This thesis investigates the impact of data physicalizations in the form of an exercise data tracker, on user motivation compared to traditional exercise tracking devices (ETDs) to and their effect on exercise motivation. By employing a case study with diverse participants, this research evaluates whether the three-dimensional nature of data physicalizations significantly influences user motivation or if similar results can be obtained using traditional solutions or devices. Through a pre-interview Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire, qualitative interviews, and thematic analysis, six significant themes emerged, presence, emotional connection, data clarity, metric variety, aesthetics, and novelty. The results suggest that data physicalizations have the potential to motivate users, but are currently at a disadvantage compared to traditional ETDs due to limitations in data precision and variety. The study also highlighted the design challenges in developing effective data physicalizations. Future research should explore design features highlighted in this study that could potentially maximize motivation.

Data representation tools are commonly used as means of understanding data. However, new ways of representing data such as using physical objects can have a different advantage as well. It is not only understanding the data, which is important, but giving meaning to data to inspire change. This field, called data physicalization, is still new, meaning that limited research exists about it which made us interested in exploring it further. We chose to do this by comparing a physicalization tool with a digital representation tool. We chose to limit the scope of our study to group collaboration and investigate the advantages and disadvantages of both tools from this perspective. We found this angle interesting since most major decisions require a group to work together and the representation tools used for assistance should encourage this. We investigated this by having focus groups where participants solved problems in a group using one representation tool at a time followed by individual interviews. We observed the behavior of the participants and compared it to the answers they gave in the interviews to uncover the main advantages and disadvantages of the data visualization and data physicalization tools. The biggest advantage uncovered by our study for data visualization is the ability to sort and filter data which makes it easier to understand the data. The biggest disadvantage is that only one person at a time has control over the mouse and thus the tool, creating a hierarchical group dynamic. The biggest advantage of the physicalization tool is its dynamic nature which enables the users to interact with the data thus supporting the understanding and exploration of ideas. One of the biggest disadvantages is that data physicalization is a new research field, which results in people needing time to understand how to use it. New data representation tools can be developed based on these advantages and disadvantages. / Datarepresentationsverktyg används vanligen som ett sätt att förstå data. Men nya sätt att representera data på, såsom att använda fysiska objekt, kan ha en ytterligare fördel. Det handlar inte bara om att förstå datan, utan att ge en bättre känsla för datan för att inspirera till förändring. Detta område, som kallas fysikalisering är fortfarande nytt vilket innebär att det finns begränsad forskning om det, vilket gjorde oss intresserade av att utforska det vidare. Vi valde att göra detta genom att jämföra ett fysikaliseringsverktyg med ett digitalt representationsverktyg. Vi valde att begränsa omfattningen av vår studie till samarbete i grupp och att undersöka fördelarna och nackdelarna med båda verktygen från detta perspektiv. Vi fann denna vinkel intressant eftersom de flesta stora beslut kräver att en grupp arbetar tillsammans och att representationsverktygen som används då bör stödja detta. Detta undersöktes genom att hålla i fokusgrupper där deltagarna löste problem i grupp med ett representationsverktyg åt gången, följt av individuella intervjuer. Vi observerade deltagarnas beteende och jämförde det med svaren de gav i intervjuerna för att hitta de största fördelarna och nackdelarna med visualiserings- och fysikaliseringsverktygen. Den största fördelen för datavisualisering som hittades under vår studie är förmågan att sortera och filtrera data, vilket gör det lättare att förstå datan. Den största nackdelen är att bara en person åt gången har kontroll över datormusen och därmed verktyget, vilket skapar en hierarkisk gruppdynamik. Den största fördelen med fysikaliseringsverktyget är dess dynamiska natur som möjliggör för användarna att interagera med datan och därigenom stödja förståelsen och utforskningen av idéer. En av de största nackdelarna är att fysikalisering är ett nytt forskningsområde, vilket innebär att människor behöver tid för att förstå hur man använder det. Baserat på dessa fördelar och nackdelar kan nya datarepresentationsverktyg kan utvecklas.

Au milieu des espaces collectifs et publics, les afficheurs cylindriques informent les utilisateurs autour d'eux. Nous questionnons l'utilité et l'utilisabilité de la symétrie dynamique de révolution pour les afficheurs cylindriques à changement de forme. Nous présentons CairnFORM, un prototype d'afficheur cylindrique capable de changer de symétrie de révolution à l'aide d'une pile modulaire d'anneaux extensibles illuminés. Nous montrons que la symétrie de révolution est utilisable pour informer les utilisateurs par physicalisation des données : nous observons avec un CairnFORM à 10 anneaux qu'un histogramme à anneaux physiques est plus efficace pour une tâche d'intervalle et une tâche de comparaison plutôt que pour une tâche d'ordonnancement. Nous montrons que le changement de symétrie de révolution est utilisable pour notifier sans déranger les utilisateurs par interaction périphérique : nous observons avec un CairnFORM à 1 anneau que le changement de diamètre d'un anneau avec une vitesse exponentielle est perçu plus souvent et plus calmement en périphérie de l'attention plutôt qu'avec une vitesse constante ou logarithmique. Nous montrons que les afficheurs cylindriques à symétrie dynamique de révolution offrent une expérience utilisateur sur la durée supérieure aux afficheurs planaires : après deux mois en contexte d'usage sur un lieu de travail, nous observons que CairnFORM est aussi pragmatique mais plus hédonique qu'un écran plat. Nous étudions un cas d'usage pour les afficheurs sur le lieu de travail, c'est-à-dire aider les employés à décaler le chargement de batterie des ordinateurs portables vers les heures de pic de production locale d'énergie renouvelable. / In the middle of public and collective spaces, cylindrical displays inform users around them.We question the utility and the usability of dynamic revolution symmetry for shape-changing cylindrical displays. We present CairnFORM, a prototype of cylindrical display that can change its revolution symmetry using a modular stack of expandable illuminated rings.We show that revolution symmetry is usable for informing users through data physicalization: We observe with a 10-ring CairnFORM that a physical ring chart is more efficient for a range task and for a compare task rather than for an order task. We show that revolution symmetry change is usable for unobtrusively notifying users through peripheral interaction: We observe with a 1-ring CairnFORM that a ring diameter change with exponential speed is perceived more often and calmer in the periphery of attention rather than with a constant speed or a logarithmic speed.We show that cylindrical displays with dynamic revolution symmetry offer a greater user experience over time than planar displays: After two months in context of use in a workplace, we observe that CairnFORM is as pragmatic as a flat screen but more hedonic than a flat screen. We study a use case for displays in the workplace: Helping employees to shift laptop battery charge to peak hours of local renewable energy production.

For thousands of years, physical objects have been used to represent data, in order to support cognition, communication and learning. Such representations, especially newly computer-supported ones, became the focus of an emerging field called data physicalization. Although most physicalizations are passive (i.e., static), a growing number of active (i.e., dynamic) representations have been recently created. There is still, however, an immense opportunity in exploring interactive data physicalizations. This thesis proposes a tangible artifact (a shovel equipped with orientation sensors) that could be used by visitors of Earth sciences museums. SuperTunnel Simulator calculates a hole through Earth, indicating where in the world visitors would end up if they dug in a certain direction. Feedback from participants indicate such embodied interaction might influence learning by igniting visitors’ curiosity and stimulating hypothesis formulation. Finally, we point to research opportunities in conveying data not through an object’s shape, but through our interaction with it.