Exploring Next Nature Nature changes along with us

In this paper, we explore and redefine our notion of nature. We will argue that our current common view on ‘nature’ needs reconsideration. The notions of nature and culture seem to be trading places. Nature, in the sense of trees, plants, animals, atoms, or climate, is getting increasingly controlled and governed by man. It has turned into a cultura

Making sense of what Is going on ‘around’ : designing environmental awareness information displays

Picture this: it is 40,000 years ago, and you are an early Homo sapiens. You are standing on the savannah. Look around you. What do you see? No billboards, no traffic signs, no logos, and no text. You might see grassland, some trees, or a bank of clouds in the distance. You are in a kind of vast, unspoilt nature reserve. Are you feeling wonderfully relaxed yet? Don’t be mistaken. Unlike the woodland parks where you sometimes go walking of a Sunday, this is not a recreational environment. This is where you live. You must survive here, and the environment is full of information that helps you to do so. An animal you are going to hunt has left tracks in the sand. Are the berries on that tree edible or poisonous? And that birdsong: Does it mean there’s going to be a storm and winter is on its way? Or are the silly birds just singing for their own enjoyment? You can’t be sure: you have to interpret it all. And you are good at that. So good, that you have succeeded in surviving in this environment

Usability of optically simulated haptic feedback

In this contribution a method will be described to optically simulate haptic feedback without resorting to mechanical force feedback devices. This method exploits the domination of the visual over the haptic modality. The perception of haptic feedback, usually generated by force feedback devices, was simulated by tiny displacements on the cursor position relative to the intended force. The usability of optically simulated haptic feedback (OSHF) was tested experimentally by measuring effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of its users in a Fitts’ type target-acquisition task and comparing the results with the usability of mechanically simulated force feedback and normal feedback. Results show that OSHF outperforms mechanically simulated haptic feedback and normal feedback, especially in the case of small targets

Most advanced yet acceptable, but don’t forget

Radical product and/or service innovation can ideally benefit all people and firms, and society as a whole, but pose risks in regards to technology-, industry chain-, market-, and project- uncertainty. In this paper we focus on addressing market uncertainty and argue that this uncertainty is affected by the meaningfulness of radical product and/or service innovations due to meaning gaps created during the innovation process. We investigate and suggest ways to bridge such gaps through theory inspired research using a design case study. Results show that in addition to introducing new meanings next to existing meanings, one should also select what meanings to dispose and which (lost) meanings to potentially re-introduce. With this work we hope to inspire design and innovation thinking on how to improve radical innovation adoption by addressing meaning gaps caused during the radical innovation process