I N - B E T W E E N

Exploring subtle social interactions in the mobility space.

A D E S I G N F O R I N T E R A C T I O N M A S T E R P R O J E C T

date: S E P T E M B E R , 2 0 0 7

by: J O S É A LV E S

module leader: R O M A N B U J

for the: U N I V E R S I T Y O F W E S T M I N S T E R

I N - B E T W E E N

Exploring subtle social interactions in the mobility space.

A D E S I G N F O R I N T E R A C T I O N M A S T E R P R O J E C T

date: S E P T E M B E R , 2 0 0 7

by: J O S É A LV E S

module leader: R O M A N B U J

for the: U N I V E R S I T Y O F W E S T M I N S T E R

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

A B S T R A C T

I N T R O D U C T I O N

T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

(A) U R B A N L I F E , M O B I L I T Y A N D P U B L I C P L AC E S

(A, 1) Mobility Experience (A, 2) Repetitive Cyclical Events and Familiar Strangers (A, 3) Sense of Belonging (A, 4) Social Interaction Opportunities (B) S O C I A L I N T E R AC T I O N I N P U B L I C P L AC E S

(B, 1) Increasing Social Effectiveness (B, 2) Togetherness and Solitude (B, 3) Identity and Privacy (C) E X T E N D E D P H Y S I C A L E N V I R O N M E N T S

(C, 1) Extension as Social Interaction (C, 2) Extended Artifacts (C, 3) Communication (C, 4) Social Intervention (D) P U B L I C A U T H O R I N G

(D, 1) Tagging the Environment (D, 2) Tagging People (D, 3) Social Sharing (D, 4) Empowering the User

C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

( A ) D E V E L O P I N G D E S I G N C R I T E R I A

( B ) D E S I G N O P P O RT U N I T I E S A N D M I N D M A P P I N G

( C ) C O N C E P T C R I T I Q U E

( D ) U S E R R E S E A R C H

(D, 1) Observational study (D, 2) User Study 1 – Day Timeline Probes

T A B L E O F

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(D, 3) User Study 2 – Open-Ended Questionnaires (E) BR AINSTORMING

(F) DESIGN PRO CESS

(G) IN-BET WEEN

(G, 1) Design (G, 2) Fi lmed Scenar ios (G, 3) Technolog y

A NA LY S I S O F R E S E A R C HM E T H O D O L O G Y

C O N C L U S I O N

R E F E R E N C E S (A) BO OKS

(B) ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

A P P E N D I X

(A) DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES MAP

(B) DAY TIMELINE PROBES

(C) OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRES

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

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6 . A B S T R A C T

A B S T R A C T

Weformulateourownpersonalmeaningofplacetroughobservablecues.Butitisthepeoplewithwhichwesharesuchspacesthatdominateourperceptionofplace.Sometimesthesepeoplearefriends,familyandcolleagues.Butparticularly,inthemobilityspacetheindividualswhoaffectusaretheonesweoftenseebutwithwhomwedon’tinteract.Thisresearchexploresourignoredyetrealrelationshipswithfamiliarstrangers,placesandrepetitivecyclicaleventsonourmobilityspace.Mymajorproject–In-Between–isacitywidenetwork,whichisopento,andmaintainedby,thepublic.Whilenotdesignedasafriendfinder,In-Betweenrendersthemobilityspaceintermsofoccupancyandpatternsofhiddenandpotentialfamiliarity.Ratherthanonlyevaluatingthecityintermsoffriends,strangers,andpotentialacquaintances,ithighlightstheconnectionsbetweenmobility,legibility,andone’srelationshiptoacity’sinhabitants.

7 . I N T R O D U C T I O N

I N T R O D U C T I O N

“…designersmustdesign,notjustforobjectsorforpeople,butforthetechnosocialinteractionsthatunitepeopleandobjects…”(Sterling2005).

Mobilecommunicationsandpervasivecomputingtechnologieswillmakepossible,socialinteractionsnotexperiencedsofarinthepublicrealm.Yetpeoplemightgainnewpowers,theywillloosesomeoftheirfreedomsatthesametime.Withthesenewcomputingdevices,weemergefromouroffice,workandschoolintotheurbanfabricofourcitiesandtowns.Weoftenviewtheseurbanareasas“in-betweenspaces”.Notonlydowespendasignificantamountoftimeinsuchurbanlandscapes,asalsothesespacescontributetoourownformulationofidentity,communityandself.Theintroductionofmobilecomputingtoolsuponoururbanlandscapeaffordsnewmethodsofviewingourcity,communityandneighbourhood.Theycanempowerustounderstandoursocialinteractionsbetter.Mygoalwiththisprojectwastoinvestigatehowtheextensionofphysicalenvironments,reflectaprofoundshiftfromusingtechnologytoovercomeenvironmentallimitationstowardusingittounderstandandlivemoreeffectivelywithinthem(McCullough2004).Specifyingmyapproachinthemobilityspace,Ithinkofmobilityasrepresentativeoftherelationshipbetweenthespatialandthesocialinourconstructionofoururbanexperience.Themobilityspaceisgeneraldisplacementsinwhichstrangersshareanintimatespaceyetoftenseekaminimumofdirectsocialinteraction.Thisledmetoaninterestingdesignopportunity.Drawingfromexistingliteratureandfrommypersonalhistoryofcommutingandcommuters,Isummarizedaspectsoftheexperienceofmobilitythatcouldexplainbetterwhatitmeanstobe“in-between”.Ihopethatmyexplorationwillpromotediscussiononhowtheconceptofmobilityspacecouldbeaddressedwhenconsideringthedesignoffuturetechnologies.Despitetheirperceivedinsignificance,themobilityspaceoffersalotofopportunities.Thisisdue,inpart,tothetransitionalroleofmany“in-between”spaces,partlytotheactivities,whichtakeplaceinsuchspaces.Wecanidentifywaitingasatypical“in-between”activity.Ibelieveitisveryimportanttobegintounderstandthesetypesof“non-places”.In-betweenisaserviceengagingusersinnewwaysofinteractingwiththefabricofthecityintheirdailymobility.Itcreatesnewsocialinteractionsgivingtheusersnewexperiencesandnewperceptionsofeverydayplaces.

8 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

(A) U R B A N L I F E , M O B I L I T Y A N D P U B L I C P L AC E S

Theimageofacontemporarycityisthatofafacilitatorofcommercialchange,aplacewherepeoplegotoshopandacenterforbusinessfunctions.Whilework,commerceandbusinessarethefocusofourcities,itisalsoaplaceforindividualsandcommunities.Thepotentialforsociableisvast(Goodman&Paulos2004).Mobilityisanurbanphenomenonofthecontemporaryhumansocieties.Itisanintegralpartofourlivedenvironmentandourlives.Thegrowingproportionofindividualstravelinglongerdistanceseverydaytotheirwork,homeorelsewhere,exemplifyin,onandaroundourcities.Theproblemisthatinthemobilityspace,thevastnetworkofpublicplaceswherepeoplespendalotoftimeeverydayseemstobeignored.Thisconstructionofmobilityroutesseemstobeprimaryatechnicalmatter,reservedfortrafficplanners,engineersandpoliticians,inwhichdesignersplaynopart.Itappearsthatmobilityisnotjustamatterofroutes,asphaltanddelays.Thetransportsystemisn’tforthetraveleronlyameansofgetfromAtoB(Calabrese&Houben2003),butalsoapublicspacetospendtimein.Thisisthepurposeofthisresearch,notintermsofurbanismbuttoinvestigatehowpeopleformulatetheirownpersonalmeaningofplace,intermsofitsperceptionandsocialinteractions.Mobilityspaceasksforcross-disciplinarydesignknowledgetobecomeadesirableandenjoyableexperience.

(A, 1) Mobility Experience

Weformulateourownpersonalmeaningofplacestroughobservablecues.In1971,KevinLynchinhisbookentitled,The Image of the City,exploredaqualityofthecityhecalled“legibility”.Howdopeoplereadacity?Howdopeoplefindplaces?Howbesttoactuallygothere?Lynchidentifiedafewsystemsthathavehistoricallyhelpedusfindourwayinthecity:signage,streetmaps,numberingconventionsandsoon.Thesesystemsfunctioninacitythatofferscharacterizeddistricts,clearlyidentifiablelandmarksandhighlyvisiblelandmarks,thatallowspeopleto

9 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

orientatethemselves–butdonotcreatereflectiononthesocialinteractionsthatdominateourperceptionofplace.Mobilityhasradicallychangedsocietyandpeopleslife.Consequently,itneedstobeconsideredfromotherpointsofview,suchassocialinteractionstomakesensetopeople’scontemporarylife.Mobilitydoesnotsimplyrefertothekindsofdevicesweuse,suchasmobilephones,butconcernshowwenavigateourcities,whatflowswedipinandoutof,whatbarriersandobstacles(physical,social,economic,religious,etc.)areencountered.Mobilityisabouthow,individuallyandcollectively,theseissuesareaddressed(Laneetal.2006).Therhythmofourdailylivesgovernssomanyofourinteractionswithotherpeopleandtheplaceswepassthroughandoccupy.Timeisthefactorthatoftendefinesus,ofwhichthereisneverenoughifwearebusy,andfartoomuchofifwearebored.Timeplaysaroleincreatingcontextthatsurroundsthesituationswefindourselvesingoingaboutourlives(Laneetal.2006).Thisideaisfundamentaltothefabricofeverydaylife,definingthetrajectorieswetakeasmuchasurbanplannersandarchitectsshapeourphysicalexperiencesthroughthedesignofbuildingsandstreetplans.“Publicauthoring”offerssomenewwaysforpeopletolayertheirownarchitecturesofexperiences,tooccupyplacesbybuildingtheirownimaginary,andyetreal,cities.Eachoneofusbuildsourownimageofthecityandmakesatime-spaceorganizationofourdailyroutines.Ourconceptionofmobilitycanbeorganizedaroundgoingtoschool,work,planningroutes,etc.Buttheactualeverydaymobilityexperienceisricherandmorecomplexthanthis,relyingalsoonsocialnetworks,personalexperiencesandchanceinteractionsandconnections.Ibelievethatbyextendingphysicalenvironmentsandartifacts,wecreateareflectiononthisrichnessandcomplexity.

(A, 2) Repetitive Cyclical Events and Familiar Strangers

Onourdailymobilityexperiencewerepeatthesameactions.Loop city(fig.1)isamappingofthecityintermsofthespatial/temporalorganizationofeverydaylife.Describingthecitybasedonrepeatedeverydayactions.Themobilityexperienceisacomplexsystemofrepetitivecyclicalevents.Peopledothesamethingsatthesametimeeveryday.Theyfollowthesamerouteslikeridingthetubeinthemorning,takingthecoffeeatthesameplaceorgoingtothesupermarket.Ontheseeverydayactionspeoplerepeatedlyobserveindividualslivingin1 . LoopCity by Dietmar Offenhuber

1 0 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

thesame“loops”–ourFamiliar Strangers.TheFamiliar StrangerisasocialphenomenonfirstaddressedbythepsychologistStanleyMilgraminhis1972essayThe Familiar Stranger: An Aspect of Urban Anonymity.Familiarstrangersareindividualsthatweregularlyseebutwedonotinteractwith.Bydefinitionafamiliarstrangermustbeobservedrepeatedlyandwithoutanyinteraction(Milgram1977).Theideaisthattherelationshipwehavewiththesefamiliarstrangersisindeedarealrelationshipinwhichbothpartiesagreetomutualityignoreeachother,withoutanyimplications.Agoodexampleisapersonyouseeeverydayonthebusstopwhenyouaregoingtowork.Ifthatpersonfailstoappear,youwillnotice.

(A, 3) Sense of Belonging

Anunprecedentedofmobilityistransformingourusualnotionsofbelongingtoaplace,aboutwherewefeelwebelongandwhogivessenseofownershiptothatplaceuponus.Milgram’sFamiliar Strangerwasanunderstandinghowthechangingurbanlandscapeofthe1960’swasresultinginamentalremappingofnavigationalcuesandlandmarksfromobjectstopeople.Hewasinterestedinhowpeoplewereusedasmarkersofspaceandinfluencedanindividual’ssenseofbelonginginthatplace.Thesenseofbelongingconcernsthenatureofourjourneysthroughplaces,thecommunitieswechoosetojoin,andthose,whichallowustobelong.Peopletendtoidentifywithsettingstheyhavecasuallyappropriated,suchassomecorneroftubeplatformwheretheywaittogotowork.Theyaremorelikelytoidentifyrecurringexperiences,especiallythosethatresultfromsocialchoices,whichgivesthemaguaranteedexperience.Contextsremindpeoplehowtobehave.“Publicauthoring”offersconsequently,alayerbywhichwemaycometoviewandunderstandthedifferentkindsofrelationships,associationsandforcesthatmakeuptheworldaroundus.“Publicauthoring”isatoolformaintainingasenseofone’sownpresenceinaplaceorcommunity.Enablingpeopletocommunicatewhat’shappeninginplacesimportanttothem,andtoleavetheirownannotationsinthoseplacesforotherpeopletofeeltheirpresence.Suchpracticecouldbethoughtofasadigitalhabitationofthephysicalspace.Thepowerof“publicauthoring”toengagepeoplewithlocalgeographyhas

1 1 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

thepotentialtoencouragegreaterknowledgeofandsenseofownershipofanarea.Opportunitiesarecreatedtobuildintoemergingcommunicationsnetworksunparalleledpossibilitiesforre-appropriatingspace,changingourperceptionsofbelongingofspaceandchallengingconventions,whichtraditionallybindourbehavioursinrelationtopublicspaces,sooftenmarkedbyarespectfulsilenceandbysocialnorms.Technologiesandpracticeslike“publicauthoring”allowustoconstructourownmodesofinhabitation,tooccupyandcommunicatethebeyondphysicallimitsofplaces,totreatthecityasakindofconversationwherecommunityandcommunallifebegintobreakphysicalboundaries.

(A, 4) Social Interaction Opportunities

Placesaresubjective,withdifferentmeaningsdependingonwhoisdescribingthem.Associationsofplaceareimportantinestablishingnewsocialvocabularies,acquaintancesandculturalpractices,inthemobilityspace.Placesaresubjective,withdifferentmeaningsdependingonwhoisdescribingthem.“Publicauthoring”proposesthebuildingofrelationshipstogeographicplaces,andextendingtheserelationshipsfurtherbylinkingthemtootherplaces,peopleandthings–enhancingthemobilityexperiencethroughtheflowofideasandfornewkindsofchanceencounterstotakeplace.Thisresearchproposesanewabilitytoformulatepersonalmeaningsofspace,throughthepeoplewhomwesharethosespaces(Goodman&Paulos2004).Theseofferanentirelynewsetofrelationships,formingnewpatternsofas-sociations,connectionsandbehavioursoftheirown.Afeatureofmetropolitanlifeistheserendipitouswayweencounternewthingsandpeople.Iwanttoshowthatthisisconsideredbymanypeopletobeofgreatvalueandbenefit.Oneofthegreatpleasuresoflivinginabigcitywouldbetoimposeasystemonthecontentsopeoplewouldbelikelytomakediscoveriesthataremeaningfultothem.

1 2 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

(B) S O C I A L I N T E R AC T I O N I N P U B L I C P L AC E S

Theperception,role,andexistenceofsocialinteractionsinpublicplacesisdeeplyembeddedwiththecultureofcommunities.Goffmanargues(Goffman1963)thatmembersofthosecommunitiesareobligatedtoexchangepolitegreetingswhentheymeet.Incitiesitworksthesameway.Commuters,forinstance,areexpectedtomaintain“civilinattention”inpublicplacessuchasthesubwayplatformorelevator(Goffman1967).Thisconceptreferstotheactofacknowledgingthepresenceofotherstoshowrespectatfirst,andthenofavoidingpayingattentiontothemfortheremainingtime,inordernottobeperceivedasathreat(Bassoli&Martinn.d.).BothGoffmanandMilgramattributethephenomenontothesenseofurbanoverloadcausedbythecompletedensityofdailysocialinteractions.ForinstanceSparks(fig.2)useslighttofacilitatesalientconversationsbylinkingstrangerswithsimilarintereststogetherinscenarioswheretheparticipantslikelyhavemanycommoninterests.AnotherinterestingprojectistheUbER-Badge(fig.3).Thesedevicesserveasageneralplatformforanalysisandenhancementofgroupsocialinteraction.Badgesareself–containeddeviceswornaroundtheneckcapableofmessaging,paging,locationdetection,andaccumulationoftheinterestprofileofthewearer.Theargumenthereisbyaugmentingthemobilityexperienceinapositiveway,theusergaincommunitysolidarityandasenseofbelongingtospaces.

(B, 1) Increasing Social Effectiveness Technologyisalreadyusedformediatingsocialrelationships.Butsocialinteractionsarecomplexphenomena,motivatedbyinterestsandneeds.Allpeoplearepartofsocialgroupsandnetworksandmaintainsomekindofrelationshipswiththeirpeers.“Socialeffectiveness”issomeone’sabilitytoefficientlyexploitsituations,opportunitiesandactionstowardcultivatingtheirsocialrelationships,ormakenewacquaintancesandgainbenefits(Kikin-Gil2005).Technologycanenhanceone’s“socialeffectiveness”byprovidingmeanstoempowerusersintheirsocialcontext.TheLovegety(fig.4),oneoftheearliestandmostwellknowncommercial

2 . Sparks by Andrea Chew, Vincent

Leclerc, Sajid Sadi, Aaron Tang, Hiroshi

Ishii, MIT Media Lab

3 . UbER-Badge by Responsive

Environments Group, MIT Media Lab

1 3 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

gadgetsforurbanuse,helpedstrangersinJapanesecitiesfindpotentiallovematches.Popularinthelate1990s,theportablematchmakingdeviceeasilyattachestoacellphone.AsdescribedinWiredmagazine,thethree-buttonovalde-viceprovidestalk,karaoke,and“get2”functions.Oncetheuserselectsthemode,TheLovegetysearchesfordeviceholdersoftheoppositesexwithin5meters,andthenbeepswhenitfindsone.Implicitinthenameistheideathatlovecanbe“gotten”onthestreetsofTokyoandthatthecityisfullofstrangerswhomightbeinterestedinyou,ifonlyyouhadanintroduction.Technologyisnotjustamediatorofsocialintentionsbutalsoanactorthatinfluencestheexecutionofthoseintentions.“Themediaisthemessage”(Mcluhan1964).

(B, 2) Togetherness and Solitude

Aftertravelingthesameroutedayafterday,thesceneryblendsintothebackgroundandfewaspectsofthesurroundingenvironmentelicitareac-tionfrompassersby.Investigatingtheexperienceofmobilityleadedmetounderstanditsprima-ryaspects.Thesecanbesummarizedastheconflictingfeelingsoftogether-nessanddistancewhichpassengersexperienceandtheactivityof“waiting”andexposuretoothers.Iaminterestedinhoweachoftheseemotionsandactivitiescanbeaffectedandsupportedbydifferentkindsoftechnology.Technologyinallitsforms,mediatespeople’sexperienceoftravelingfromhometowork.Ononehand,itcanmaketheexperiencemorepleasant,forexampletheuseofpersonalmusicplayersorgamesconsoles,andontheother,itcanalsosupportisolationaswellasfailingtoreflectthecomplexityofwhatishappeninginthemobilityspace(Bassoli&Martinn.d.).Themobilityspaceisconsideredtobe,ingeneral,aplacewherepeopledonotsocializeorcommunicatewitheachother.Onmanyoccasions,indi-vidualswhohavesuspendedtheirusualrolesandactivities,trytoexternal-izeaslittleinformationaspossibleaboutthemandhavemutualattitudesof“civilinattention”.Thepersonalstereo,togetherwithmobilephones,consolegames,booksandmagazines,constitutesgoodexamplesofatechnologywhichhasthedualeffectofincreasingpersonalwellbeinganddecreasingsociabilitywithinthemobilityspace(Bassoli&Martinn.d.).Infact,thesedevicesenabletheindividualtomaneuverthroughurbanspaceswithoutcomingintodirectcontactwithotherpeople.Usersappeartoachieve,asenseofpublicinvisibility(Bassoli&Martinn.d.).4. LoveGety by Erfolg

1 4 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

Alternativelyitisalsopossibletofindexamplesofthecollectiveandsharednatureofthemobilityspace.Thebehaviourexhibitedtowardnewspapersinthetube(fig.5)isoneexampleoftheindirectsocialinteractionbetweentubepassengers.EachmorningtheMetrofreenewspaperisavailableatthetubestationsandthousandsofcommuterspickupacopytoreadontheirjourneytowork.Uponreachingtheirstopmanyofthemwillleaveitbehindtheseatforsomeoneelsetoread.Inthiswayitbecomesasortofcommongood,whichpeopleuseandthenleaveforotherstoaccessafterwards.Thecurrenttrendsofdevicesusageinthemobilityspace,tellustheyareincreasinglydividingpeoplefromco-locatedstrangers(Calabrese&Houben2003).Whenuncomfortableinastrangesituationinapublicplace,peoplereachfortheirmobilephonesandpersonalmusicplayers,dramaticallydecreasingthechanceofinteractingwithindividualsoutsideoftheirssocialgroups.Thismeansthatthemobilityservicesshouldhaveasocialcomponent,butshouldnotrequiretoomuchinteractionsothatthepositivefeelingsofbeingprivateandyetaccompaniedatthesametimecanbepreserved.

(B, 3) Identity and Privacy

Mobilecommunicationsandpervasivecomputingtechnologieswillmakepossiblesocialinteractions,notexperiencedsofar,inthepublicsphere.Itcanbecreatedsystemsthatcanhaveastrongimpactonpeople’slifeinthecity,sociallyandculturally.Yetpeoplemightgainnewpowers,theywillloosesomeoftheirfreedomsatthesametime.Let’stakeasanexampleIdentity service (fig.6).Thisprojectisaboutdesigningafutureserviceforcollecting,storingandcommunicatingIdentity,expressedthroughwearableinterfaces.ThebasicideaisthatIdentity Service isahubforallyourpersonalinformation,dividedintocategoriessuchasgovernmental,cultural,relational,pragmaticoremotional.Anythingyoueverdousingtechnologyoranythingyoucaretoinputisstoredinthehubandinamobile,wearabledevicecalledaWearable Identity.ThenifyouareinthevicinityofanotherIdentityServicesubscriberandtheyhavemadesomeoralloftheirinformationpublic,yourWearable IdentitydevicepicksupthatinformationandeitherwhispersinyourearpieceormakesyourLEDsglowsappropriately.Animmediateconcernariseswhichisprivacy.Ifasystemofthiskindbecomesreallypopularthereisthepossibilityofausertobetrackedeverywherehegoesandpeoplemightbeabletostealhisidentity.Butmy

5. Newspaper left on a tube seat

6. Identity Service by Francesca Rosella,

Interaction Institute Ivrea

1 5 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

pointofviewisdifferent.Byhavingyourdetailsbeingvisibletootherpeoplemeansyoumightmeetsomeoneinterestingyouwouldotherwisehavemissed.Whatitisneededtocreateisthepossibilityofthenewtechnologytobeswitchedoffandonlikemanyoldones.Becausestealingdatacanbethefirstpreoccupationoftheusers,butourdataisalreadyoutthereandconstantlystoleneverytimeweareatacashierdeskbuyinganewjumperorfood.Otherscollectourdataanduseitformarketresearchandstatistics.Ouridentityiseverywhere.Ithinkaboutitlikeavirus.Meetingpeoplemakesthemacquirepartsofouridentity.Whatisneededistoprovidetherighttoolssowecancontrolour“online”status.

(C) E X T E N D E D P H Y S I C A L E N V I R O N M E N T S

Wearefacinganinevitableinvasionofdigitalcomputationinoursurroundingsandineverydayobjects.Theincorporationofcomputingpowerintoeverydayobjectsorenvironments,givesthemsomekindofintelligence.VisionslikeAmbient Intelligence(Philips),MIT Project Oxygen(MIT)andThe Ambience Project(Ambience)tonameafew,aretryingtobringcomputationandcommunicationaspervasiveandnaturalintopeople’slives.“Ubiquitouscomputingaimsatmakingcomputersavailablethroughouttheenvironment,whilerenderingthemeffectivelyinvisible.”(Mattern2001).Objectscontainingembeddedprocessorsandsensorsprovidenovelwaysofaccessinginformation,buttheymayalsoreacttotheirenvironmentandtheymayprovidenewemergentfunctionalitywheninteractingwithothertouchpoints.Forthisenvironmentnewdigitallayertobeeffective,itmustbeabletoaccumulateinunpredictableways(McCullough2004).Ubiquitouscomputingmustbeextensiblebutcasual.Thisconfigurationshouldbemadebytheusersandnotbythedesignersoftheservice.Theymustonlyprovidethemeansfortonotplacetoomuchburdenonitsusers.

(C, 1) Extension as Social Interaction

UbiquitousComputingenvironmentsareshapingtheinteractive

1 6 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

experiencesoftheirusers,byembeddingcomputationinoursocialandphysicalinteractionsmakingitaninseparablepartofourdailylife(Markopoulos2005).Asmanypeopleuse,inhabitorpassthroughthesamephysicalspace,theyhavetonegotiatetheirimpressiontoothers.Wecansaythat,allsocialinteractionsinthepublicspacecanbeseenasaseriesofinteractiveperformancesofourselves,whereweareconstantlyalteringourpresentationbasedonourassumptionsaboutwhatisappropriateinthissituationandthereactionsthatwereceivefromothers.Ubiquitouscomputingmayfacilitate,mediateoreveninterferewithsocialinteractionsthatoccurwithintheirboundaries.Accesstoacommoncommunicationandcomputationalinfrastructuresenablesinteractionacrossphysicalboundaries,alteringthesocialexperienceinthepublicsphere.Thevalueofubiquitouscomputingmaydependonthereachofone’ssocialnetworkthroughthesystem(Markopoulos2005).Thismeans,ifapersoncontributestothesystemandletsitmonitorhisactivities,thesystemitselfacquiresmorevalueforthisperson’ssocialnetworkandeverydayinteractions.

(C, 2) Extended Artifacts

Weareenteringatimewherevirtuallyeveryobjectinoursurroundingsandonourbodieswillbecapableofcomputationandcommunication.Wewillbesurroundedbyintelligentinterfacessupportedbycomputingandnetworkingtechnologiesthatareembeddedineverydayobjectssuchasfurniture,clothesvehicles,roadsandsmartmaterials.Thechallengethatispresentedisoneofformaswellasfunction,butmorethananythingelseitisaconceptualchallengetodevelopanewunderstandingofartifactsthatincludestheconceptoftheirdynamicbehaviour(Thomsen2005).Wearesousedtothinkaboutpassiveobjectsthatwelackofimaginationtothinkofaworldcontainingresponsiveandinteractiveartifacts.Theremustbeadistinctionmadebetweentwoclassesofcomputationalartifacts:artifactsandenvironmentsasinterfacesforcomputation,bytheextensionofitscapabilities,andartifactswithcomputationasanintegralpartoftheartifact.Myresearchwillbecenteredonthefirsclassofartifacts.Youcansaytheyfailtodescribethetrueintegrationofthephysicalandthevirtual,thattheyfailtoaddresstheissueofcomputationalartifactsinuse.Buttheyaddresstothepurposeofthisresearchmoreinterestingpointsof

1 7 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

viewsuchasenablingpeopletogiveobjectscomputationalandinteractioncapabilities.

(C, 3) Communication

Whatisrelevanttothepurposeofthisresearchisthepossibilityofartifactstostarttalkingtoeachotherandstarttoactivelyaffectthesocialrelationshipsandthewaysofsomeonetoappreciateandinteractwiththefabricofthecity,enrichingthelayersofexperiencethatinterlacetogetherinoureverydaylives.Let’stakeasanexampleLocal Histories(fig.7)tounder-standthisideabetter.MichaelAlbersandVictorSzilagyidiscussedontheirprojectthepossibilityofleavingamessageforaplaceratherthanaperson,accessingtheoralhistoryofaplace.Thesystemworksthefollowingway:usersdialintoaphonenumbertodeposittheirremembrances.Acomputerstoresandtransmitsthosestoriestothehubsdeployedinthelocationsinquestion.Asstoriespopulatethesystem,eachhubgetsactivated.Acacoph-onyofallavailablestoriesplaysatlowvolume.Proximitysensorsembeddedineachhubdetectwhenvisitorsareapproachingraisesthevolumeononestory.Thereisacommunicationintwoways.Thefirstwayisbetweentheuserandthesystemwhenheleavesamessage.Thesecondisbetweenthehubsintheenvironmentandadevicecarriedbytheuser,whichwilltriggerthedifferentmessages,oncehenavigatestroughtheenvironment.Thisleadstoaveryinterestingpoint,whichiswhathappenswhenoursurroundingsarefilledwithartifactsthattrytomakesenseofeachother.Wemustunderstandthattheseartifactswillhandlewithalotofsensemakingontheirown.Theyarenolongersolitarytoolsjustwaitingtobeused,butpartofasocietyofartifacts(Thomsen2005).Theseartifactsmustbeabletonegotiate,mergeandpresenttheircapabilitiestous.Inaformthatmakesthemcomprehensibleandusefulforthetaskathand.Ourfocusshouldbeonthetask,notontheartifact.Forthepurposeofthisprojectcommunicatingcomputationalartifactsshouldmakesensetous,butalsobetweeneachother.

(C, 4) Social Intervention

Computationalartifactswillquestionandreexamineplaces,relationshipsandqualitiesinthepublicsphere.Oursurroundingswillbecomeresponsiveinnewways,wecanbeincommunicationatallthetimesandbothweand

7. Local Histories by Michael Albers, Inter-

action Institute Ivrea

1 8 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

theobjectsaroundus,canbecontinuouslytracked(Thomsen2005).Allthisseemsfantasticbutnewthreatsintermsofintrusionandprivacyseemtoappear.Theremustbeasocialresponsibilitywhendesigningcomputationalartifactsandsystemstoconsideredthesesocialconsequences.Forusersnottotakeinoffenseathavingallthetimetheirmovementstracked,ithastobegiventheirexplicitconsenttoactivatetheirservice.Anotheraspectisthesocialmodeloffreecommunicationthatgivesusersasenseofsharingandconstructionofacommunicationspace.Let’sconsiderthisexampleofamobilephone.Phoneswerecreatedtofacilitatecommunication.Howevertheyarenotabletocommunicatebetweeneachother.Ifyouareinacityyourphonewillbedirectreachofhundredsofotherphones,yetitcannotcommunicatewithouttheaidofaphonecompany(Thomsen2005).Artifactsshouldbeabletotalkdirectlytoeachother,whengiventhecon-troltodosobyaspecificuser.Thisway,notonlythesystemwillbevirtuallyfree,butalsoacollaborationandsharingspacebetweenusers.“Adhocnetworks1”havebeguntoappearbasedonthissocialmodeloffreecommunicationamongstpeersgivingusersnewwaysofinteractingwiththefabricofthecity.

(D) P U B L I C A U T H O R I N G

Acriticalcomponentofubiquitouscomputingisthatcomputationshouldembeditselfinourphysicalworld(Weiser1996).Asaresult,physicalobjectsacquiredigitalmanifestationswhenelectronicsandcomputationareaddedtothem.Thiscanbedonetrough“digitaltags”,whichcanbeusedtosummonanannotationinthephysicalenvironment.ForinstanceSonyresearchprojectNavicam (fig.8)demonstratedasystemforsummoningbiographicalandprofessionaldataonofficesoccupantsbymeansoftagsfromQR Codes (fig.9).AnotherprojectistheYellow Arrow(fig.10)inwhichparticipantspurchasestickers,eachwithauniquecode,withwhichtheytagwhateverphysicalobjecttheywish.TodothistheyattachadigitalnotationbyviaSMSapersonalstoryorarestaurantrecommendation.Visitorsthatdiscoverayellowarrowcansatisfytheircuriosityandascertainitsmeaningbytextingthenumberandreceivingareturntext.“Publicauthoring”isthetermusedbyProboscis2todescribethemapping

1“Adhocnetworks”aredynamicnetworksinwhichthecommunicationlinksarewireless.Eachnodeiswillingtoforwarddataforothernodes,andsothedeterminationofwhichnodesforwarddataismadedynamicallybasedonthenetworkconnectivity.

2Proboscisisanartist-ledstudio,whichcombinesartisticpracticewithcommissioning,curatorialprojects,designandconsultancy.

8. NaviCam by Jun Rekimoto

9. QR Code

10. Yellow Arrow by Counts Media

1 9 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

andsharingofknowledge,information,memories,storiesandexperiences(Laneetal.2006).OnthisresearchIcontrasttheconceptofapubliclyauthoredknowledgeandexperiencetothetraditionalwayinwhichinformationispassedtous:thebroadcastmodelofnewspapers,televisionandradio.“Publicauthoring”,asmentionbefore,offersanalternativetothepassivityandnarrowfocusofconsumerism(Laneetal.2006).Itpresentsanewopportunityforpeopletobeagents,actorsorauthorsintheworldofcommunicationsandknowledgesharing.Let’stakeasanexampleUrban Tapestries(fig.11),whichisanexperimentalsoftwareplatformforknowledgemappingandsharing.Itcombinesmobileandinternettechnologieswithgeographicinformationsystemstoallowpeopletobuildrelationshipsbetweenplacesandtoassociatestories,infor-mation,pictures,soundsandvideoswiththem.Thismappingandsharinglocallyspecificinformationwillmakeitsusersreflecton,questionandreexamineplacesandrelationshipsinthepublicsphere.Asaresult,objectsandsurfaces,allhavebecomepossiblefortechnologicalintervention.Theideaistobeginoverwritingthefeaturesofoureverydaymobilityexperiencewithsomethingthatneverusedtobethere.It’stheincorporatingdigital“intelligence”intoeverydayobjects(Greenfield2006).Wheneverydaythingsaregiftedwiththeabilitytosensetheirenvironment,storedatareflectingonlocation,usehistoryandsharethatinformationwithotherobjectsthiswillredefineourrelationshipswithoursurroundings.Wewillfindourdailyexperienceoftheworldalteredininnumerableways.

(D, 1) Tagging the Environment

Thevastmajorityofeverydayobjectsaresimpletoolsorartifactsthatdonotperformanykindofworkthemselves.Atraditionalpenaffordswriting,butdoesnotperformanyactiveservice.By“affordance”Imeanwhatitofferstous(Gibson1986),itspurposeisstraightforward,andwehaveafairlyfixedconceptofpens,whichallowustorecognizeandunderstanditsfunction.Thedesignofstaticobjectsthereforeismainlyrelatedwithaesthetics,simplefunctionalityandcreating,andcommunicating“affordance”inaphysicalform.Ontheotherhand,wehaveactiveartifactsareautonomous,dynamiccomputerartifactsthatpossesssomeabilitytocommunicatewithpeopleorotheractiveobjectsandtoadapttheirbehaviour.Muchoftheworkbeingdoneisnotconcernedwithinterfaceissues,but

2 0 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

ratherwithactivities,experiencesandthemediationofartifacts/socialnetworks.Forthepurposeofthisresearch,theclassartifactsIamdealingwitharestaticartifactsthatwhosecapabilitieswhereaugmented,turningintoactiveartifacts.WhatIaminterestedinisthattheartifactsintheenvironmentgainofsomekindofintelligence,bytheattachmentofcomputationtothem.

(D, 2) Tagging People

Taggingpeopleraisesalotmorequestionsthantaggingartifacts.Itbringsalltheprivacyandsocialissuesintofocus(McCullough2004).Weallcarryidentificationcardswithmagneticstripes,mobilephonesthatcanbetrackedbyourtelecommunicationsproviderandsoon.However,acardisstillvaguelyprivateinthatyoukeepitinyourwallet.Newthreatsintermsofintrusionandprivacyseemtoappear.Whathappenstoourpersonalfreedom?WillwewantourlifetobemonitoredbyanOrwellianbig-brother-likesystem?Iarguethatanysystemwedesignedshouldgivepeoplethedecisiontoconsciouslyagreetoactivateanddeactivatethesystem.Peopleshoulddecidewhattodoorhowtheymightapproachinformation.Thismadetroughthesystemthatmakesthemawareofthepossibilities.Howpeoplecantransformthepossibilitiesinherenttoeverydayobjects.Taggingbecomesmorecommonwhereverpeopleagreetowearbadges.Let’stakeasanexampletheuseofbadgesinaworkenvironment,whereitseemstobecomeanacceptedfactoflife.Theremustbestrategiescreatedsoinsocialsituationstheuseofbadgeswon’tbeseenasanobstacle,butmoreinaplayful,entertaining,contextawareandenvironmentalenrichedway.

(D, 3) Social Sharing

Bytaggingtheenvironmentandthepeoplewearecreatingasocialsharingspace.Everydaymobilityexperienceofpeopleisincreasinglycommoninmodernsociety,leadingpeopletospendalotoftimeonthismobilityspace.Suchindividualsmayexperiencebenefitsfromtechnologiesdesignedtoenhancesocialcommunicationinordertocreatenewwaysofappreciatingandinteractingwiththefabricofthecity.

2 1 . T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O R K

Thereisanessentialsharingofinformation,knowledge,memoriesandstorieswithfriends,family,neighboursandstrangers.“Socialsharing”canbeinterpretedasencompassingideasandmemoriesaswellasbehaviours.Itisatermthatattemptstoindicatethebroadvarietyofhumanactivities,conceptsandwaysofbeingsocial;fromhowweinteractwiththecityandfollowroutinesoftravelingthroughthecity,tohowwetakepartincommunalactivities(Laneetal.2006).“Socialsharing”canbedescribedasthehiddenorobscuredresourcesandassetsofalocaleorofacommunity,createdbetweenandaroundpeopleastheygoabouttheirdailylives.Aswecometodefinemoreandmoreclearlywhatconstitutessocialsharing,soweareabletoarticulateitsvalue:tomakeconcretewhatcanoftenappearephemeral,orintangible.Socialsharingcanbeunderstoodassomethingthathasintrinsicvaluewithinacontextoflocationandcommunity.“Publicauthoring”offersameanstoexposethisinformationandthesocialnetworksthatsupportit.

(D, 4) Empowering the User

Toenablepleasurableinteraction,itisessentialthatuserscanbeandcanfeelincontroloftheresultexperience.Itshouldbeprovidedtotheusersthepossibilitytoconstructtheirownexperiences.Notonlydesignersshouldbetheonesconfiguringthesystembutalsoeverybodycantagsomething,extendingthesystem.Technologymustbeembeddedintothefabricofoursurroundingstocreateanenvironmentthatissensitiveandresponsivetoourpresence,andsympathetictoourneeds.Andthatisonlyachievedbyempoweringtheusers,turningthemintodesignersoftheirenvironmentsandeverydayexperiences.

2 2 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

( A ) D E V E L O P I N G D E S I G N C R I T E R I A

Enables/supports individual’s need:Enablingtheuser’sneedisanimportantwayoflookingatthedesignwork.Intheinstancesandneedsbeingaddressedinthismajorproject,“solutions”arenottheprimaryfocusofthework.Thismajorprojectdoesnotaimto“solveproblems”,butrathertopresentadifferentexperience,thatreflectsontheneedsoftheuser,tryingtoovercomethem.Needsthatpotentially,fromanobservationalpointofview,mayseemproblematic.

Promotes and evaluate the level of relationships in the mobility space and surrounding motivations:Theneedsofanindividualinthemobilityspaceseemtobeagooddesignopportunity.Thismajorprojectaimstoinfluencethatperspective.Toprovideacriticalargumenttoaudiencestobeginre-evaluatingthewayweinteractwitheachotherinpublicplaces.

Don’t rely on standard technologies:IbelievethatInteractionDesignshouldnotbedrivenbytechnology.Weshouldputourselvesasidetechnologydevelopmentsifwewanttoprovideanewlensaboutthewaywenavigatethecity,changingourperceptionofplaces.Whatwillbeappropriatedtoelicitsubtleformsofcontrol,andhowmightthesechangesaffectourcurrentsocietalnorms?Howelectronicscanbeincorporatedintothecityfabricandwearableinordertoplaywithoursubtle,yetimportant,connectionstostrangersandtheunknown?

Engaging:Theservicetobedesignedmustbeengagingtoitspotentialaudience.Withinenablingauser’sneed,thelevelofengagementmustbehightosustainfunctionality.Thevalueoftheengagementfortheuserisnotbaseduponavalueofentertainment,butratheronavalueoffunctionality.Thisfunctionalityistheabilityforthedesignworktofitintothelifeoftheindi-vidual.Engagementmustalsobepresentforthepotentialaudienceofthethesisitself.Itmustallowtheaudiencetorelatetotheneedanddrawouttheirempathy.

2 3 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

( B ) D E S I G N O P P O RT U N I T I E S A N D M I N D M A P P I N G

Icreateknowledgemapsbasedonthefindingsofthebackgroundresearch,inordertoshowthedesignopportunitiesfortheservice.Thismapshowthedesignopportunitiesfortheservice;helpmeanalyzing,andtocommunicatetheinformation. (SeeapendixA)

( C ) C O N C E P T C R I T I Q U E

Thehigh-levelgoalofmymajorprojectisaboutmediatingsocialrelationshipbetweenpeople,aswellbetweenpeopleandplaces/objects,inthemobilityspace.Itisachallengingexperiencetoaccomplishsuchagoal,giventhatIwastryingtoexplorethedesignpotentialofamobilitysocialphenomenon,butalsostrugglingtofindaservicethatactuallyworked.MyprojectisinfluencedbyMcLuhan’sglobalvillage(McLuhan1989),butIammoreinterestedinthepreservationofthepublicsphere.ThereforeMitchell’sideas(Mitchell2000)thattechnologicalenhancementsshouldimproveeverydaylifewhilerespectinghumanitymakemoresenseforthepurposeofmyproject.Itisnotmypointwiththisresearchtodesignafriend-finderormatchmakingsystemthatexplicitattemptstoconvertourstrangersintoourfriends.Strangersarestrangersexactlybecausetheyarenotourfriends,andanysuchsystemshouldrespectthatboundary.However,mysystemattemptstocreateicebreakersforpossiblesocialexchangewithoutbeingintrusiveonthestrangecondition.

( D ) U S E R R E S E A R C H

“Ibelievethatpeopledifficultlytalktostrangers,unlessthereisasharingofasituation.”11, 12 . Mind Mapping session

2 4 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

ChristinaKouvara,27,Student.

“ItisgoodtohavecompanybecauseI’mboredofthesameroute.”GauravGupta,25,ITSupportEngineer.

“IthinkIwillstarttoenjoymyjourneysmore,consideringthatitispossibletostartaconversationwhilecommuting.”PriyankaMehrotra,25,MediaContentProducer.

Istudieddifferentmethodstoshowhowpeoplearespendingtheirtimeintheirmobilityspace.Ilookedatpeople’srelationshipswitheachotherandhowtheyspentthetimeinthemobilityspace.ThroughobservationtechniquesIbuiltrichandmeaningfulhistoriesfromthelessrecognizabledetailsofourlivestounderstandhowouridentitiesareshapedinthemobilityspace.Toexploretheseideas,Itriedtovalidatemyinitialfindingsthroughuserresearch.Iconductedanobservationalstudy,acollectionofdaytimelineprobesandaseriesofopen-endedquestionnaires.InadditionIwascontinuouslyconductingonlineresearch,scopingthefieldforexistingresearchandsolutions.

(D, 1) Observational study Drawingfromexistingliteratureandfromourmypersonalhistoryofcommutingandcommuters,Isummarizedaspectsoftheexperienceofridingthetube,trainorbusthatcouldexplainbetterwhatitmeanstobe“in-between”.However,byparticipatingintheeventoftraveling,withthepurposeofobservingfellowpassengersandreflectingonmyexperience,IwasattemptingtoidentifyissuesthatIbelievearerelevanttomyresearchinterest.Ifirstbeganexploringthenotionofplaceandcommunitywithsomeobservationinpublicplaces.Duringmyobservations,Iexpectedtofindphysicalattributessuchasarchitectureandenvironmentasprimaryindicatorsforinterpretingpublicplaces.But,myobservationalstudyalsorevealedthatthepeoplewithwhomwesharesuchspacesdominateourperceptionofplace.Sometimesthesepeoplearefriends,familyandcolleagues.But,mostofthetimewhataffectusarethepeoplethatwerepeatedlyobserveandyetdonotdirectlyinteractwith–ourFamiliar Strangers.

13, 14 . Observational Study

2 5 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

(D, 2) User Study 1 – Day Timeline Probes

Onmyfirstuserstudyitwasgivenablankdaytimeline,apen,asheetwithgreendots,asheetwithreddots,andverylittleinstructions.Thepurposeoftheseprobesistocatalogtheactivitiesandthecontextsthatusersexperi-enceontheirdailymobility.Theinstructionsthatweregiventotheparticipantswerejustforthemtoregistertheirdayandtomarkthepositiveandnegativemomentsoftheirdailyexperiencewitheithergreenorreddots.Ithinkthiswasaveryvaluablewaytorevealpeople’sactivities,perceptions,valuesandpatternsamongthem,asunanticipatedissuesinherentintheroutinesandcircumstancespeopleexperiencedaily.

(seeappendixB)

(D, 3) User Study 2 – Open-Ended Questionnaires

Theseconduserstudywasmoredetailedandspecificintermsofplacesocialsignificanceandsocialinteractionsinpublicplaces.ByusingasurveytypequestionnaireItrytounderstandpeople’sfeelingsaccordingtospecificplaces,socialinteractionsandcontexts.Thequestionnairewasbasedintickboxesmethodandshortanswers,toavoidpeopletospendmuchtimetofillitin.Thisstudywasveryrelevanttorevealdesignopportunitiesandhowafutureservicemightaffectorcomplementusers’behaviour.

(seeappendixC)

(E) BR AINSTORMING

Thefollowing9ideasweregeneratedafterthedesigncriteriaandfocusonourexperienceofthemobilityspacewasestablished.Theseideasrepresentasampleoftheconceptualstageoftheresearch–rangingfrombadideastogoodideas,effectiveideastoineffectiveones.Theideasarerepresentativeofdifferentstagesofthedesignprocesswhereideasaregeneratedandthensub-ideasofthoseideasaregenerated,andsoforth.

16 . Day Timeline Probes

16 . Open Ended Questionnaires

17 . Brainstorming session

2 6 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

IveryroughlysketchedtheideasonanA4paper.Thesearesomerepresentativeillustrationsoftheideasthatcomeoutfromthebrainstormingsession.

Temperature Bracelets–Userisnotifiedwhentheyareinthevicinityofsomeonetheyhaveseenbefore.

Event Notification–Userscanreceivenotificationsaboutwhicheventsarehappeningintheirvicinity.

Social Phone Boxes–Public/user-generatedservicebasedonaudiomessagesthatareplacedinpublicphonesboxes.Userscanaccessthehistoryofthatplacebylisteningpreviousmessages.

2 7 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

Rentables–Objectsthattheusercanrentandreturnbytheendofdayinadifferenttouchpoint.

Social Bench–Socialbenchthattobeusedrequiresinteractionbetweenmorethanonepeople.

Angry Objects–Reactingobjectsbasedonthecompatibilitybetweenyouandyourcityencounters.

PubliME –Usersleavecommentsinotherspeople’sphonesbypublishingcontentfromtheirphone.Thiswillworkonlywiththepeopleontheusers’vicinity.

2 8 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

PubliCITY–Userscanpublishcommentsinurbandisplays.

Stick City–RFIDstickersthatcanbestickonthecitywithaudiotracksthatcanbeaccessedthrougharadiofrequency.

2 9 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

(F) DESIGN PRO CESS

FollowingthebrainstormingideasIbegantodefinehowtheserviceshouldbe.Istartedworkingonthedifferentnodesoftheservice,howtheyshouldrelatewitheachotherandintegratedaspartofasystem.Thefollowingdiagramdescribeshowtheserviceisstructured(diagram1).

AfterdefiningtheservicestructureIstartedtoworkonthespecificationsofthedifferentnodes.ThenIcreatemock-ups(fig.18and19)tounderstandhowpeoplewillusetheelementsofthesystembetter.Thesemock-upswereveryeffectivetoinvestigatetheformandhowpeopleinteractwiththesystem.Iexploredthewaysthesystemcandevelopin:Howdothecolorresponseswithintheproximityofsomeoneyou’veseenbefore?Howcanyouedityourbadgepreferencesandorganizeyournetwork?Andsoon.Finally,afterdefiningtheservicestructurefeaturesandhowitworks.Itwastimetomovetothecommunicationofmyideas.Icreatedsmallclipstoshowhowtheserviceworks.ButIendupincludingthoseideasinone

diagram 1 . Service Structure

Digital Tag

Badge

Badge Editor Computer

Badge

Badge Editor Computer

User A

User B

Environment

18, 19 . Mock-ups

20 . Badge

21 . Badge Editor

3 0 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

experiencescenariotoillustrateacharacter-richstorytellingdescribingthecontextofusefortheservice.

(G) IN-BET WEEN

In-betweenisaboutmediatingsocialrelationshipbytaggingenvironmentandpeople.Theprincipleideausedforthisprojectwas“digitaltagging”.BythisImean,individualsthatareabletowalktroughtheurbanlandscape,infusingtheirpathwithauniqueanddetectabledigitalidentity.Similarly,fixedplaces/objectscanalsobe“tagged”.Thesedigital tagsareakindofmappingonadigitallayerintheurbanlandscape.Byusingthisideawecanconstructseveralfactorsthatcanbemeasured,recordedanddisplayedinregardtoourinteractionsandrelationshipsinthemobilityspace.Astwopeopleapproachoneanother,eachpersonindividuallycarriesanIn-Between Badge,detectsandrecordstheother’suniqueidentity.Overtimeeachbadgeaccumulatesalotofuniqueentriesofpeoplethathavebeenpreviouslyencountered.Similarlyapersonisabletotagaplace,likeabusstandorabenchpark,byattachinga“digitaltag”toit.Thecombinationofbadgesand“digitaltags”istheessenceofthe In-Betweennetwork,asystemthatseekstocreatenewwaysofappreciatingandinteractingwiththefabricofthecity.

(G, 1) Design

Tagging PeopleAsIshowedonthetheoreticalframeworkofthismajorprojectthereisoftenlittleopportunitytomakesocialcontactsinthemobilityspace.ThemainelementofthesystemistheBadge(fig.20),whichissimpleshort-rangeRFIDcommunicators,whichwillfacilitateinitialcontactbetweenpeople.Badgesareloadedbytheuserwithpersonalinformationandchargedathomeinaspecialdish–Badge Editor(fig.21).

Badges storeandtransmitinformationaboutthewearer’sinterestsandreceivesimilarinformationfrombadgeswornbyothers.WhentwopeoplewithIn-Between Badgesmeetandtheirinterestsoverlap,theBadgeswillsignaltoeachother,tellingthewearersthattheyhavesomethingin

3 1 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

common.Thismakesiteasierto“breaktheice”andbegintalking.

Accordingwiththetypeofrelationshipyouhavewithotherpeople,theBadgewillcommunicatedifferentbehaviours(diagram2):-Withpeopleyouhavepreviouslyencounteredwithwhomyouhavesimilarinterests,itwillglowgreen.-Withpeopleyouhavepreviouslyencounteredwithwhomyoudon’thavesimilarinterests,itwillglowred.-Withpeopleyounevercomeacrosswith,itwon’trevealanyactivity.

Youcanalsoeditthekindofrelationshipyouhavewithsomeoneorsomeplace,forinstance,whenthenotificationrevealscommoninterestsbutthatpersonisnotrelevanttoyou.Youcanmanuallychangeyourfuturenotifications,bypressingthetwobuttons(diagram3)onthesideoftheBadge.Thenexttimeyouencounterthatperson,youwillreceiveanotificationasifhedidn’thaveanycommonalitieswithyou.Thisprocesscanbereversedatanytimebydoingthesameactionagain.Bytaggingpeople,youwillbeawareofwhatkindofpossibleinteractionsandsocialopportunitiesarehappeninginyourvicinity.

diagram 2 . Badge behaviours, tagging

people

diagram 3 . Change badge notifications

and turn visibility on and off

People With Similar Interests People WIth No Similar Interests People Never Come Across Before

ButtonButton

3 2 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

Tagging PlacesBesidespeople,thebadgesreceivenotificationfromstickers–Digital Tags (fig.22).TheseDigital Tagsareattachedtoobjectsinthephysicalenvironmentandcanbeplacedbyanyoneusingtheservice.Accordingwiththetypeofrelationshipyouhavewithaplacethebadgewillcommunicatedifferentbehaviours(diagram4):-Withplacesyouhavepreviouslybeenbeforeandyouwanttopassthereagain,itwillglowblue.-Withplacesyouhavepreviouslybeenbeforeandyoumightwanttoavoid,itglowsyellow.-Withplacesyouneverpass,itwon’trevealanyactivity.

Thesamewayyoueditthekindofrelationshipsyouhavewithpeopleyoucandothesamewithplaces.Therefore,whenyouareinaplaceyouhavebeenbeforebydefaultthesystemwillmakeyourBadgeglowyellow,inordertomakeyouexplorenewroutes.YoucanalterthisbypressingthesidebuttonsoftheBadgewhenitstartsglowing(diagram3).NexttimeyoupasstroughthisplaceyourBadgewillglowblue.Thisprocesscanbereversedatanytimebydoingthesameactionagain.Bytaggingthephysicalenvironment,peoplearedigitallydesigningamapthatcanbedisplayedinregardtoourinteractionsandrelationshipsinthemobilityspace.Forinstance,youcantagaplacewhereyouhavebeen,inordernottopassthereagain.Soeverytimeyounavigatethecityyouhaveadifferentexperience.

AtanytimeyoucanturnyourvisibilitystatusoffbypressingthetwobuttonsonthesideoftheBadge,continuouslyover3seconds(diagram3).

diagram 4 . Badge behaviours, tagging

places

22 . Digital Tag

Places To Pass Again Places To Avoid Places Never Passed Before

3 3 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

(G, 2) Fi lmed Scenar ios

Icreatedanexperiencescenario(fig.23to29)toillustrateacharacter-richstorytellingdescribingthecontextofusefortheservice.Ithinkitisaveryeffectivemethodfortheevaluationoftheserviceconcepts.Thisprocesshelpedtocommunicateandtesttheessenceofthedesignideawithinitscontextofuse.

Experience ScenarioIt’s11p.m.;SamuelisontheInternetsearchingforticketstoseePrinceherealizestheconcertissoldout.BeforegoingtobedheeditshisIn-Between Badgewithhispersonalinformation.Healsosetsuphisstatustoinvisiblesohewon’tbereceivingnotificationsuntilhedecidesto.Hewakesupnextmorningandisonhiswaytothetubestationtogetthetraintogotowork.WhenhearrivestothestationhisBadgenotifyhimthathisannoyingneighbourisontheplatformaswell.Hegoestotheveryend

Physical Hub

Badge

Badge Editor

Badge

Badge Editor

Badge Editor

User A User B

Environment

diagram 5 . Service Scope

Computer Computer

3 4 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

oftheplatformbecausehedoesn’twanttobedisturbedwhilereadinghismorningnewspaper.Atlunchtimehedecidesthathedoesn’twanttoeatlunchinhisusualspot.Afteryearsatthesamejob,Londonseemsmorelikeasmalltown.Heseesthesamepeopleinthesameplaces.Hewantstoescape.Ashewalksquicklyawayfromhiswork,heoccasionallycheckshis In-Between Badgetoseeifthereareanyfamiliarplacesorpeoplenearby.Whenhefindsastreetthatthedevicetellshimiscompletelyunfamiliar,hechoosesarestaurant.Hefeelsasifheisexploringanewterritoryandalthoughheisstillsurroundedbyotherpeople,hefeelsmuchlesscrowdedthanhedid15minutesago.AfterlunchhedecidetoleaveaDigital Tagatthatvenuetoreassurehefindsadifferentplacenexttime.AttheendoftheafternoonwhenleavingworkheturnstheIn-Between Badge tovisible.Whileonthetraingoingbackhomeheisnotifiedofsomeoneinhisvicinitythathehaspreviouslyencounteredwithwhomhehassimilarinterests.Hedecidestostarttalkingwiththegirlandafterafewminutesofchattingherealizesthatshehas2ticketstoselltoPrince.“Theserviceisamazing,”hethinks.

3 5 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

23 - 29 . Experience Scenario stills

3 6 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

(G, 3) Technolog y

ThemaintechnologythatcouldbeusedforrealizingtheprojectisRFID,forthebadgescommunicationwithotherbadgesorstickersinashort-rangeandforreceivingthedatainthebucket,whichhandlesthecommunicationfromthecomputertothebadge.

RFIDAnRFIDtagisanobjectthatcanbestuckonorincorporatedintoaproduct,animal,orpersonforthepurposeofidentificationusingradiowaves.Sometagscanbereadfromseveralmetersawayandbeyondthelineofsightofthereader.MostRFIDtagscontainatleasttwoparts.Oneisanintegratedcircuitforstoringandprocessinginformation,modulatinganddemodulatinga(RF)signalandperhapsotherspecializedfunctions.Thesecondisanantennaforreceivingandtransmittingthesignal.AtechnologycalledchiplessRFIDallowsfordiscreteidentificationoftagswithoutanintegratedcircuit,therebyallowingtagstobeprinteddirectlyontoassetsatlowercostthantraditionaltags(Wikipedian.d.).

Universal Serial Bus (USB)UniversalSerialBusisaserialbusstandardtointerfacedevices.Amajorcomponentinthelegacy-freePC,USBwasdesignedtoallowperipheralstobeconnectedusingasinglestandardizedinterfacesocket,toimproveplug-and-playcapabilitiesbyallowingdevicestobeconnectedanddisconnectedwithoutrebootingthecomputer.Otherconvenientfeaturesincludepoweringlowconsumptiondeviceswithouttheneedforanexternalpowersupplyandallowingsomedevicestobeusedwithoutrequiringindividualdevicedriverstobeinstalled(Wikipedian.d.).

diagram 5 . Service Technology

3 7 . C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T

Physical Hub

Badge

Badge Editor

Badge

Badge Editor

Badge Editor

User A User B

Environment

RF

RF RF

RF RF

USB USB

Badge Digital Tag

Button Button

LEDs RFID Tag

RFID ReaderRFID Tag

Touch Actuator

Battery

Computer Computer

3 8 . A N A LY S I S O F R E S E A R C H M E T H O D O L O G Y

A NA LY S I S O F R E S E A R C HM E T H O D O L O G Y

Theprojectdevelopmentlastedthreemonthsandahalffromtheinitialresearchphase.DuringthistimeIhaveusedvariousqualitativeandparticipatorydesignresearchmethodologiestoinformandadvancethedesignitself.Myprocessincludedthefollowingstages:

-Definingmyresearchquestions.AtthispointIwaslookingforsourcesofinspirationtocomeupwithresearchquestionsthatcanleadtointerestingdesignopportunities.-Gainingknowledgeinsubjectsrelatedtomyquestions.Ineededtogroundmyintuitionwithfacts,identifyculturalandtechnosocialtrendsandknowasmuchaspossibleaboutmychosenareaofinterest.-Conceptgeneration.Translatingtheresearchintorelevantdesignconceptsandchoosingaconcepttobeexploredfurther.-Exploringtheconcept.Exposingthemainideatopossibleusers,andbrainstormingwiththemaboutpossibledirections.

Differentstagesinthedesignprocessrequireddifferentmethodstoachievethespecifiedgoals.Hereisabriefoverviewofmethodsusedandtheirinfluenceonthedesignprocess:

Literature ResearchPurpose:TounderstandthetheoreticalbackgroundofthedomainIwasresearching.Identifytrends,andlearnfrompreviousresearch.Used:Mainlyinthequestiondefinitionandknowledgegainingphases.Results:Itwasagoodstartingpointtostartthinkingfrom.Takingmultitudeofdifferentideasfromdifferentareasandcombiningthemintoastructurethatmakesnewsenseaccordingtomychosencriteria:Myusers,theirsocialstructureandthetechnology.

Internet ResearchPurpose:Getanswersforveryspecificquestions;gatherinformationandfactsaboutdefinitepoints.Used:Mainlyinthequestiondefinitionandknowledgegainingphases

3 9 . A N A LY S I S O F R E S E A R C H M E T H O D O L O G Y

Results:WorkedwellforwhatIneeded.User probesPurpose:Tocatalogtheactivitiesandthecontextsthatusersexperienceontheirdailymobility.Used:Inthequestiondefinitionandknowledgegainingphasesandattheconceptgeneration.Results:Ithinkthiswasaveryvaluablewaytorevealpeople’sactivities,per-ceptions,valuesandpatternsamongthem,asunanticipatedissuesinherentintheroutinesandcircumstancespeopleexperiencedaily.

Open-ended QuestionnairesPurpose:Achieveafirsthandunderstandingoftheusergroup.Comparethefactsgatheredfrombookswithrealpeopleandrealsituations.Beinformedandinspired.Used:Inthequestiondefinitionandknowledgegainingphasesandattheconceptgeneration.Results:Theinterviewsworkedwell.Thetheoreticalframeworkturnedintoreallifesituationsandpersonas.Abstractconceptswerematerializedinsce-narios.Itwasasourceofbothinspirationformanyideasandofaffirmationoftheirvalidityintheeyesoftheusergroup.

BrainstormingPurpose:Creativethinkingtodevelopideas.Used:Mainlyintheconceptgenerationstage.Results:Someideasseemtobeacompletenonsenseatthebeginning,butendedupinformingthefinaldesign.

Formal PrototypingPurpose:Concretizeroughideasandovercomepossibleproblemsbeforetheideabecomesaproduct.Experiencethetangibilityoftheproduct.Used:Mainlyintheconceptgenerationstage.Results:Theprototypeswereusedforunderstandingthequalitiesoftheinteractionwiththeobject,evenbeforeanyoneelsetriedit.

4 0 . C O N C L U S I O N

C O N C L U S I O N

Thereisawholestringofindicationsthatthereismoretotrafficencountersthanjustcoordinatingthemovementofthecommuters’bodiesfromoneplacetoanother.Ibelievethatsmallpersonalwirelessdevicescanallowindividualstobemoreacutelyjudgingtheirsocialrelationshiptopeopleandplaces.Ialsobelievethatsuchtoolsarecapableofencouragingcommunitysolidarity,eventransitorysolidarity,inplaceswhereitiscurrentlydifficulttobuildsuchties.In-Betweencanallowindividualstogainanimprovedsenseofbelonging,cultivatingnewviewsofinclusionacrossthepublicsociallandscape.Iexpectitimprovesourownimpressionsandbeliefsofthestrangersandplaceswithwhichweshareourdailylife.Technologyisalreadyusedasamediatorinsocialrelationships,butcurrentappliancesarerarelydesignedwithsocialcontextinmind.Thisiswhatdrovemydesignprocess.Empoweringtheuserswithintheirsocialcontextandincreasetheir“socialeffectiveness”.Iarguethatbyincorporatinghumanemotionalneedsinthedesignprocessconsiderationsleadtoafinisheddesignthatrespondsbettertotheuser’sneeds.In-Between isasocialinteractionplatform,whichisopento,andmaintainedby,theusers.Ihopemysystemcanberelevantforthedailylivesofpeoplethatneedtotravelforhourseverydaytogotowork–changingtheirdailyexperiences,enhancingcommunitysolidarityandasenseofbelongingtospaces.Iwouldlovetotakethisprojecttoanextlevelstartingbydevelopingfunctionalprototypesforusertesting.

4 1 . R E F E R E N C E S

R E F E R E N C E S

(A) BO OKS

CALABRESEL.&HOUBEN,F.2003,Mobility: A Room With a View,NAIPublishers,Rotterdam.

DUNNEA.2005,Hertzian Tales, Electronic Products, Aesthetic Experience and Critical Design,TheMITPress,Cambridge.

GIBSONJ.1986,The Ecological Approach to visual Perception,LawrenceErlbaumAssociatesPublishers,London.

GIBSONJ.1968,The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems,GeorgeAllen&UnwinLtd.,London.

GREENFIELDA.2006,Everyware, The Dawning age of Ubiquitous Computing,NewRiders,Berkeley.

GOFFMANE.1963,Behaviour in Public Places, Notes on the Social Organi-zation of Gatherings,TheFreePress,NewYork.

GOFFMANE.1967,Interaction Ritual, Essays on Face-to-Face Behaviour,PantheonBooks,NewYork.

GOFFMANE.1971,Relations in Public, Microdtudies of the Public Order,PenguinBooks,Harmondsworth.

ISOMAKIH.,PIRHONENA.,ROASTC.&SAARILUOMAP.2005,FutureInteraction Design,Springer-Verlag,London.

LYNCHK.1960,The Image of the City,TheMITPress,Cambridge.

McLUHANM.2005,Understanding Media,Routledge,London.

McLUHANM.&POWERSB.1989,The Global Village: Transformations inWorld Life and Media in the 21st Century,UniversityPress,NewYork.

4 2 . R E F E R E N C E S

McCULLOUGHM.2004,Digital Ground, Arquitecture, Pervasive Computing and Environmental Knowing,TheMITPress,London.

MILLGRAMS.1977,The Individual World: Essays and Experiments,Addison-WesleyPub.Co.,Reading.

MITCHELLW.2000,E-topia, “Urban life Jim – but not as we know it.”,TheMITpress,Cambridge.

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SIMMELG.1964,The Sociology of Georg Simmel,Collier-Macmillan,London.

STERLINGB.2005,Shaping Things, The Mediaworks Pamphlet Series,TheMITPress,Cambridge.

(B) ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

AMBIENCE2004,The Ambience Project,RetrievedAugust5,2007fromhttp://www.hitech-projects.com/euprojects/ambience/

BASSOLIA.&MARTINK.n.d.,Exploring In-between-ness: The Experi-ence of Riding the London Tube.RetrievedAugust5,2007fromhttp://www.prusikloop.org/publications/ExploringInbetweenness.pdf

DOURISHP.&WILLIAMSA.2006,Imagining the City: The CulturalDimensions of Urban Computing.RetrievedAugust7,2007fromhttp://www.ics.uci.edu/~jpd/publications/2006/DourishWilliams-ReimaginingCity-IEEE.pdf

INTELRESEARCHLABORATORYBERKELEYn.d.,UrbanAtmospheres,Proactive archeology of our urban landscapes and emerging technology.RetrievedAugust10,2007fromhttp://www.urban-atmospheres.net/index.htm

4 3 . R E F E R E N C E S

INTERACTIONDESIGNINSTITUTEIVREA2004,Strangely Familiar, Unusual Objects for Everyday Life.RetrievedAugust5,2007fromhttp://courses.interaction-ivrea.it/strangely/index.html

IWATANIY.1998,Love: Japanese Style.RetrievedAugust14,2007fromhttp://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/1998/06/12899

JUHLINO.2005,Beyond Just Getting There - The Interactive Road.RetrievedAugust14,2007fromhttp://www.receiver.vodafone.com/archive.php

KIKIN-GILR.2005,Affective is Effective: How Information Appliances CanMediate Relationships Within Communities and Increase One’s SocialEffectiveness.RetrievedAugust5,2007fromhttp://www.ruthkikin.com/Im-ages/Affective-is-effective-RKG.pdf

LANEG.&THELWALLS.withANGUSA.,PECKETTV.&WESTN.2006,Urban Tapestries: Public authoring, place and Mobility.RetrievedAugust8,2007fromhttp://socialtapestries.net/outcomes/reports/UT_Re-port_2006.pdf

LAWRENCEJ.&PAYNET.n.d.,Exploiting Familiar Strangers: Creating aCommunity Content Distribution network by Co-Located Individuals.RetrievedAugust13,2007fromhttp://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/10197/01/Lawrence2004.pdf

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PAULOSE.2004,Our Emerging Urban Computing Landscape: FamiliarStranger: Familiar Stranger.RetrievedAugust14,2007fromhttp://www.receiver.vodafone.com/archive.php

PAULOSE.&GOODMANE.2004,The Familiar Stranger: Anxiety, Confort and Play in Public Places.RetrievedMay15,2007http://www.intelresearch.net/Publications/Berkeley/102820030937_169.pdf

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WIKIPEDIAn.d.,Universal Serial Bus.RetrievedAugust15,2007fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB

4 4 . R E F E R E N C E S

A P P E N D I X

(A) DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES MAP

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4 7 . A P P E N D I X

4 8 . A P P E N D I X

(C) OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRES

4 9 . A P P E N D I X

5 0 . A P P E N D I X

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

Many Thanks To:MycourseleaderRomanBuj.WindyVanDrutenforgreatcollaborationsandwillingnesstoparticipate.RicardoBragança,JennaBrown,ChristinaKouvaraandJannisPetrochilosfortheirsupport.Myfamilyfortheirrelentlesssupport.TeresaSilvaforeverything.

5 1 . A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S