Form and Movement in Domestic Networked Systems

It is increasingly desirable for electronic artefacts in the home to be grouped as sets, sharing data and properties across a network. A range of strategies can be used by a designer to explore the value and use of the systems for users, in particular through the properties of form and dynamic behaviours, including visual output and movement. This paper focuses on a range recent work which exploits rich behaviour and novel forms to highlight opportunities for user engagement in the home

Anatomy of a failure: how we knew when our design went wrong, and what we learned from it

In this paper, we describe the failure of a novel sensor-based system intended to evoke user interpretation and appropriation in domestic settings. We contrast participants' interactions in this case study with those observed during more successful deployments to identify 'symptoms of failure' under four themes: engagement, reference, accommodation, and surprise and insight. These themes provide a set of sensitivities or orientations that may complement traditional task-based approaches to evaluation as well as the more open-ended ones we describe here. Our system showed symptoms of failure under each of these themes. We examine the reasons for this at three levels: problems particular to the specific design hypothesis; problems relevant for input-output mapping more generally; and problems in the design process we used. We conclude by noting that, although interpretive systems such as the one we describe here may succeed in a myriad of different ways, it is reassuring to know that they can also fail, and fail incontrovertibly, yet instructively

Threshold devices: looking out from the home

Threshold devices present information gathered from the home’s surroundings to give new views on the domestic situation. We built two prototypes of different threshold devices and studied them in field trials with participant households. The Local Barometer displays online text and images related to the home’s locality depending on the local wind conditions to give an impression of the sociocultural surroundings. The Plane Tracker tracks aircraft passing overhead and imagines their flights onscreen to resource an understanding of the home’s global links. Our studies indicated that the experiences they provided were compelling, that participants could and did interpret the devices in various ways, that their form designs were appropriate for domestic environments, that using ready- made information contributed to the richness of the experiences, and that situating the information they provided with respect to the home and its locality was important for the ways people engaged with them

The Prayer Companion

An electronic device developed by the Interaction Research Studio, in the Department of Design at Goldsmiths, University of London has been introduced into the lives of a group of nuns in York who otherwise abide by medieval traditions

The Prayer Companion (Overview)

An electronic device developed by the Interaction Research Studio, in the Department of Design at Goldsmiths, University of London has been introduced into the lives of a group of nuns in York who otherwise abide by medieval traditions

The Plane Tracker (Overview)

The Plane Tracker is an example of a ‘threshold device’ that presents information gathered from the home’s surroundings to give new views on domestic circumstances. A focus on the home and its surroundings complements more traditional applications for domestic computing. Whereas conventional systems for the home focus on bringing placeless and generic content into the home, Threshold devices, in contrast, particularise content by linking it to the home’s physical location. Further examples of Threshold Devices include the ‘Drift Table’, the ‘Local Barometer’ and the ‘Video Window’

Local Barometer (Overview)

Threshold devices present information gathered from the home’s surroundings to give new views on the domestic situation. The Local Barometer displays online text and images related to the home’s locality depending on the local wind conditions to give an impression of the sociocultural surroundings

The Photostroller: supporting diverse care home residents in engaging with the world

The Photostroller is a device designed for use by residents of a care home for older people. It shows a continuous slideshow of photographs retrieved from the FlickrTM image website using a set of six predefined categories modified by a tuneable degree of ‘semantic drift’. In this paper, we describe the design process that led to the Photostroller, and summarise observations made during a deployment in the care home that has lasted over two months at the time of writing. We suggest that the Photostroller balances constraint with openness, and control with drift, to provide an effective resource for the ludic engagement of a diverse group of older people with each other and the world outside their home

Sustainability, Invention and Energy Demand Reduction: Co-designing Communities and Practice

A poster designed and presented at a workshop organised by RCUK

Energy Babble

This is the story of a set of computational devices called Energy Babbles. The product of a collaboration between designers and STS researchers, Energy Babbles are like automated talk radios obsessed with energy. Synthesised voices, punctuated by occasional jingles, recount energy policy announcements, remarks about energy conservation made on social media, information about current energy demand and production, and comments entered by other Babble users. Developed for members of UK community groups working to promote sustainable energy practices, the Energy Babbles were designed to reflect the complex situations they navigate, to provide information and encourage communication, and to help shed light on their engagements with energy policy and practice. This book tells the story of the Babbles from a mix of design and STS perspectives, suggesting how design may benefit from the perspectives of STS, and how STS may take an interventionist, design-led approach to the study of emerging technological issues