The role of physicality in tangible and embodied interactions

Abstract

The boundaries between "the digital" and our everyday physical world are dissolving as we develop more physical ways of interacting with computing. This forum presents some of the topics discussed in the colorful multidisciplinary field of tangible and embodied interaction. Eva Hornecker, Editor

References

1. Wellner, P., Mackay, W., and Gold, R. Computer-augmented environments. Back to the real world. Commun. ACM 36, 7 (July 1993), 24--26.
2. Baskinger, M. and Gross, M. Tangible interaction = form + computing. interactions 17, 1 (2010).
3. Ishii, H., and Ullmer, B. Tangible bits: Towards seamless Interfaces between people, bits and atoms. Proc. of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Atlanta, GA, Mar. 22--27). ACM, New York, 1997, 234--241.
4. One of my favorite books that starts to answer these questions is F.R. Wilson's The Hand --- How Its Use Shapes the Brain, Language, and Human Culture. This starts to construct an argument about the human urge to be active and creative with one's hands.
5. Jacob, R.J.K., Girouard, A., Hirshfield, L.M. Horn, M.S., Shaer, O., Solovey, E.T., and Zigelbaum, J. Reality-based interaction: A framework for post-WIMP interfaces. Proc. of the 26th Annual SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Florence, Italy, Apr. 5--10) ACM, New York, 2008, 201--210
6. H. Böhme. Playdoyer für das niedrige. Der tastsinn im gefüge der sinne. G. Gebauer (ed). Anthropologie. Reclam: Leipzig, Germany, 1998
7. Modern day psychology has started to question the assumption that most of our senses are receptive, and begun to study the perception-action relation (enactive perception defines that perception is always active) as well as interrelations between the senses, uncovering e.g. how visual information can override auditory perception (the McGurk effect) and the plasticity of our perceptual system (the rubberhand illusion,) which even allows for sensory substitution or new senses (such as feeling magnetic north via a vibrating belt).
8. Becker, B. Marking and crossing borders: Bodies, touch, and contact in cyberspace. Body, Space and Technology 3, 2 (2003).
9. In many science areas we find a dispute about determinism, whether it is technological versus social determinism (on the development of technology) or social versus genetic/biologic determination of intelligence and gender roles ("nature or nurture").
10. Dourish, P. Where the Action Is. The Foundations of Embodied Interaction. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2001.
11. McCarthy, J., and Wright, P. Technology as Experience. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2004
12. Twenebowa Larssen, A, Robertson, T., and Edwards, J. The feel dimension of technology interaction: exploring tangibles through movement and touch. Proc. of the First International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction. (Baton Rouge, LA, Feb. 15--17). ACM, New York, 2007, 271--278.
13. Hummels, C., Overbeeke, K.C., and Klooster, S. Move to get moved: A search for methods, tools and knowledge to design for expressive and rich movement-based interaction. Personal Ubiquitous Comput 1, 8 (2007), 677--690.
14. Hornecker, E., and Buur. J. Getting a grip on tangible interaction: A framework on physical space and social interaction. Proc. of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Montreal, Canada, Apr. 22--27). ACM, New York, 2006, 437--446.

Index Terms

• Human-centered computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)

• Information systems

  • Information systems applications

    • Multimedia information systems