More playful user interfaces: an introduction

In this chapter we embed recent research advances in creating playful user interfaces in a historical context. We have observations on spending leisure time, in particular predictions from previous decades and views expressed in Science Fiction novels. We confront these views and predictions with what has really happened since the advent of computers, the Internet, Worldwide Web and sensors and actuators that are increasingly becoming integrated in our environments and in devices that are with us 24/7. And, not only with us, but also connected to networks of nodes that represent people, institutions, and companies. Playful user interfaces are not only interesting for entertainment applications. Educational or behavior change supporting systems can also profit from a playful approach. The chapter concludes with a meta-level review of the chapters in this book. In this review we distinguish three views on research and application domains for playful user interfaces: (1) Designing Interactions for and by Children, (2) Designing Interactions with Nature, Animals, and Things, and (3) Designing Interactions for Arts, Performances, and Sports

Single Value Devices

We live in a world of continuous information overflow, but the quality of information and communication is suffering. Single value devices contribute to the information and communication quality by fo- cussing on one explicit, relevant piece of information. The information is decoupled from a computer and represented in an object, integrates into daily life. However, most existing single value devices come from conceptual experiments or art and exist only as prototypes. In order to get to mature products and to design meaningful, effective and work- ing objects, an integral perspective on the design choices is necessary. Our contribution is a critical exploration of the design space of single value devices. In a survey we give an overview of existing examples. The characterizing design criteria for single value devices are elaborated in a taxonomy. Finally, we discuss several design choices that are specifically important for moving from prototypes to commercializable products

An observational study of children interacting with an augmented story book

We present findings of an observational study investigating how young children interact with augmented reality story books. Children aged between 6 and 7 read and interacted with one of two story books aimed at early literacy education. The books pages were augmented using animated virtual 3D characters, sound, and interactive tasks. Introducing novel media to young children requires system and story designers to consider not only technological issues but also questions arising from story design and the design of interactive sequences. We discuss findings of our study and implications regarding the implementation of augmented story books

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'

Remarkable Objects: Supporting Collaboration in a Creative Environment

In this paper, we report the results of a field trial of a Ubicomp system called CAM that is aimed at supporting and enhancing collaboration in a design studio environment. CAM uses a mobile-tagging application which allows designers to collaboratively store relevant information onto their physical design objects in the form of messages, annotations and external web links. The purpose of our field trial was to explore the role of augmented objects in supporting and enhancing creative work. Our results show that CAM was used not only used to support participants’ mutual awareness and coordination but also to facilitate designers in appropriating their augmented design objects to be explorative, extendable and playful supporting creative aspects of design work. In general, our results show how CAM transformed static design objects into ‘remarkable’ objects that made the creative and playful side of cooperative design visible

Space time pixels

This paper reports the design of a networked system, the aim of which is to provide an intermediate virtual space that will establish a connection and support interaction between multiple participants in two distant physical spaces. The intention of the project is to explore the potential of the digital space to generate original social relationships between people that their current (spatial or social) position can difficultly allow the establishment of innovative connections. Furthermore, to explore if digital space can sustain, in time, low-level connections like these, by balancing between the two contradicting needs of communication and anonymity. The generated intermediate digital space is a dynamic reactive environment where time and space information of two physical places is superimposed to create a complex common ground where interaction can take place. It is a system that provides awareness of activity in a distant space through an abstract mutable virtual environment, which can be perceived in several different ways – varying from a simple dynamic background image to a common public space in the junction of two private spaces or to a fully opened window to the other space – according to the participants will. The thesis is that the creation of an intermediary environment that operates as an activity abstraction filter between several users, and selectively communicates information, could give significance to the ambient data that people unconsciously transmit to others when co-existing. It can therefore generate a new layer of connections and original interactivity patterns; in contrary to a straight-forward direct real video and sound system, that although it is functionally more feasible, it preserves the existing social constraints that limit interaction into predefined patterns

Playlab: Telling Stories with Technology (workshop summary)

This one-day workshop explores how playful interaction can be used to develop technologies for public spaces and create temporal experiences

Endangered Hydrocarbons by Lesley Battler

A review of Lesley Battler\u27s Endangered Hydrocarbons