Advanced Techniques for Everyday Embodied Interaction

下一代数字技术正在远远超越小玩意儿、加密狗和独特的“智能设备”。今天兴起的技术-从物联网(IoT)、云计算到人工智能-在不久的将来将无处不在地隐藏在建筑环境、家具和我们的日常物品中。这项研究的影响是创造出下一个曲线，在这个曲线上，创新将不会受到我们桌子、汽车仪表盘或手表上僵硬的显示器的限制。取而代之的是，数字功能可以无缝地嵌入/体现在室内空间和产品的木制品、织物薄膜或建筑层中。这不仅需要工程交互元素，还需要重新发明电子元件和材料。日常对象能够通过响应于用户交互而动态改变其外观来显示信息。人机交互(HCI)领域探索支持嵌入式交互的创新用户界面的设计。但与使用典型的刚性传感器、发光显示器、屏幕投影和电机的焦点要求技术不同，该计划提出可以将交互元素整合到物理物质中。物体可以使用内置的精心制作的传感器(使用导电材料)检测用户的输入，并使用精心制作的致动器(使用变形线、变色颜料或编织的音频触觉扬声器)进行响应。拟议的研究计划旨在设计和设计互动空间(包括智能家居、教室和工作场所)、表面(如互动墙、地板和天花板)和物体(如互动家具、餐具和软质家具)，以支持人们的福祉和满足用户需求。例如，我们计划探索让远程学生参与课堂同步活动的潜力；探索老年人的数字生活机会(远离智能手机)；让残疾人和边缘群体参与共同设计无处不在的技术；以及发明新的制造方法来实现这些目标。这一研究计划是及时的，有助于展望未来的技术将如何与我们的现实世界空间交织在一起，并增强具体化的人类体验。除了实验室实验，通过真实世界的部署，我们将采用野外情境研究-将交互对象重新放回用户手中-以获得更深层次的洞察和更好地理解人们将如何感知、交互和体验未来的嵌入式技术。我预计将有2名博士生、3名硕士生和4名本科生通过这个项目接受培训，为他们在学术界和工业界对交互设计、辅助技术和数字制造的高需求领域做好准备。加拿大公司的例子包括：黑莓、欧特克、艺电、Technicolor、Astound、Unity和Maker Labs。

The next generation of digital technology is shaping far beyond gadgets, dongles and distinct `smart devices'. Technologies rising today -ranging from Internet of Things (IoT) and Cloud Computing to Artificial Intelligence- will hide ubiquitously within the built environment, furniture and our everyday objects in the near future. The impact of this research is creating the next curve where innovation will not be bound by rigid displays on our desks, vehicle dashboards or wristwatches. Instead, digital capabilities can be embedded/embodied in interior spaces and products seamlessly within their woodwork, fabric membranes or construction layers. This does not only require engineering interactive elements but also reinventing electronic components and materials. Everyday objects can be capable of displaying information by dynamically changing their appearance in response to user interaction. The field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) explores the design of innovative user interfaces that supports embedded interaction. But unlike focus-demanding technology that uses typical rigid sensors, emissive displays, screen projection and motors, this program proposes that interactive elements can be integrated in the physical materiality. Objects can detect user input using embodied crafted sensors (using conductive materials), and respond with crafted actuators (using shape-changing wires, colour-changing pigments or woven audio-haptic speakers). The proposed research program aims to engineer and design interactive spaces (including smart homes, classrooms and workplaces), surfaces (such as interactive walls, floors, and ceilings) and objects (such as interactive furniture, tableware, and soft furnishing) that can support people's well-being and meet user needs. For example, we plan to explore the potentials of engaging remote students in classroom synchronous activities; explore digital living opportunities (away from smart phones) in senior homes; engage people with disabilities and marginalized groups in co-designing ubiquitous technology; and invent new fabrication methods to achieve these goals. This research program is timely and contributive to the vision of how future technology will be interwoven with our real-world spaces and augment the embodied human experience. Aside from lab experiments, and through real-world deployments, we will adopt in-the-wild situated studies -placing interactive objects back in the hands of users- to gain deeper insights and better understanding of how people will perceive, interact with and experience future embedded technologies. I expect that 2 PhD students, 3 Master's students, and 4 undergraduate students will acquire training through this program; preparing them for the high demand areas of Interaction Design, Assistive Technology and Digital Fabrication in both academia and industry. Examples of Canadian companies include: Blackberry, AutoDesk, Electronic Arts, Technicolor, Astound, Unity and Maker Labs.