Interacting with your sofa: Interaction design for pervasive computing

Abstract

The move of computing into the physical environment and into most aspects of everyday life challenges how we understand and design human computer interaction. This talk describes research that addresses this challenge and it provides a number of examples from current and previous projects.

Emerging technologies offer fascinating possibilities. New and cheap sensor and actuator technologies make the way for new ways of interacting with computers, e.g. context-aware, networked devices of scales ranging from building sized displays to sensors and actuators invisibly embedded in smart textiles. This talk discusses how we can make use of these possibilities in a way that focuses on designing for improved life quality for people.

The talk discusses new roles for computers and the quest for additional theoretical foundations and design methods to account for these new roles. It discusses and exemplifies what design and architecture can do for interaction design and it presents a number of concrete examples on interaction design for pervasive computing, e.g. an interactive table, a gesture based remote control and an interactive sofa.