engl. Beschreibung/ Kurzkommentar |
If we think of data representations, we normally only think of visualisations. But what if data moved off the screen, with 3D physical shape and materiality, into the world, so we could touch it, hold it in our hands, feel it – or navigate the data by moving around it? And what if it could move and change shape to reflect updates and in response to user interactions?
Physical representations of data have existed for thousands of year. Initially emerging from the arts in the notion of ‘data sculpture’, Information Visualisation and HCI now increasingly investigate ‘data physicalisation’, pushed by recent advances in digital fabrication and mechanical actuation. Physicalisations have the potential for novel and creative designs as well as to change our relation to data, to engage and involve users not just intellectually, but also emotionally and on a visceral, bodily level. Their design can utilize digital and material properties, from LEDs to traditional crafts materials, where the choice of material influences meaning and experience. Most work in this area has created static representations – but for dynamic data series and interactive feedback, we need flexible, shape-changing or moving representations.
In this project, we will work in small groups (mixing technical and design students) to develop dynamic data physicalisations, e.g. using motor-based actuation for shape-change. We will engage with the literature in this field of research, investigate options for creating dynamic physicalisations, develop ideas/concepts and prototype them, and implement one of our ideas. Finally, we will do a small user study of our data representations.
Students from the different degree programs will have different emphasis in tasks in this project.
HCI Master students will engage both with technology and design aspects. They will take part in creative conceptualization, focusing on user interaction and experience, and will devise and run a small user study of the final design.
Bachelor MI and CS&M / CS4DM Master students will focus on technical aspects, in particular actuation technologies and control, the software side of data query/interaction, and potentially, detection of user input.
Product Design and Media-Architecture students will engage in creative-artistic conceptualization and focus on physical-material design and construction, and will collaborate on designing the user interaction. |
Bemerkung |
Time and place will be announced at the project fair.
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maximum number of participants:
MI: 1-2
CSM/CS4DM/HCI: 2-3
PD + MA: 2
Total: 6 (thereof 4 from MI/CSM/HCI)
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SWS / Credits:
Human-Computer Interaction (M.Sc): 10 SWS/ 15 ETCS
Computer Science and Media/ CS4DM (M.Sc.): 10 SWS / 15 ETCS
Medieninformatik (B.Sc.): 10 SWS / 15 ECTS
Produkt Design (B.A. & M.A.) / M.A. Media.Arch.: 12 SWS / 18 ECTS
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Voraussetzungen |
Participants should have an interest in working with and tinkering with physical materials, ideally some prior experience with Arduino and electronics. They should be interested in developing novel interactive devices and interaction techniques and in exploring novel ways of representing data and making it interactive. Moreover, all participants should enjoy working in an interdisciplinary team and be able to converse in English. MI (B.Sc.) and M.Sc. CS4DM/CS&M: technical ability, interest in learning Arduino, electronics, and in particular controlling motors and/or other actuators, interest in creative work. For Master students: ability to contribute to conceptual work. M.Sc. HCI: an interest in creative design and interaction with data; willingness to think ‚out of the box’; Interest in working with actuated objects, physical design; willingness to learn and do: interaction design, physical design methods and electronics, human-data interaction, evaluation methods .
PD: Creativity, practical Experience in Interaction-Design, physical construction (e.g. 3D-printing, lasercutting, woodwork, metalwork etc), ideally some prior experience with electronics and Arduino or with mechanics (moving parts). M.A. MA: Creativity, practical experience in physical construction (e.g. 3D-printing, lasercutting, woodwork etc), ideally some prior experience with electronics and Arduino.
PD and MA students: Please send your appliation, including description of prior experience in relevant areas, until the evening of 04.04.2018 by e-Mail to eva.hornecker@uni-weimar.de (add name/ study program/semester/matriculation no., reason to join this course, ideally also a portfolio). |