POLITECNICO DI MILANO A.A. / A.Y. 2010|2011 CORSO DI LAUREA MAGISTRALE / MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PRODUCT SERVICE SYSTEM DESIGN
EMOTIONAL INTERACTION OVER A DISTANCE TESI DI LAUREA / THESIS di / BY
MARCO SPADAFORA
RELATORE: DR. VALENTINA AURICCHIO
M. 734862
Questo lavoro è dedicato a mio padre e a mia madre, per il loro incondizionato supporto, per ringraziarli di quello che sono, sono stati e saranno. A mio fratello, per quella sua capacità inaspettata di mostrarmi un’altra strada. A Zia Pina, che in fondo sai che è sempre li. A tutta la mia famiglia, specialmente ai nuovi piccoli acquisti. Vivere ormai da sette anni lontano da loro mi ha portato via molto, ma, allo stesso tempo, mi ha dato l’ispirazione per questo lavoro. Con l’intento di ridurre la distanza ho lavorato. A Serena, questo lavoro è dedicato a lei, per dimostrarle che sempre lavorerò per ridurre le distanze che la vita vorrà porre tra noi, e per ringraziarla di essere ogni giorno li ad ispirarmi con il suo sorriso. A tutti quelli che mi hanno accompagnato fino a qui, perchè ognuno di loro ha contribuito a questo progetto, facendomi diventare quello che sono.
Grazie a Valentina, per il suo supporto e la sua guida. A Jennifer, per l’incoraggiamento a fare ogni volta un passo in più. A Vincenzo, il geometra, per la sua positiva influenza. A Yanina, Matias, e Gianpiero per la loro disponibilità. A Stefan Agamanolis e Dario Buzzini, per i preziosi consigli. A Carlo Martino, per aver continuato a seguirmi sempre.
ABSTRACT L’obiettivo di questo lavoro non è solo quello di dimostrare una tesi, un pensiero, ma anche quello di
aprire nuovi orizzonti e porre nuove domande sul tema che ho trattato. Il titolo del mio lavoro è
“Emotional Interaction over a Distance”.
I nostri tempi sono caratterizzati dalla velocita degli spostamenti e dalla globalizzazione, che hanno migliorato decisamente la vita delle persone, ma che allo stesso tempo hanno inserito un fattore nuovo,
la lontananza fisica tra le persone,
famiglie divise e amicizie lontane giusto per citare degli esempi.
Queste persone hanno bisogno di rimanere connesse. Come designer non è possibile rimanere indifferenti a questo bisogno, e da qui nasce la mia idea di lavoro, e cioè
liberare la mente da preconcetti sul modo di comunicare, e fornire punti di vista diversi sulla comunicazione, basata su principi di qualità piuttosto che quantità, e sul tipo di relazione tra le persone che comunicano. Per fare questo ho seguito il concept della “Slow Communication”
che, ripercorrendo il percorso fatto con il movimento dello “Slow Food”, punta a migliorare la qualita della comunicazione a distanza. Per la slow communication il telefono cellulare rappresenta quello che Mac Donald’s rappresenta per lo slow food, e cioe un servizio da poter usare ovunque e soprattutto che non bada alla qualita del cibo e del luogo in cui lo si consuma, slow communication vuole quindi cercare nuove idee di comunicazione.
Dal canto mio ho aggiunto il concetto di una comunicazione basata su elementi piu tangibili e reali, meno virtuali e impersonali. Per sviluppare questa ricerca ho applicato il metodo del
“design through probes”,
nuovo strumento di progettazione utilizzato dai più importanti centri di ricerca mondiali nel campo del design, e che concentra i suoi sforzi
nell’intima comprensione delle emozioni coinvolte nell’esperienza che la persona fa nell’utilizzare quel determinato prodotto, sistema o servizio, tanto da venire definiti
“experience prototype”.
Dalla fase di ricerca e progettazione sono nati due prototipi di nuovi sistemi di comunicazione che ho chiamato
“Cloud” e “The box”.
Sono due bozze di nuovi strumenti che portano con se, a mio parere, un forte potenziale, e che spero di avere la possibilità di continuare a sviluppare.
Curiosi? Continuate a leggere… Marco Spadafora
ABSTRACT The objective of this work is not just to prove a point, a thought, but also
to open new insights and raise new questions about the topic that I discussed. The title of my work is
"Emotional Interaction over a Distance."
Our times are characterized by speed of travel and globalization, which have significantly improved people's lives, but at the same time they have added a new factor,
the physical distance between people,
divided families and friends far away just to cite some examples .
These people need to stay connected. As a designer we cannot remain indifferent to this need, and hence the idea of my work,
that is, clear your mind of preconceptions about the way we communicate, and provide different perspectives on communication, based on principles of quality rather than quantity , and the type of relationship between people who communicate. To do this I followed the concept of "Slow Communication"
which, retracing the route taken by the movement of the "Slow Food", aims to improve the quality of distance communication. In the concept of slow communication the mobile phone is what McDonald's is to slow food, which is a service that you can use anywhere, and one pays no attention to the quality of food and the place where it is consumed, slow communication looks to establish new communication ideas.
For my part I loved the concept of communication based on factors that are more tangible and real; less virtual and impersonal. To develop this research I used the method of
"design through probes�
a new design tool used by leading research centers worldwide in design, and that concentrates its efforts
in the intimate understanding of the emotions involved in the experience that the person has
with that particular product, system or service, so much to be defined as an
"experience prototype".
From research and design phase two prototypes emerged, of new systems of communication, which I called
"Cloud" and "The Box".
Two drafts of new tools that bring with them, in my opinion, a strong potential, and I hope to be able to continue to develop.
Curious? Keep reading‌ Marco Spadafora
INSTRUCTIONS the numbers on the coloured line refer to a specific page where you can find a topic releted to what are you reading at that moment.
the book is made of four sections (concept, tool, research and my work), each of which is represented by a coloured line.
EXAMPLE
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CONCEPT
14 33
TOOL
37 45
RESEARCH
55 58 70
MY WORK
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THIS IS A HYPERBOOK It was inspired by the concept of the
hypertext.
A hypertext is a special type of database system, invented by Ted Nelson in the 1960s, in which objects (text, pictures, music, programs, and so on) can be creatively linked to each other.
When you select an object, you can see all the other objects that are linked to it.
You can move from one object to another even though they might have very different forms. Hypertext systems are particularly useful for organising and browsing through large databases that consist of disparate types of information, and to give an understanding of the overall concept inside the text.
This book allows the reader to browse through it following their own path, creating their own story, giving them the possibility to understand easily and quickly the message inside all the material produced in a six month research.
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STATEMENT OF INTENT When I began searching for a theme for the thesis, I decided to start from the question;
“HOW TO IMPROVE HUMAN RELATION/INTERACTION OVER A DISTANCE?”,
and I think that this is a topic that is of great interest to our generation as well as successive generations.
The idea is to work with tangible media to try to create a less impersonal and more real link between people. The intention is to begin, through interviews and direct contact with people, to identify particular areas of intervention that give a starting point for the
creation of new interactive tools. Once the potential interventions have been identified,
the idea is to work with the method of probes, creating a process for the thesis in which it is possible to learn and improve step by step. All of this has the objective of creating added value within the thesis, which will be to
analyse and learn what it means to “design through probes”, something that I believe to be useful for my potential future career.
From a personal point of view I believe that this thesis is the right conclusion to a journey
that began with product design, which has been strongly enriched by my experience of product service system design,
and that cannot continue without an understanding of how to deal with the area of interaction design. I truly believe that this is increasingly the future of our work and
with this experience I would like to develop my own personal vision regarding this area.
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CONCEPT
SLOW COMMUNICATION 20 - 28 - 32 - 38 - 46 - 50 60 - 96
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Today's communication systems are impersonal and generic. E-mail, for example, is often read and written on the same computer and at the same desk that one uses for any other kind of communication. Phone calls and SMS messages are sent and received between partners on the same devices used for work and business. "Slow communication" is an extension of ideas from the "slow food" movement into the realm of technology and communication. The idea is that mobile phones, email, chat programs and other common modes of communication are similar to "fast food"... Just like fast food can be eaten "anywhere anytime", mobile phones can be used "anywhere anytime". This results in convenience, but you may also be exposed to distractions that can interrupt your conversation. Fast food can be efficient but isn't normally high in quality, and in fact can be downright unhealthy. Similarly, mobile phones may be efficient for getting a message across but they are typically not known for their high sound quality, which may lead to misunderstandings and frustration. Fast food is often not customised to the diner or the location where it is purchased. The phone is generic as well - you use the same phone to talk to anyone from your lover to a telemarketer. The phrase "slow communication" represents a different approach to the design of communication. Instead of speed and efficiency, slow technology emphasises the quality of the total experience and the elimination of distraction. Slow communication is a personalised experience, tailored to the character of the relationship of those communicating. Slow communication reflects our traditions as human beings and supports a sense of intimacy and closeness where appropriate. from Tomoko Hayashi, Stefan Agamanolis, Matthew Karau
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TOOL
PROBE EXPERIENCE PROTOTYPE 16 - 24 - 28 - 54 66 - 96
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Changes in the design field have also affected the methods of user-centred design. Ever since the late 1990s, traditional methods have been challenged by new, experimental methods, and the methods of user-centred design meant for the concept design stage in particular are being developed continuously. Probes are among the new challengers, meeting the demands of understanding potential, experimentation and designerly interaction brought by the changing situation. Design probes are an approach of user-centred design for understanding human phenomena and exploring design opportunities. We can define three different use of probes: Firstly, probes are based on user participation by means of self-documentation. The users or potential users collect and document the material, working as active participants in the user-centred design process. Probes are a collection of assignments through which or inspired by which the users can record their experiences as well as express their thoughts and ideas. Secondly, probes look at the user’s personal context and perceptions. The purpose is to outline human phenomena and users, as well as introduce the user’s perspective to enrich design. The assignments focus the users’ attention and record their daily lives including social, aesthetic and cultural environment, needs, feelings, values and attitudes. Thirdly, probes have an exploratory character. They explore new opportunities rather than solve problems that are known already. This characteristic relates the probes to the “wicked” design problems and concept design, often with an experimental goal.
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Probes sound out the field of design, trying to find and delineate alternative solutions as explorative probing. Probes are meant to support both the designers and the users in their interpretations and creativity. They are used to ask the users to experiment, express and explicate their experiences. The open probe assignments are both descriptive and explorative. The openness and room for interpretation also involve the expectation of a surprising or unexpected result. Probes can also appear as interactive devices or systems; experience prototypes in other words (Buchenau & Fulton Suri 2000). The interest in user experience and interaction design has pushed the probes in a more designerly direction. As an example: The probes of Stephan Wensveen (1999) were more clearly targeted than the previous ones, and the design had a clear goal.
style and character of a smart alarm device. What technological and cultural probes have in common is the tendency towards experiential and designerly inspiration, as well as the open-ended search for design opportunities by means of participatory design, without commitment to products. One definition of the verb to probe is to provoke someone, so we can say, that one of the main characteristics is to stimulate the user to express the emotions felt during the experience. For the Philips research team, the aim of probes is to identify probable systemic shifts in the social and economic domains, and they challenge conventional ways of thinking to come up with concepts that stimulate debate.
His intention was to design a new kind of experiential alarm device. Firstly, the probes were meant to collect opinions, dreams and feelings for the design of an alarm device for the future. Secondly, they were meant to record observations of individual waking-up situations when they happened. Wensveen’s probe exercises were largely similar to cultural probes, but they built around the alarm device, outlining the associated design space. Wensveen’s probe kit contained both documentary and personal exercises, as well as diary exercises looking into emotional states. The verbal and illustrated exercises in the manner of market research were meant to collect images and dreams associated with the
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RESEARCH
BETWEEN PROBES AND SLOW COMMUNICATION
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RESEARCH
PHILIPS SKIN DRESSES 6 10
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SKIN examines the future integration of sensitive materials in the area of emotional sensing – the shift from ‘ intelligent’ to ‘sensitive’ products and technologies. As part of SKIN, Philips have developed two ‘Soft Technology’ outfits to identify the future for high tech materials and Electronic Textile Development in the area’s of skin and emotional sensing. The dresses show emotive technology and how the body and the near environment can use pattern and color change to interact and predict the emotional state.
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RESEARCH
PHILIPS SKIN TATTOO 6 10 60
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Tattoos and physical mutilation are amongst the oldest forms of personal expression and identity. Subcultures have used tattoos as a form of self representation; a visual language communicating personality and status. Philips Design examined the growing trend of extreme body adornment like tattoos, piercing, implants and scarring. The Electronics Tattoo film expresses the visual power of sensitive technology applied to the human body. The film subtly leads the viewer through the simultaneous emotional and aesthetic transformations between two lovers.
HyPERLINK PAG 60
PERSONAL TOUCH
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RESEARCH
LONDON C.S.M. COMMUNICATION WEAR 6
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London Central Saint Martin research locates potential youth consumers at the centre of the development of clothing prototypes by engaging them as co-developers and evaluators. Using design-led techniques they aim to determine what and how people might communicate through augmented clothing, and how this might fit in with, and support their everyday communications. They developed a smart textile system and integrated it into prototype garments that provided a menu of touch expressions that the garment can sense and actuate. The garments enabled sensory messaging and social presence. A smart textile system comprising sensors, actuators and processing units was integrated into garments, and each garment was twinned with a mobile phone via Bluetooth, enabling remote communication between them. In a way they used the prototypes as research probes as a means to create conditions in which participants could experience, play and dream, possibly gauging a deeper level of knowledge or tacit knowledge about user’s desires, preferences and behaviours, as well as the way the concept makes them feel. Their approach aims to gain insight into what some of the catalysts and drivers of future consumer fashion wearable technology that permits touch communication might be, and to explore methods to design appropriable smart clothing.
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RESEARCH
DISTANCE LAB REMOTE IMPACT 6
10 60
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Remote Impact is a "Sports over a Distance" boxing game that enables a full body contact experience between geographically distant players. Unlike the Nintendo Wii which only supports hitting thin air, Remote Impact recognises and registers intense brute force. The physical intensity of the game contributes to general fitness, weight loss and stress relief at the same time it allows you to socialise and create new friendships over a distance in a fun way. Current widespread communication technologies can support generic messaging and business-oriented tasks, but they do not adequately facilitate the building of trust between distant persons. On the other hand, traditional contact sports like football, rugby, and martial arts are well known for their effectiveness in social bonding and teambuilding. Remote Impact aims to provide these benefits to participants who are in different places.
HyPERLINK PAG 60
PERSONAL TOUCH
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RESEARCH
DISTANCE LAB MUTSUGOTO 6
10 60
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HyPERLINK PAG 60
PERSONAL TOUCH
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A body-drawing communicator for distant partners. by Tomoko Hayashi, Stefan Agamanolis, Matthew Karau Mutsugoto is an intimate communication device intended for a bedroom environment. Instead of exchanging e-mail or SMS messages using generic interfaces in business-like venues, Mutsugoto allows distant partners to communicate through the language of touch as expressed on the canvas of the human body. A custom computer vision and projection system allows users to draw on each other's bodies while lying in bed. Drawings are transmitted "live" between the two beds, enabling a different kind of synchronous communication that leverages the emotional quality of physical gesture. Human intimacy is a significant but often neglected part of modern life. More people now than ever carry on long distance relationships with romantic partners, sometimes for extended periods of time. However today's communication systems are impersonal and generic. E-mail, for example, is often read and written on the same computer and at the same desk that one uses for any other kind of communication. Phone calls and SMS messages are sent and received between partners on the same devices used for work and business. Mutsugoto is a new kind of communication device meant to be used by romantic couples in long distance relationships. Breaking away from traditional systems intended for operation by any pair of people in any situation, the form and function of Mutsugoto is designed to more strongly reflect the character of an intimate bond.
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RESEARCH
DISTANCE LAB SOCIAL KNITWORK 6
10 96
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A technique for creating knitted keepsakes reflecting online social interactions Hilary Grant, Stefan Agamanolis Social Knitworking is a pattern generation concept that enables users to reflect on the friendships they maintain on-screen, and online, through text-based communication. The intention is to provide a way to celebrate our online friendships by taking an abstract overview of our everyday conversations and drawing upon conversational and syntactical patterns to create a knitted keepsake.
HyPERLINK PAG 96
REAL SPACE CAPSULE
Online social interactions, such as the type we have in Facebook and other social networking systems, are trapped on a screen and stored as electronic information in a distant server. The non-physical nature of these interactions can make it difficult to reflect on the depth and character of a relationship. Physical letters, photos, and gifts are tangible reminders of relationships that we increasingly lack in the digital age. Social Knitworking is a technique for reflecting online social interactions in the form of a physical knitted keepsake. Using the technique, a computer programme analyses the online textual interactions in an instant messenger or email dialogue. Based on detected conversational patterns, such as frequently used phrases or sentiments, emotional characteristics, and other features, the programme outputs an abstract knitting pattern. This pattern is then downloaded into a computer-controlled knitting machine where it can be knitted as a simple piece of clothing or accessory. The information becomes a tangible, tactile surface encouraging the owner to examine the pattern and make their own interpretation on how it relates to their long-distance friendships.
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RESEARCH
DISTANCE LAB JOGGING OVER A DISTANCE
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by Florian 'Floyd' Mueller Living far away from friends and work colleagues reduces opportunities for informal interaction and shared experience, such as those experienced when going jogging together. Jogging over a Distance is a prototype that employes spatialised audio to allow you to converse with a remote jogging partner while maintaining an awareness of your relative levels of exertion. Social joggers often run with others as a means to socialise as well as to gain extra motivation to exercise. We discovered that many social joggers value the ability to have conversations with their partners and use their exercise sessions as a way to stay in touch with their friends. For casual joggers, being able to carry on a conversation can also be an indicator that they are running at a suitable pace: not too fast and not too slow for an optimal health benefit. This is often referred to as the "Talk Test".
prototype supports awareness of exertion intensity: if your heart rate is faster, your partner's voice sounds like it is coming from behind you; if your heart rate is slower, your partner's voice appears to come from in front of you. Heart rate data is collected wireless from a chest belt. Similar to a collocated setting, the spatialised audio cues runners when to speed up or slow down in order to "stay" with their partner. By accounting for each partner's maximum heart rate and optimal training zone, distant runners can run together although they have different physical capabilities. In other words, a fit runner can run with an unfit one, but they can both still "push" one another to their preferred exercise level. Thus, the system allows joggers to do something that is not possible when running side by side - to challenge their capabilities while running with friends who run at different speeds.
To help in finding social jogging partners, one solution is to enable people to jog with remote friends and other remote joggers. With Jogging over a Distance, jogging partners could live in opposite parts of the world, yet share the experience of jogging together. Similar to jogging side by side, the Jogging over a Distance prototype transforms the conversation into spatialised audio to simulate hearing one's partner in front, to the side, or behind. Each jogging partner puts on a pair of headphones and wears the remaining equipment in a small waistpack. While the Distance Lab’s previous work focussed on pace awareness, this
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MEDIA LAB E. WHISPIRAL
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10 96
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A spiral-shaped shawl that carries whispers of your loved ones Elena Corchero, Stefan Agamanolis Gifts and keepsakes allow us to remember friends and loved ones when we travel or move to far away places. The whiSpiral is a new kind of keepsake that explores how technology can enhance the way garments and accessories evoke memories of these relationships. Circuitry integrated directly in the textile allows your friends to record short audio messages at different points in a spiral-shaped shawl. These messages are whispered back each time you wrap the shawl around yourself, or by caressing different parts of the fabric.
HyPERLINK PAG 96
REAL SPACE CAPSULE
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MEDIA LAB E. BREAK OUT FOR TWO 6
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An exertion interface for sports over a distance Florian 'Floyd' Mueller, Stefan Agamanolis Traditional sports foster bonding and team spirit through the sharing of a physically taxing competitive activity. This project aims to build the same sense of community over a distance, not with email and instant messengers, but with real balls, sweat, and exertion.
HyPERLINK PAG 96
REAL SPACE CAPSULE
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ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDIES
10 - 16 - 24 - 28
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DISTANCE & MEDIA C.SAINT MARTIN PHILIPS LAB
EXPERIENCE
FEEL IT
without a real FEEL IT by testing working protoprototype, through evoca- types. tive text and video. SHOW how to feel a completely PROVOKE feeling and different experience pushing current emotions in order to use technology to the limits. them as guideline for the LET the experience to next step. DRIVE the technology. ALLOW Philips to OVERCOME technological limitations in order to create something that is not supported by current technology.
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DISCOVER IT in the eve-
ryday life of real people. LET people express feelings and emotions to understand hidden needs like ethnographic research does. ALLOW designers to UNDERSTAND how people really percieve and experience their product and service; CREATE a database focussed on people’s experiences to design their project around that.
As you can see from the graphic on the adjacent page, I placed the word EXPERIENCE at the centre of the diagram, in order to explain how different entities (Philips, Distance Lab, Media Lab Europe and Central Saint Martin college) use probes. In fact Experience is the core of the probe techniques, and to design through probes means to design objects, services and systems around the experience coming from the user.
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MY WORK
PROBES SHAPE THINGS
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MY WORK
PERSONAL TOUCH WHAT IT IS
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Personal Touch is the probe that underlines the power of having a direct link with one person instead of having many possible links. I worked on a phone to change it into a device that can establish contacts with just another one device. With this device the user cannot talk, cannot text, but instead can touch the other person. Pushing the only button on the first device, the other one will vibrate, so the other person, who is wearing the other device, will feel the personal touch. As I explained in the slow communication concept, it is very important to improve the quality of the communication, to personalise it, and to build specific devices for a single unique relationship. In this case the fact that the device can establish contacts with just another one similar device, creates that feeling of having a stronger link, becouse when you recive a “signal” on this device you already know who is sending it. The kind of signal is also very important. The fact that is not possible to talk or to text, but only to transfer a vibration, with the meaning of a touch, narrows the range of relationship in which you can use this tool. In fact this tool is intended to be used between couples or very close friends, that do not need to explain to each other, in a particular situation, what a touch or a vibration means. Considering the question “what does a vibration mean?” introduced another important possibility for further development of the device after the probe. In the creation phase of the device it was in fact clear to me that every couple can have the possibility to develop their own
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language, or better their own code based on vibrations. This is what happened later and it opened up a very large field of discussion and a wide range of possibilties to develop the device in a second step.
HyPERLINK PAG 20 RESEARCH
PHILIPS SKIN TATTOO
HyPERLINK PAG 28 RESEARCH
DISTANCE LAB REMOTE IMPACT
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HyPERLINK PAG 32 RESEARCH
DISTANCE LAB MUTSUGOTO
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MY WORK
PERSONAL TOUCH HOW I BUILT IT
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I built the Personal Touch prototype starting from an old mobile phone. With a layer of blue foam, I covered all of the phone's buttons except for two of them. These two buttons were used, one to trigger the vibration and the other one to stop it. To make the two buttons easily recognisable by the user just by touch, I added a plastic piece that, emerging from the blue foam, cleary indicates the two useable buttons. At this point I covered the entire phone with an elasticated fabric, in a way to completely hide the phone in order to underline for the user the sensation of using a completely different device that is no longer a phone. I thought that the best solution of carrying the probe all day was to integrate it into a wearable textile “band� that could be worn on the arm.
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MY WORK
PERSONAL T. CANDIDATES SELECTION
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YANINA GUERZOVICH She is a 28 year old master student from Argentina. She lives in Milan where she is finishing her master in Product Service System Design. She has a huge experience in long distance relationships, becouse she is forced to live far away from her family and often from her boyfriend too. She accepted to be part of the probe trial to use it with her boyfriend during a period of a month in which he was going to be in Argentina.
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MATIAS SAIDEL He is Yanina’s boyfriend. He is a 29 year old Ph.D student. He studies in Naples and lives jumping between Naples, Milan and Argentina, where his family and most of his friends live. So as you can image he also has to deal every day with long distance relationships.
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PERSONAL T. USERS INTERVIEW
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1. Y. & M. “INTERESTING, WEIRD AND NEW EXPERIENCE” Both the users, Yanina and Matias, agreed with the fact that this experience was very interesting. As a first impression they had this feeling of something a bit weird and they were not so sure that they were going
to use it, but then within a short time they understood the potential of this device, and how it could change their distance relationship.
2. Y. “HAVE TO WEAR THIS THING QUITE BIG IN THE ARM” & M. “HAVE IT IN THE POCKET BECOUSE OF HOT SUMMER” These two comments underline the fact that the solution developed for wearing the device was not the right one. The solution of the wearable band was envisaged as a practical and comfortable means of carrying the probe close to the body, in a way that can also be private (for example worn under clothing). However in practice this was not found to be the case. The probe users found it to
be too bulky and would prefer the freedom to carry the probe without being forced to wear it on their arm, for example being able to keep it in their pocket. As Matias underlines, in fact, it was a bit strange to use during the Argentinean summer. He found it to be too warm to wear the band on his arm and instead preferred to carry it in his pocket.
3. Y. “TO REMIND THE OTHER PERSON” & M. “FEEL CLOSE TO HER” These two comments reinforce the initial idea of creating a direct link between the two people, in fact it came out that the device by itself was an object that reminded them of the other person, and, having it always with themselves, was like to carrying a ring or another object symbolising or belonging to the other
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person. These aspects make me think a lot about the future possible shape of the object. In addition, being able to just push a button to communicate directly with the other person, really make them feel closer, as Matias underlined in his comment.
4. Y. “WAS A WAY TO CALL EACH OTHER ATTENTION” & Y. “TO REMIND TO DO SOMETHING” From these two comments it can clearly be seen how they customised the use of the device. In fact they didn’t use it just to express feelings such as “missing you”, but also in a practical way. For example they used it to let the other one know that
they were online on Skype and to start a conversation with this other tool. Or another example is when they used it to remind the other one to do something as Yanina suggested in the interview.
5. M. “TO HAVE THIS SENSE OF ANOTHER WAY OF COMMUNICATE” I found this comment very interesting because it demonstrates that the hypothesis about slow communication has a valid basis. During the interview Matias told me a story that I found very meaningful for understanding the potential of the device. He told me that one day he went to the university because he had a presentation.
During this presentation he received a vibration from Yanina, and after a moment, he realised that she was there somehow with him and it was not like that he had to give an answer right back. The communication act was simple and quick but it was able to transfer the feeling that Yanina wanted to communicate and that Matias needed to feel.
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MY WORK
PERSONAL T. THE NEXT STEP: “CLOUD”
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After the analysis I started thinking about how to develop the new system of communication based on Personal Touch. The comments from the users were related to different aspects of the design, for example about shapes, materials, technologies involved, interactions with the object and more importantly the new language of communication that could develop from using the new device. Starting from this I decided to make some changes: Regarding the shape and the material, it was clear that the weight and the dimension of the phone were not suitable for the functions required for the improved device. In fact to allow just a vibration the dimension can be reduced significantly, so I decided to use a material more soft and light similar to a sponge. The softness of the object gives the users a more positive feeling when touching the device instead of pushing a button. About the shape I realised that a more rounded and smaller form allows a better interaction for the user. Regarding the interaction I realised that it was important to work on the way of sending the vibration as well as the way of receiving it. I thought that maybe the device could send different types of vibration based on the way of touching, pushing or squeezing the “cloud�. This also makes the communication more customised to the user, in the sense that with the possibility of sending different types of vibration (the difference may be in intensity and duration) it would be a lot easier for the couple to develop their own code or language.
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ROUNDED SHAPE REDUCED DIMENSION SOFT MATERIAL LIGHT MATERIAL
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NEW INTERACTION NEW INPUT - NEW OUTPUT POSSIBILITY TO DEVELOP A “COUPLE’S CODE”
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MY WORK
THE NEXT STEP: “CLOUD” NEW SCENARIO
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MY WORK
REAL SPACE CAPSULE WHAT IT IS 6
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Real Space Capsule is the probe that underlines the power of having a shared private space between people in two different locations. To do this I built up a box, with a webcam inside that is streaming online 24 hours a day, direct to your loved ones. In this box the user cannot place an e-mail, cannot tweet, but he/she can stick a post it or even offer a coffee! How it works is easy, just open the box, put something inside, close the box, let the camera stream it, and the other one will find it in the other box wherever it is.
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HyPERLINK PAG 38 DISTANCE LAB SOCIAL KNITWORK RESEARCH
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HyPERLINK PAG 46 RESEARCH
MEDIA LAB E. WHISPIRAL
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HyPERLINK PAG 50 MEDIA LAB E. BREAK OUT FOR TWO RESEARCH
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MY WORK
REAL SPACE CAPSULE HOW I BUILT IT
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The first important characteristic of the box to be considered was the level of transparency of the material in which it is built, as this should let natural light enter making the object visible to the camera, but at the same time concealing the contents from the outside world. It was also important that the camera should not be able to see and record what is outside the box for the obvious reason of privacy, since the camera is streming online 24 hours per day. For this reason I chose to build the box with a semi-trasparent plastic, that was fitting with the characteristics needed. Then I placed the camera on the side, as you can see from the video frames. To complete the probe I decided to use some lesser-known features of the Skype software. By making some changes to the normal settings, it was possible to programme an authomatic answer with video activated to incoming calls. In this way, when one of the probe users launched a call the cameras would start automatically streaming on both sides.
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MY WORK
REAL SPACE C. CANDIDATES SELECTION
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JENNIFER PARKER She is a 24 year old Scottish student, who is attending the Product Service System Design master course at Politecnico di Milano. She has a lot of friends around the world, and she communicates with them through Skype. Her family lives in Scotland and she uses Skype to communicate with them as well. She agreed to be a test user for this probe without knowing who was going to be her partner in this experiment, and using Real Space Capsule she got to know Vincenzo, the other test user.
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VINCENZO SPADARO He is an Italian 24 year old freelance designer. He comes from Sicily, but he is now living in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he works for a design studio. He spent the last two years travelling around Europe, in fact he has lived in Cork, Ireland and Eindhoven, Netherlands. His family lives in Sicily so the theme of communication over a distance completely fits with this character. He agreed to participate in the probe experiment without knowing Jennifer before.
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REAL SPACE C. USERS INTERVIEW
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1. J. “WE HAD A LOT OF FUN” & V. “NEW AND REALLY INTERESTING” At the beginning, both of them were really sceptical about the way Real Space Capsule works, and more important they had different ideas about how to use it.
But as the comments demonstrate they enjoyed it a lot, and they were very surprised by the way they ended up using it, as seen in the following comments.
2. J. “IT BECAME AN ICE BREAKER” , J. “IT WAS A NATURAL WAY TO START A CONVERSATION” & V. “THAT BOX IS A KIND OF AREA BETWEEN THE VIRTUAL AND THE REAL”, V. “WHEN THAT STUFF IS INSIDE THE BOX, AND YOU CLOSE THE BOX, ITS NOT ANYMORE REAL, ITS SOMETHING IN THE AERE” Real Space Capsule, according to these comments, became a very important tool to break that kind of situation in which the conversation does not evolve and is stuck. The box is in fact a tangible tool that transfers the meaning of an object entirely but at the same time does not explain that
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meaning in the same way words do. Therefore the meaning is open to interpretation. Or in a more poetic way, the object is transformed from something to something virtual, that changes itself according to the situations.
3. J. “THE PROBE WORKS BETTER COMBINED WITH OTHER FORMS OF COMMUNICATION” As Jennifer suggested in this comment, Real Space Capsule and also Personal Touch are not substitutes for the normal tools of communication. Instead they were created for specific situations and relationships, as an additional way to improve the communication. In this case they used the box and at the same time
they used Skype to chat and complete the messages that they sent through the box. They commented and laughed together through the objects in the box, and they chose the objects to put inside based on their conversations to enrich them with their creativity.
4. J. “IT IS A BOX BUT IS VERY OPEN” & V. “THAT BOX BECAME A PRESENT” V. “EVERY HOUR, EVERY DAY YOU RECEIVE A PRESENT” These comments confirm the importance of having a tool that improves communication with unexpected and new solutions, that helps the evolution of the communication and of the relationship, pushing forward our creativity. In this case the message that you want to transmit is not any more a simple word or a voice, but
something tangible that opens another world to be explored and change the limits in which our mind was working to communicate. There are a lot of variables that we cannot predict when putting a object inside the box and this opens our mind to think in a different way.
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5. J. “ACCELERATOR FOR A FRIENDSHIP” & V. “MAKE YOU FEEL REALLY INTIMATE, WITH WHO YOU ARE GONNA SHARE THE BOX” This was the most interesting comment for me, because it made me understand, as a confirmation of my thesis, that the tool we use really affects our communication, and should be based on our relationship and
emotions. The fact, as Vincenzo says, that the box helps to create that state of intimacy is something fundamental, which most of the time a phone call or even a Skype video-call cannot give you.
6. V. “I LEARNED HOW TO MAKE PRESENTS” As we can see from this comment from Vincenzo, Real Space Capsule became important for him not just in his communications but also in his way of thinking. It had an impact in changing his way of
acting, his relationship, pushing him toward an evolution based on creativity not just in communication, but in relationships in general.
7. J. “A MORE COMPLEX TECHNOLOGY, BUT IN A MORE ACCESSIBLE WAY” This comment says a lot about the importance of the design of the interaction, that in this case make the communication a lot easier and intuitive. In the end you just need to pick up an object and put it inside a box, in order to transfer your message.
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This makes us think again about the importance to design the tool for the communication based on the kind of relationship, and the interaction has to follow the same role as well.
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MY WORK
REAL SPACE C. THE NEXT STEP: “THE BOX”
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Analysing the comments from the Real Space Capsule users, one thing came out clearly: the shape of the box, that as a box defines a precise area, was really in line with the goal. In fact the idea of the box as closed helps to define the space, that, we can say, stays in between the two locations. So I decided to keep the shape of the device more or less similar, but to work more on the interaction of using the box. The problems, from a usability point of view, that came out from the interview were the following: With the box attached to the computer the two objects are linked and this reduces the usability of the box, which cannot for example be placed on a shelf in the kitchen but has to be on the same desk of the computer. I think it is very important to keep the box separate from the computer in order to make it became part of the house, like something that you know in any time can become a door through space and transfer a message to someone in another place. To allow this I thought that as an improvement to the box it could have like a screen inside, so you do not open the box any more just to put something inside but also to see through the box what is inside the other box. This also improves the interaction with the box not just in putting the object inside, but also in the way of visualising the content of the other box. The action of opening the box, “putting your head in� and having a look improves the experience a lot, according to what users told me in the interview.
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A BOX CLEARLY DEFINED SPACE WIRELESS NEW INTERACTION TO SEE THROUGH THE BOX
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MY WORK
THE NEXT STEP: “CLOUD” NEW SCENARIO
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CONCLUSION
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My thesis did not start with the idea of reaching a closed conclusion,
but with the goal of opening up more possibilities. Inspired by the experimental work I found in the research part,
I wanted to give my contribution in a field that is constantly evolving and in my opinion becoming ever more vital.
I have had the experience of living far from home for seven years, and studying with people from all around the world, so
I see every day the difficulties people have in maintaining a close relationship with their loved ones.
I believe this trend will continue to grow with people studying, working and even starting a family in different places around the world.
These people have a need to stay connected
and as designers we need to provide them with a quality connection. As such,
my work tries to respond to this need and to imagine new scenarios for tangible communication.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY PERSONAL MEETING AND CORRESPONDENCE 11 January 2011, Meeting with Dario Buzzini, IDEO December/January 2011, Personal correspondence with Dr. Stefan Agamanolis, founder of Media Lab Europe and Distance Lab
BOOKS AND ARTICLES Adler, R and Rodman, G (2008) Understanding Human Communication, USA, Oxford University Press Buchenau, M and Fulton Suri, J (2000) ‘Experience Prototyping’, Proceedings of DIS2000 (424–433), USA, ACM Press Gyi, D et al (2004) Design and Emotion, UK, Taylor & Francis Chandler, C and Unger, R (2009) A Project Guide to UX Design: For User Experience Designers in the Field or in the Making, USA, New Riders Hekkert, P and Schifferstein, H (2008) Product Experience, USA, Elsevier Mattelmäki, T (2006) Design Probes, Finland, University of Art and Design Helsinki Moggridge, B (2007) Designing Interactions, USA, MIT Press Norman, D (2004) Emotional Design, USA, Basic Books Preece, J et al (2007) Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction, UK, John Wiley & Sons Ltd Saffer, D (2010) Designing for Interaction: Creating Smart Applications and Clever Devices, USA, New Riders Tidwell, J (2006) Designing Interfaces, USA, O’Reilly Media Inc Wensveen, S et al (2000) ‘Touch me, hit me and I know how you feel. A design approach to emotionally rich interaction’, Proceedings of DIS2000 (48–53), USA, ACM Press
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WEB Banzi, M (2010) Arduino [online] Available from: http://www.arduino.cc/ (Accessed 5th November 2010) Central Saint Martins College (2010) Design Probes [online] Available from: http://www.designprobes.com/ (Accessed 29th September 2010) Distance Lab (2010) Projects [online] Available from: http://www.distancelab.org/projects/index.html (Accessed 14th October 2010) KOBAKANT (2010) DIY Wearable Technology Documentation [online] Available from: http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/ (Accessed 5th November 2010) Media Lab Europe (2005) Research [online] Available from: http://medialabeurope.org/research/ (Accessed 22nd October 2010) Philips (2010) Design Probes [online] Available from: http://www.design.philips.com/probes/ (Accessed 29th September 2010) Philips (2010) Design Probes Community [online] Available from: http://designprobes.ning.com/ (Accessed 29th September 2010) Privitera, M (2009) Hai un’idea geniale? Fai come Mr Arduino, regalala. E diventa ricco. Wired Magazine [online] Available from: http://mag.wired.it/rivista/storie/hai-un-idea-geniale-faicome-mr-arduino-regalala-e-diventa-ricco.html (Accessed 5th November 2010)
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