the display. So, we designed, implemented, and deployed, as a technology probe, an emotional biosensory display: Ripple is a shirt whose pattern changes color responding to the wearer’s skin conductance, which is associated with excitement. 17 participants wore Ripple over 2 days of daily life. While some participants appreciated the ‘physical connection’ Ripple provided between body and emotion, for others Ripple fostered insecurities about ‘how much’ feeling they had. Despite our design intentions, we found participants rarely questioned the display’s relation to their feelings. Using biopolitics to speculate on Ripple’s surprising authority, we highlight ethical stakes of biosensory representations for sense of self and ways of feeling

Mental Health Resources: Reflection on AffecTech Platform

This positon paper presents an overview of the mental health resources developed within the AffecTech, an interdisciplinary European Commission-funded project supporting the wok of 15 PhD students in the space of digital interventions for affective health. It describes different types of targeted resources highlighting both traditional and innovative ones, our approach to developing them, and the challenges and opportunities that our work has uncovered

Design and Evaluation of Biofeedback:Interfaces for Awareness and Regulation of Affect

Biofeedback interfaces enable dynamic representations of bodily data using sensors and actuators to actively control complex physiological activities. These provide individuals with access to their psychophysiological processes, help regulate bodily responses, and have been shown to have positive effects on affective health and wellbeing. Traditionally biofeedback has been provided using audiovisual modality whose understanding usually required technical input from physicians. There are still a limited number of biofeedback interfaces that have been deployed from the lab settings to everyday lives. Specifically, there is a limited focus on low-cost, non-screen based, emerging alternative technologies that could support biosensory information in different ways so that users themselves can understand it. To address these challenges, this thesis engages in the design and evaluation of low-cost, wearable smart materials and actuators to support awareness and regulation of affect. The thesis presents six studies describing them. The first exploration of smart materials and actuators helped in unpacking their material qualities. These include responsiveness, duration, rhythm, aliveness, and range, which led to the design of six wearable visual and haptic interfaces representing physiological arousal. By evaluating the six interfaces in daily life settings, the thesis' findings have shown how the material-driven qualities of the interfaces shape people’s awareness of emotions in different ways starting with reflexivity, emotion identification, and finally, its attribution. This thesis then presents the design of the ThermoPixels toolkit containing digital and physical materials. The toolkit is evaluated by involving users in the design of affective displays for arousal. Findings reveal two distinct motivations for designing physiological arousal interfaces, i.e., awareness and regulation. Analysis of both types of representations helped study their qualities and the role of colors and shapes for personalizing interfaces for awareness and regulation of arousal, i.e., awareness of increased arousal can be supported by angular shapes, warm colors, and rich patterns and regulation of high arousal can be supported by round shapes, cool colors, and light patterns. Moving forward, the thesis engages in the exploration of heart rate variability to regulate affect. It introduces a mixed-methods approach to compare and evaluate wearable heart rate variability sensors in terms of data quality and user acceptance. Following heart rate variability exploration, the thesis involves users in the design of vibrotactile and temperature patterns for affect regulation and demonstrates the value of personalized haptic patterns in regulating affect as measured by self-reported forms and heart rate variability. Interviews with the haptic group help study haptic patterns' experiential qualities and participants' experiences. Between subjects analysis indicates that subjective and objective measures of anxiety and stress decreased under haptic patterns than without and that low frequency vibration was the most effective pattern for stress regulation. The contribution of this work includes unpacking experiential qualities of high - low frequency vibration and warm - cool thermal patterns for affect regulation by engaging users in their design and guidelines for designing these patterns. Finally, two visual and haptic wearable smartwatch apps i.e., Breathe and Heart are designed for affect regulation. These utilize slow bodily rhythms of breathing and heartbeat and are evaluated in daily life under everyday life situations of high arousal negative affect. Findings show the value of technology-delivered interventions in supporting affect regulation that can augment prior strategies being implemented by individuals in their daily lives. The thesis is concluded with a discussion of research contributions and future directions

ThermoPixels:Toolkit for Personalizing Arousal-based Interfaces through Hybrid Crafting

Much research has shown the potential of affective interfaces to support people reflect on, and understand their bodily responses. Yet, people find it difficult to engage with, and understand their biodata which they have limited prior experience with. Building on affective interfaces and material-centered design, we developed ThermoPixels, a toolkit including thermochromic and heating materials, as well as galvanic skin response sensors for creating representations of physiological arousal. Within 10 workshops, 20 participants created personalized representations of physiological arousal and its real-time changes using the toolkit. We report on participants’ material exploration, their experience of creating shapes and the use of colors for emotional awareness and regulation. Reflecting on our findings, we discuss embodied exploration and creative expression, the value of technology in emotion regulation and its social context, and the importance of understanding material limitations for effective sense-making