Paper Gaming: Creating IoT Paper Interactions with Conductive Inks and Web-connectivity through EKKO

Paper is ubiquitous. It forms a substantial part of our everyday activities and interactions; ranging from our take-away coffee cups -- to wallpaper -- to rail tickets -- to board and card games. Imagine if you could connect paper to the Internet, interact and update it with additional data but without recourse to reprinting or using e-ink alternatives. This paper explores work examining conductive inks and web-connectivity of printed objects, which form part of an emergent sub-field within the Internet of Things (IoT) and paper. Our research is starting to explore a range of media uses, such as interactive newspapers, books, beer mats and now gaming environments through prototype IoT device named EKKO; a clip that allows conductive ink frameworks to detect human touch interaction revealing rich media content through a mobile application as the 'second screen'

Data and the city – accessibility and openness. a cybersalon paper on open data

This paper showcases examples of bottom–up open data and smart city applications and identifies lessons for future such efforts. Examples include Changify, a neighbourhood-based platform for residents, businesses, and companies; Open Sensors, which provides APIs to help businesses, startups, and individuals develop applications for the Internet of Things; and Cybersalon’s Hackney Treasures. a location-based mobile app that uses Wikipedia entries geolocated in Hackney borough to map notable local residents. Other experiments with sensors and open data by Cybersalon members include Ilze Black and Nanda Khaorapapong's The Breather, a "breathing" balloon that uses high-end, sophisticated sensors to make air quality visible; and James Moulding's AirPublic, which measures pollution levels. Based on Cybersalon's experience to date, getting data to the people is difficult, circuitous, and slow, requiring an intricate process of leadership, public relations, and perseverance. Although there are myriad tools and initiatives, there is no one solution for the actual transfer of that data

Inside a Digital Maori World

The School of Maori Studies at Victoria University of Wellington uses a digital cultural Atlas in Maori Studies research, the Te Kawa a Maui Atlas, as an integral part of its coursework. The purpose of this Interactive Qualifying Project is to heighten the engagement of the Maori Studies students by connecting them to names, histories and locations of cultural relevance using digital interactive technologies. We analyzed data from student and faculty surveys, interviews, and a focus group. To effectively engage students, we recommended improvements to the current Atlas and evaluated the feasibility of an Augmented Reality application

The Gameful Museum: Developing a Location-Based Game Design Framework for Engagement and Motivation

The popularity of location-based games, which blend digital and physical gameplay in specific real-world locations, has been rising in recent years. Research in museum studies looking into these games as engagement tools has so far been limited to individual case studies or sporadic overviews of play and games that do not explore the relationship between game design, location, gameplay and the museum experience. This practice-led thesis addresses this gap through the development of a game design framework and guidelines to create location-based games in museums, combined with a study of the impact of the designed experiences on audiences’ motivation to visit and engage with museum content. The findings and framework proposed are relevant for museum professionals and game designers who are interested in developing this practice while benefiting from guidance grounded in real-world research. Methodologically, I supplemented a study of past experiences with a first-person gameplay analysis, the results of which informed the design and examination of case studies of games for Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) developed in collaboration with the museum staff and external game designers. Findings suggest that location-based games benefit museums by creating added motivation to visit, attracting new and existing audiences, increasing and diversifying engagement with the museum content, and to a lesser degree, supporting knowledge acquisition. Structuring visits into games limits the possible actions of players while offering agency within those limitations, making the players part of a story and giving them challenges to complete, encouraging visitors to become more active and invested in exploring the space and the content displayed. I conclude this thesis by proposing the concept of the gameful museum as a possible path for museums as institutions of learning and entertainment, offering the location-based game design framework as an instrument to work towards audience development and engagement and highlighting the field’s future potential

Wearables at work:preferences from an employee’s perspective

This exploratory study aims to obtain a first impression of the wishes and needs of employees on the use of wearables at work for health promotion. 76 employ-ees with a mean age of 40 years old (SD ±11.7) filled in a survey after trying out a wearable. Most employees see the potential of using wearable devices for workplace health promotion. However, according to employees, some negative aspects should be overcome before wearables can effectively contribute to health promotion. The most mentioned negative aspects were poor visualization and un-pleasantness of wearing. Specifically for the workplace, employees were con-cerned about the privacy of data collection