Flying with data: Openness, forms and understanding

There is a concerted effort to make available large amounts of public and open data. This paper explores this much-vaulted idea in terms of how easy or difficult it might be to find and access this data, and how a non-specialist audience is able to read, comprehend and make sense of complex digital data in its conventional form. Following a discussion that introduces the concept of the datadriven physical object (the data-object), and the current issues pertaining to the access and use of open data, the paper traces the journey of two design researchers through the activity of locating and using publicly available healthcare statistics as source content for developing this new form of data interpretation. The documented ‘dataseeds’ case study suggests that making data publically available is only the first step in thinking about how digital data can be accessed and shared in meaningful ways by a range of different audiences

Understanding the needs and desires of service users in the design and creation of meaningful physical data representations.

This paper draws on the experiences of a small team of researchers, led by Professor Gwilt, who have been exploring novel ways of translating data into physical formats through an investigation into the potential for data-driven objects to help in the communication and sharing of data. The paper draws on a selection of research projects undertaken within the context of healthcare and wellbeing wherein data-objects were designed to help a variety of service users engage with data. A number of different data-object making and development strategies are discussed, and considered in terms of their effectiveness as communication tools. This discussion includes reflections on; finding and creating data sources, engaging with service users, thinking about the use of visual language, metaphor and material choices, audience needs and experiences, contexts of use and deployment. Observations on the conceptual process of creating hybrid objects and the social-cultural value systems employed in reading these artefacts are also debated. A list of guiding principles for the creation of meaningful physical data representations has been developed by the authors and is presented in the context of the epistemology of the data-object and how we might implement these methods to ask questions around the pedagogy of the Physicalisation of data

Vertebral fragility fractures: co-designing solutions to promote independence and quality of life based on the needs of service users

Introduction Vertebral fragility fractures (VFF) affect one in six women and one in twelve men during their lifetime, costing the UK NHS more than £133 million each year (without considering medication). Pain as a result of VFF can last up to 2 years, with up to 20% having another VFF within a year. They impact on ability to do everyday activities, such as getting washed and dressed as well as stopping people going to work, often because people are afraid to move. The aim of this study was to utilise a co-design approach with people living with VFF to identify areas of unmet need and establish whether proof of prototype devices could be co-created that addressed those needs. Methods A participatory and iterative approach was utilised involving ten people with osteoporosis or VFF, plus carers, physiotherapists, industrial designers, design engineers and researchers in a series of workshops. Results In workshop one, we immersed ourselves in the lived experiences of people with VFF, carers and physiotherapists. A series of creative activities captured these experiences visually, physically and emotionally and statements of need were defined. In the second workshop, creative activities were undertaken to generate ideas and concepts, moving from two dimensional to three dimensional visualisations. We are currently in the process of converting these visualisations into concept artefacts. The final workshop (May 2017) will develop ‘brand and marketing material’ for each artefact that will be promoted to a ‘Dragon’s Den’ panel of key stakeholders. Conclusion People with VFF report that services and support (including equipment) do not particularly meet their needs. As a diverse group of patients, carers, designers, engineers and researchers, we were able to develop prototype solutions with supporting materials that could be further developed and tested. We plan to use this this work to underpin the development of a future grant application in 2017

Continuous Analysis within 3D-Printed Structures Using In-Chamber Sensors

We are investigating how to efficiently and accurately measure perlayer chemical composition and build chamber conditions, in situ, for objects manufactured by selective laser sintering (SLS). Our investigation is a first step towards integrating sensors into the powder bed and eventually into parts themselves

Multisensory interactive storytelling to augment the visit of a historical house museum

We present an interactive and multisensory intervention designed for a house museum. Digital technology holds great potential for such heritage sites, but current use is limited to the pre- and post-visit experience. Interviews with museum professionals highlighted their concerns about technology placed in historic houses and suggested four design principles that we used to carefully integrate interactive technology, and the value of a bespoke installation. The installation, the Interactive Tableaux, shows a novel use of digital interactive storytelling where we combined both tangible qualities and informational aspects while respecting the aesthetic of the house and its home feeling. We discuss the process of crafting a conversation in and with a particular place and present evidence from our evaluations that the interactive multisensory installation encouraged observation, reflection and conversation

Blending the tangible and digital to craft new co-designed interactions for museums.

The technology that underpins the Internet of Things, offers ways to embed interactivity within the exhibition: microprocessors, sensors, and actuators can be concealed within reactive spaces and smart objects that seamlessly blend with their surroundings. This offers a new perspectives on how to deliver digital curated content in the context of a museum visit through, for example, smart artefacts. Through a series of museum case studies we will discuss how smart artefacts can bridge the gap between the physical and the digital: Can this integration give the visitor an enriched experience and higher level of object association? And to what level do these smart objects act as transitional objects for the curated content? Our observations / evaluations show that the act of holding an object empowers the visitor and engages them to a deeper level. The curator’s role in the multidisciplinary team is then that of a storyteller that blends the content and interpretation with aspects of the visitor’s interactive experience. The knowledge gained through several case studies was instrumental to the creation of a toolkit that aims at bringing the potential and power of the internet of things on the exhibition floor. By using the cloud-based toolkit, cultural heritage and museum professionals can embed digital content into smart objects and spaces with just a few clicks. This opens up possibilities for exhibition creation using design thinking and fast prototyping. Museums can then explore a wide range of possible visitors’ experiences in an experimental environment to assess whether ‘it works!’ or not. Starting from the case studies the presentation will discuss the journey for idea to implantation

Apparatus for providing a heating or cooling effect to a human or animal body part.

A device configured to treat a human or animal body part or limb by providing a heating and/or cooling effect in addition to a compressive force

From the deposit to the exhibit floor: an exploration on giving museum objects personality and social life

Museum objects have fascinating stories but are often presented in a detached, objective way that tends to keep visitors at a distance. In a collaborative research we have explored a different way to present museum objects: fifteen exhibits from the museum deposit compete for one of the four display cases on the exhibit floor. Objects are given a personal voice and a character and they talk directly to the visitor: those that capture visitors' interest as physical presence or Twitter conversation stay on display; the lower scorer is replaced. We report the co-design and preliminary evaluation carried out in the museum with both museum professionals and casual visitors

Do it together : the effect of curators, designers, and technologists sharing the making of new interactive visitors’ experiences

Tangible interaction offers new ways to engage users with digital systems through material means. We use ubiquitous computing to create reactive spaces and smart objects that seamlessly blend with the surroundings or the exhibition and bridge the gap between the physical and the digital. The technology is intentionally concealed to bring places and stories from the past into the present and create immersive experiences where technology complements heritage (as opposed to compete with it for visitors’ attention). The full integration of technology with the exhibition or heritage requires approaching the design of the visitors’ experience as a collaborative project that combines curatorial, technical and design aspects. As a multi-expertise team, we created, implemented, and evaluated thee concepts: an evocative experience in the trenches and camp of World War I in the Italian Alps; an interactive layer to tell the personal stories of those involved in the changes in The Hague during the Nazi occupation; and a set of multimedia installations to enrich a permanent collection of World War I artillery. The design effort was on both the creation of bespoke devices and the composition of content that was not didactic but open to personal interpretation: curators left traces for visitors to pick up, and when this occurred the experience was deeper and stronger. Our evaluations show that the powerful outcome cannot be ascribed to just one component, technology versus content. One empowers the other: an approach that simultaneously works on interaction and content is essential to make a design that exploits the place or the objects to a powerful final effect. Clearly, this challenges the traditional exhibition design process as curators become creative members of the team in charge of shaping, through the content, the final experience of the visitors. It is then a matter of rethinking not only the technology for heritage, but also the process, and for curators to become more daring with content