opening the design space:the soft set of requirements by alessia rullo
DESCRIPTION
This presentation is taken from DIS 2008 conference. It aims at presenting a methodological perspective based on the notion of the Aesthetics of Interaction in ambient computing systems. Aesthetics of Interaction is challenged by the design proposal for the soft qualities of interaction, which is used as a tool to complement the existing design methodologies. It is indeed the author’s conviction that the role of these aspects is indispensable to the design of ambient computing systems, in which the interaction does not take place only according to the ‘one on one’ relationship between the human and the device; it is also distributed within the setting - and throughout the settings -, pervades everyday objects, and enables new relationships, which arise from the environmental and relational conditions enabled.TRANSCRIPT
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
Alessia RulloUniversity of Siena
opening the design space the soft set of requirementsA methodological perspective regarding the design of ambient computing systems informed by the notion of Aesthetics of InteractionWork conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Siena Hospital - Italy as a part of the EU PalCom project.
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
Addressing the role of the Aesthetics of Interaction in ambient computing systems how the notion of aesthetics can provide indications that can reflect on the design methodologies
Tradition of Participatory Design:Questioning the role of the users in the design of human-technology systems, which should continuously adapt to the design contexts and to the novel design demands.
Design ChallengeThe role of Aesthetics of Interaction in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
motivation of this work01
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
the neonatal intensive care unit
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
the neonatal intensive care unit
Despite in the last years the survival rate of premature and very low weight newborns is constantly increasing, the equipment used for the infant care and monitoring is still not able to supply all of the composite necessities of this system.
Need for non invasive monitoring
Interpreting the notion of care
understanding the context02
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
NIDCAP approach to the care of premature newborns:Interpreting the notion of care
NIDCAP is an acronym that stands for Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program, which is an approach that uses a range of medical and nursing interventions that aim to decrease the stress of preterm neonates in NICUs and to support the creation of communities of care around each baby (Westrup, 2005, Als, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989)
Macro and micro environmental conditions
Relationship: the presence of the families
Non invasive monitoring
Care actions
Focus on the mattress on which the baby lies
understanding the context02
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
the soft approach to design
design approach03
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
How to externalize the emotional/experiential values that affect our experience of architectural spaces?
Lessons from Industrial and Architectural Design:
the soft design (Branzi, 1986, 2004)
the ‘quality without a name’ (Alexander, 1979)
design approachfoundations
03
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
the soft qualities of interaction
1. they are analytical tools that try to isolate specific elements of the interaction, which are related to the way in which peopleconstruct meaning (the expressional level of interaction) than to the way in which people do things (the functional level of interaction).
2. the soft qualities are inspirational instruments that enlighten the design space from a perspective focused on these latent values of the interaction that often escape the design techniques.
3. these qualities may complement the design methodologiesinterpreting the experiential values that emerge in the interactionand effecting the expressional level at which computation can be manifested.
design approach03
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
Separation / interpenetration
Background/foreground effect
Layering
Overlapping
Interferences
MACRO ENVIRONMENT
MICRO ENVIRONMENT
Different levels of visibilites
Nature of Access RELATIONS
Separation / interpenetration
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
The soft set of requirements
The soft set of requirements describes the soft qualities of interaction by illustrating the features to be considered in the mattress prototype
They define the physical, ‘tangible’characteristics of the prototype, such as the shape, the material and the functioning system
The nature of these requirements defines new interaction modalities by the specific use of sensors and smart material
The use of graphical representation to embody the requirements in order to share and negotiate in design workshops
design approach03
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
the leaf design proposal making explicit the soft set of requirements design approach
03
Postural stabilization/embracementSoft Quality: overlapping; access
Open/closed environmentSoft Quality: background/foreground effects; separation/interpenetration; access.
LayeringSoft Quality: layering; access.
Rigid structure/foldable materialSoft Quality: separation/interpenetration
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
design approach03
the leaf design proposalmaking explicit the soft set of requirements
Filtering: different level of opacitySoft Quality: interferences; background/foreground effects.
Perceivable outputSoft Quality: background/foreground effects; different visibilities
GranularitySoft Quality: background/foreground effects; different visibilities; interferences.
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
the conditions of access and the separation/interpenetrationdynamics are supported, in the idea of the leaf, by the co-existence of a rigid structure (i.e. the leaf’s skeleton) and more flexible part (i.e. the leaf itself)
this also brings to the novel conception of the newborn’s micro-environment, to be dynamically closed or opened according to the necessities
the possibility of manipulating the leaf surface suggest different solutions to manage the interferences and the overlappingeffects at the micro-environmental level
the transparency of a leaf surface addresses the possibility of having a different layer of visibility, in order to reveal or maskthe baby’s status, depending on the situation, and to support the varying perceptions of the caregivers, whether they be parents, nurses or neonatal doctors.
the leaf design proposalreconvening the mattress
design approach03
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
the soft prototypea dynamic layer which protects the child, keeps the baby’s body in place, facilitates the transportation of the newborn, allows thedetection of the pressure points of the baby’s body and can enable a more direct and intimate contact between the newborns and the caregivers.
future lab workshops with designers and neonatal team
design approach03
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
an ongoing workintroducing new technologies in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is a long and quite complicated task, and it is therefore necessary to perform a number of different trials before testing the designed solutions with users in a setting that is as realistic as possible.
interpreting the specific fragility of this domain: facing ethical considerations, socio-organizational issues, safety and security standard
early implementations of the mattress prototypedevoted to calibrate the sensors on the specific needs of premature and very low weigh babies
design approach03
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
design approach03
Experimenting the impact on the work practice through dramatization of the mattress use
Understanding and exploring the interaction modalitiesthrough performance
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
design approach03
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
lessons learnt04
how knowledge is shared and transformed within the design process: making it explicit
let emerging the latent variables: supporting acceptanceof new technologies
shaping interaction by exploring new variables- modify the nature of the access to the baby - interpreting the separation/interpenetration dynamics- triggering specific technological features: sensors and smart materials
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
Soft qualities of interaction
Soft requirements
Soft prototype
User requirements Mockup & prototypeUser needs
design implications05Opening the design space
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
What is the role for the Aesthetics of Interaction
The aesthetic aspect is intended asthe material process by which the possibilities for interaction can manifest themselves by the creation of meaning through interaction and by balancing the different qualities that effect ambient computing systems.
Appropriation by use
Support people attitudes ( e.g. the ‘care’ approach in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)
design implications05
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008
Thanks
Alessia Rullo University of [email protected]@unisi.it