This study proposes a new “vocabulary” of gestural commands for mobile devices, based on established bodily practices and daily rituals. The research approach is grounded in a theoretical framework of phenomenology, and entails collaborative improv workshops akin to bodystorming. The combination of these methods is named as “hacking the physical actions” and the significance of this approach is highlighted, especially as a constituting source for the similar researches in this field. The resulting ideas for gestural commands are then synthesized and applied to fundamental tasks of handling mobile phones and explained with a supplementary video.

This thesis introduces the exploration of making wearables as a collaborative expression between a performer and a participant in a performative participatory installation. With a phenomenological view on our embodied experience with technology, the methodological approach is program/experiment dialectics, mixing experiments in the lab with exploration in the field. The thesis introduces the full process, the program and experiments where the perception (the embodied interaction with the materials and the context) of the designer/researcher and participants has been a great resource of the iterative process of creating the prototype from sketching in digital material, to prototyping and testing. From the making of the final prototype it is concluded that, the participant and performer express shared movement as the performance is constituted by both technology and human agency - both wearable and body acts - in the interaction between interpretation, body, and experience on the one side, and concept, werable, and technology on the other. As a methodological knowledge contribution it is stated that program/experiment dialectics is a generous space, allowing elements from several other methods, non linearity, and intuition, to be part of the process, where researcher (and participants) are phenomenologists. Phenomenology in interaction design is an attribution to research through design as a method that allows room for active participation of the lived body in different stages of the design process - a development of the notion of embodiment beyond situatedness - acknowledging the interplay between bodies and technology, that users, artifacts, and contexts influence, touch, and touch back each other.

Migration has been increasing in the last years in the European Union, something that challenges social integration because of the language barrier. In the case of Sweden, although the government offers newcomers basic education to teach the language, small communities and local associations had been creating spaces to learn Swedish outside of a classroom environment. From this context, research is needed to find ways to enhance the learning experience environments outside a traditional classroom setting. Embodied interaction, as a subfield of Interaction Design, enriches conventional methods for education and learning by providing ways of integrating the physical body with new knowledge. This can be a possible way to contribute to finding new ways of learning. This project aims to explore collective ways of creating meaningful interactive experiences that can enhance language learning in adults with tertiary education in Malmö, Sweden. In this thesis project, an overview of the process will be presented. Furthermore, the project materializes in an app as a prototype, that presents some insights into the field of embodied learning and interaction design.

This paper describes the creative process of "hidden layers of embroidered stories". It shows the process of searching for answers to the questions of how to translate elements of folk culture into measurable units and how to place traditional Slavic embroidery in the context of algorithms and the digitalised world of today. It shows the process of giving meaning to a newly constructed symbol through the search for an aesthetic form, verbal designation and placement in a composition in folk crafts with seemingly rigid, well-established conventions. The final project of the project - a composition made with the use of cross-stitching encourages recipients to actively find the symbols contained within the embroidery, asking them to solve the puzzle hidden within; the solution of which carries the message of the project's author.

With the rise of big data, it is becoming increasingly important to educate students about data analytics. In particular, students without a strong mathematical background usually have an unenthusiastic attitude towards high-dimensional data and find it challenging to understand relevant complex analytical methods, such as dimension reduction. In this thesis, we present an embodied approach for visual analytics designed to teach students exploring alternative 2D projections of high dimensional data points using weighted multidimensional scaling. We proposed a novel application, <i>Be the Data</i>, to explore the possibilities of using human's embodied resources to learn from high dimensional data. In our system, each student embodies a data point and the position of students in a physical space represents a 2D projection of the high-dimensional data. Students physically moves in a room with respect to others to interact with alternative projections and receive visual feedback. We conducted educational workshops with students inexperienced in relevant data analytical methods. Our findings indicate that the students were able to learn about high-dimensional data and data analysis process despite their low level of knowledge about the complex analytical methods. We also applied the same techniques into social meetings to explain social gatherings and facilitate interactions. / Master of Science

Artists, designers and writers have long employed ambiguity as a tool in compelling their audience to deduce a personal meaning to their work. As computing becomes less of a strictly workspace, task-oriented phenomenon and more of a ubiquitous, life-space one, it is increasingly important to consider the intelligence of the user in the design of everyday computer-based things. Support of multiple user interpretation through ambiguity is an element whose appropriate inclusion in system design can compel the user to deduce a personal interpretation of the system's meaning and utility. The work in this paper explores the process by which users may come to deduce a meaning to an ambiguous work, both as individuals and collaboratively. Incorporating elements of ambiguity, we created SenSpace, an immersive physical environment that embeds the Greek myth of Narcissus within itself. The subsequent user study provided insight on the process by which naïve visitors may come to deduce their meanings of a work, both individually and collaboratively. Our results showed that there exists a trade-off between a user's level of interaction and depth of the interpretation of the multimedia environment. We also show how ambiguity can be used as a design method, by incorporating observed user expectations into the system. This paper uses experimental evidence to advocate the design of systems that support not only the system goal the designer has in mind, but also the multiple perspectives and meanings that the user often brings to the system. / Master of Science

The human genome is incredibly information dense, consisting of approximately 25,000 protein-coding genes contained within 24 unique chromosomes. An aspect of the genome that is critically important is maintaining spatial context which assists in understanding gene interactions and relationships. Existing methods of genome visualization that utilize spatial awareness are inefficient and prone to limitations in gene information and spatial context. The solution proposed in this thesis was the development and evaluation of alternative methods of genome visualization and exploration using virtual reality and desktop. To determine the optimal location of gene information within virtual reality and the influence of virtual reality, three interaction methods were implemented that interact with the ideograms. Multi-focus was applied to the ideogram interaction design to assist in visualizing multiple locations within the genome without sacrificing gene information detail or spatial awareness of the user. Two interaction methods were developed in virtual reality to determine if gene information is better suited embedded within the chromosome ideogram or separate from the ideogram. The final interaction method was implemented as a desktop application to evaluate if virtual reality provided an advantage. Results from the user study conducted determined that the use of virtual reality gave users a higher degree of confidence when navigating the chromosome ideograms and was preferred over desktop. In addition, depending on the type of task, the placement of gene information within the visualization had a notable impact on the ability of a user to work the task. / Master of Science / From the viewpoint of a dataset, the human genome is incredibly information dense. It consists of approximately 25,000 protein-coding genes contained within 24 unique chromosomes. An aspect of the genome that is critically important is maintaining spatial context which assists in understanding gene interactions and relationships. Existing methods of genome visualization that utilize spatial awareness are inefficient and prone to limitations in gene information and spatial context. In this work, an alternative method of genome visualization and interaction utilizing virtual reality and desktop was proposed. To determine the optimal location of gene information within virtual reality and the influence of virtual reality, three genome interaction methods were implemented that operate through interactions with chromosome ideograms. Two interaction methods were developed in virtual reality to determine if gene information is better suited embedded within the chromosome ideogram or separate from the ideogram. The final interaction method was implemented as a desktop application to evaluate if virtual reality provided an advantage. Results from the user study conducted determined that the inclusion of virtual reality gave users a higher degree of confidence when navigating the chromosome ideograms and was preferred over desktop. In addition, depending on the type of task, the placement of gene information within the visualization had a notable impact on the ability of a user to work the task.

As technology advances with time, new devices are invented and old ones used in innovative ways. Microchips have been increasingly minimized to the point where they can now fit on a fingernail. When encased in a bio-friendly coating and equipped with the appropriate in- or output technology, new modes of natural digital interaction can be explored. This thesis studies how the general public perceives microchip implants as a digital interaction tool, as well as which features of microchip implants are important to them. Three different scenarios of implanted microchip use were created and used in eight semi-structured interviews. The results showed skepticism towards the technology due to worries about security and privacy, and a lack of knowledge of this technology. Benefits included keeping better track of health and making everyday actions easier, as well as excitement about this new technology.

La « surface », dans les systèmes interactifs tactiles est à la fois le support du toucher et de l’image. Alors qu’au fil du temps les surfaces tactiles se sont transformées dans leur épaisseur, forme et rigidité, la modalité d’interaction se limite, comme sur les premiers dispositifs, à une mise en contact simple du doigt avec l’écran dans un geste qui feint de manipuler ce qui est affiché. Le sens du toucher, même pour des dispositifs tactiles installés dans des systèmes critiques comme dans l’aéronautique ou l’automobile, reste essentiellement sollicité en tant que prolongement de la vision, pour pointer et contrôler. Alors que les théories de la phénoménologie de la perception, de la perception écologique et des interactions tangibles et incarnées reconnaissent l’importance du corps, de la motricité et des interactions avec l’environnement dans les phénomènes perceptifs, il paraît réducteur de continuer à considérer la vision comme sens premier et principal de l’interaction tactile.Nous pensons que la transformation de la forme physique de l’interface tactile est un moyen efficace pour réincarner l’espace d’interaction tactile en utilisant mieux les capacités motrices des utilisateurs ainsi que leurs habiletés à négocier, manipuler et s’orienter dans leur environnement. A partir d’une caractérisation des risques potentiels du développement des interactions tactiles dans le contexte d’un cockpit d’avion de ligne (augmentation de la charge cognitive, sur-sollicitation du canal visuel, altération de la conscience de la situation, etc.), nous explorons les apports d’une interface tactile à changement de forme pour améliorer la collaboration pilotes-système au travers de la conception, la fabrication et l’évaluation de trois prototypes fonctionnels. Avec l’étude qualitative et quantitative du prototype GazeForm, nous montrons que le changement de forme d’une surface tactile en fonction de la position du regard permet de diminuer la charge de travail, améliorer la performance, réduire les mouvements oculaires et améliorer la distribution de l’attention visuelle comparativement à un écran tactile classique. Par l’élaboration du concept Multi-plié nous mettons en évidence les dimensions et propriétés de la transformation par pliure d’une surface d’affichage interactive. Avec les évaluations qualitatives des deux dispositifs illustrant le concept, le premier présentant une série d’écrans tactiles articulés et le deuxième une surface d'affichage tactile « plissable », nous démontrons qu’une surface tactile continue pliable offre un support pertinent à l'interaction incarnée et permet d’augmenter la sensation de contrôle pour la gestion d’un système critique. Enfin, pour généraliser la connaissance produite à d’autres contextes d’usages avec une forte division de l’attention visuelle (conduite automobile, salle de contrôle, appareil tactile portable en mobilité) nous proposons un espace de conception pour les interfaces tactiles reconfigurables. / The "surface" in interactive touch systems is both the support of touch and image. While over time touch surfaces have been transformed in their thicknesses, shapes and stiffness, the interaction modality is limited, as on the first devices, to a simple contact of the finger with the screen in a gesture that pretends to manipulate what is displayed. The sense of touch, even for touch devices installed in critical systems, such as in the aeronautics or automotive industries, remains mainly used as an extension of vision, to point and control. While the theories of the phenomenology of perception, ecological perception and tangible and embodied interactions recognize the importance of the body, motor skills and interactions with the environment in perceptual phenomena, it seems simplistic to consider vision as the first and main sense of touch interaction. We believe that transforming the physical form of the touch interface is an effective way to reincarnate the space of touch interaction by making better use of users' motor skills and their ability to negotiate, manipulate and orient themselves in their environment. Based on a characterization of the potential risks of developing touch interactions in the context of an airliner cockpit (increase in cognitive load, overload of the visual channel, alteration of situational awareness, etc.), we explore, through the design, manufacture and evaluation of three functional prototypes, the contributions of a touch interface with shape change to improve pilotes-system collaboration. With the qualitative and quantitative study of the GazeForm prototype, we show that changing the shape of a touch surface according to the position of the gaze makes it possible, compared to a conventional touch screen, to reduce the workload, improve performance, reduce eye movements and improve the distribution of visual attention. By qualitative evaluation of the two Multi-plié devices, the first with a series of articulated touch screens and the second with a "pleatable" touch display surface, we show that a transformable touch surface stabilizes touch action, promotes collaboration and improves situational awareness. In addition to these contributions, we find that changing the shape of the touch interaction surface increases the feeling and level of control for the management of a critical system. Finally, to generalize the knowledge produced to other contexts of use with a strong division of visual attention (driving, control room, portable touch device in mobility) we propose a design space for reconfigurable touch interfaces.

Computer technology is increasingly being implemented into objects other than the standard desktop computer, be it for keeping existing products current in our digital age or simply exploring the possibilities within the field of embodied interaction. The present paper investigates the emotional-motivational state of curiosity by discussing the design process and results from “Quizzerfid”, a design exploration on the use of RFID technology on a tangible puzzle. A short background on curiosity, embodied interaction, RFID technology, and other related projects will be given, to finally investigate the potentialities of the artefact in regards to stimulating student curiosity. A detailed description of the design of the Quizzerfid prototype will be presented, followed by an extensive process description and review of the performed user testing. The aim of this paper is to explore the design of the Quizzerfid puzzle framework in regards to its success in sparking curiosity and exploratory behaviour through embodied interaction, contributing to the design of future tangible interfaces and possibly even pedagogical aids.