Laypeople are increasingly motivated to participate in design processes, but what knowledge do th... more Laypeople are increasingly motivated to participate in design processes, but what knowledge do they actually possess that enables such participation? Some studies show that laypeople have gained detailed product knowledge from exposure. This knowledge can be applied to accurately recognize product categories, and to manage emotional expectations. In the experiment presented here, we test if laypeople can apply product category knowledge to production tasks using an animation production toolkit designed by the authors. In a betweensubjects experiment, participants with and without production training produced 3D animations for four distinct genres—comedy, drama, action, and non-fiction. Their task was to deliver versions of a basic animation film by adapting the motion of the film’s central figure by using an interactive test device. This device allowed participants to control four parameters of figure motion: velocity, efficiency, fluency, and deformation. As predicted, the animatio...
As computer systems become increasingly complicated, it is harder for users to maintain an overvi... more As computer systems become increasingly complicated, it is harder for users to maintain an overview. In many professional applications, user tasks are spread out over many windows located on different virtual screens, and sometimes displayed on a single physical screen. The design of the interface for this must enable the user to understand the relative locations of these windows. Studies of navigation in airplanes and automobiles have established that egomotion is an important contributor to people's sense of orientation: people can rapidly, accurately, and with little conscious effort tell the direction of movement from visual flow patterns displayed on a screen. It has also been reported that this perception of egomotion can be elicited from computer graphics that simulate the flow of a visual scene moving past an observer. This paper proposes an interface that uses such visual flow patterns to support users navigating between application windows on screens that are virtually placed around the user. Three-dimensional background images on a computer screen are generated to give users a sense of egomotion. One "home" window is located in the direction of egomotion, and serves as a reference point for the application acting as a main menu or a starting/exit point. Users can switch between multiple windows located on both sides of the home window, just like turning their head right or left. When they turn to the direction of their screen, the flow in the background helps them to stay aware of the direction of the home window. The proposed interface was implemented into an e-mail application and validated through an experiment. Eighteen undergraduate students participated as subjects. Performance data showed that the proposed method had a significant advantage in reducing errors. Subjective evaluations also indicated a significant advantage of the proposed interface for a user's overview of a complex environment.
The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2013
We introduce a novel robot system "Shader Printer Robot" that can print graphics on everyday obje... more We introduce a novel robot system "Shader Printer Robot" that can print graphics on everyday objects and environments. Our system exploits the persistence and states of color changing materials as a physical framebuffer for graphics on arbitrary surfaces. Graphics produced with our system last without requiring energy and are rewriteable. These unique properties enable various applications in which traditional display; projector or manufacturing technology is not feasible.
2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)
The study of bio-mechanics allows us to infer measurements for every day objects without needing ... more The study of bio-mechanics allows us to infer measurements for every day objects without needing measurement tools. A limitation of this comes from the complex mental transformations of space involved. The efficiency of this task degrades the larger these measurements become. We present B-Handy, a system that offloads this mental workload by providing visual transformations of space in the form of tracking and duplicating the user's hand in AR. It is our hope that this system will simplify the complexity of these mental transformations and increase the efficiency of bio-mechanical measurements.
Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 2021
“Footsie” is an interactive kinetic art installation. It inspires to connect people through the c... more “Footsie” is an interactive kinetic art installation. It inspires to connect people through the counter-intuitive physical interaction that is mediated by flirtatious machines. It consists of a table and four robotic chairs; the chair legs carry the motion of “footsie” and arms caress the back of the participant. While it tackles the controversial culture and social norms on touching others body or being touched, an experimental bodily experience explores new aesthetic interaction between lonely human and a mischievous digital entity. The interaction is provocative in a slightly uncomfortable way, and the paradoxical feelings and stimulating sensations open simultaneous interpretations on the meaning of Human-Machine-Interaction. Through nature inspired design like human spine, flexible muscle of mollusca and a caterpillar’s undulating wave motion, these pliable structures were fabricated with 3D printed meta-materials to create the sensual gestures.
Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, 2017
Food 3D printing is getting the spotlight by offering the opportunity to customize food appearanc... more Food 3D printing is getting the spotlight by offering the opportunity to customize food appearances, textures, and flavors that are troublesome to make by hand. In additive manufacturing, machines extrude ingredients into a certain shape, however, they cannot be applied to all types of food, such as mandu (Korean dumpling). In this pictorial, we extend the research on digital gastronomy by using digital fabrication to create custom tools that assist the process of cooking. We present the iterative process of designing the "Ori-mandu" system, and how Ori-mandu enables users to fabricate dumplings in whatever shape they want.
Products are typically aesthetically appreciated using multiple of our senses. However, studying ... more Products are typically aesthetically appreciated using multiple of our senses. However, studying the aspects that influence multi-sensory product aesthetics is complicated because of the interaction of visual and tactile product properties, such as form and material, which underlie the aesthetic experience. Illustrated by our ongoing study on the tactile and visual aesthetic appreciation of tangible products, we demonstrate a design research methodology that is highly suitable for studying the influence of material and shape properties. Using state-of-the-art 3D-printing techniques, modular and variety through changes in form and material. The modular approach of designing stimuli, in which form and material properties are customizable through the use of exchangeable components, offers a way in which multisensory aesthetics can be effectively experienced and researched. Such an approach follows the designer’s natural methodology of designing, results in realistic stimuli, and gives ...
"Serial paintings" are a series of works highlighting the role of the canvas - or more ... more "Serial paintings" are a series of works highlighting the role of the canvas - or more generally the support of the painting - in the construction of the final form. "Back and Forth - Pneumatic Anadrome" is the first work in the series. In it, a string of coloured beads is pushed back and forth between two spiralling "canvases" using compressed air. Without rearranging the order of the beads, the string is forced to coil alternatively into one or the other spiral: this folding and unfolding reveals in turn images or text with opposing meanings or connotations. Each image has to be destroyed in order to create the other; this cyclic process of creation and destruction is purposefully revealed and triggered by the curiosity of the public.
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 2021
A well-designed workplace has a direct and significant impact on our work experiences and product... more A well-designed workplace has a direct and significant impact on our work experiences and productivity. In this paper, we investigate how office interior layouts influence the way we socially experience office buildings. We extend the previous work that examined static social formations of office workers by looking at their dynamic movements during informal desk visiting interactions. With a month of video data collected in the office, we implemented a vision-based analysis system that enables us to examine how people occupy space in social contexts in relation to desk configurations. The results showed that both social territoriality and approach path highlight social comfort in human-building interactions, which are different from efficiency or path optimization. From these findings, we propose the concepts of socio-spatial comfort: social buffers, privacy buffers, and varying proxemics to inform a user-centered way of designing human building interactions and architecture.
Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 2017
Figure 1. With Spatial Physical Computing (SPC) data processing modules are deployed in space and... more Figure 1. With Spatial Physical Computing (SPC) data processing modules are deployed in space and programmed with simple physical actions. Our prototype modules are battery powered and communicate wirelessly to form long range smart sensor/actuator networks. An example scenario is shown on the left: a proximity sensor generate events as a door opens, and a non-collocated accumulator module counts and display them.
Recent studies in cognitive linguistics have demonstrated that objects are conceptualised in term... more Recent studies in cognitive linguistics have demonstrated that objects are conceptualised in terms of the actions they afford, i.e., in terms of their spatial-functional meaning. Since our interactions are constrained by the structure of our body, these studies view conceptualisation as essentially embodied. In this paper we argue that an object's abstract/figurative meaning is also embodied in that it is grounded in patterns of recurrent interactions with our environment, referred to as image schemas. On the basis of the spatial, relational structure of three such image schemas, two everyday products, a jug and an alarm clock, were systematically varied on form dimensions. Experiment 1 showed that participants with a background in design relate abstract characteristics to the form changes in the way predicted. To rule out the possibility that the relations uncovered are due to learned associations, a replication of the experiment was conducted with nai ve participants (experiment 2), leading to highly similar results. In experiment 3, we tested the cross-cultural consistency of our findings by performing a second replication with Brazilian participants. The results of this experiment were only partly in line with our predictions, suggesting that cultural differences in interacting with the environment to some degree affect our understanding of the abstract meaning of objects.
We introduce a sketch-based 3D modeling system using Virtual Reality (VR) with a Head Mounted Dis... more We introduce a sketch-based 3D modeling system using Virtual Reality (VR) with a Head Mounted Display (HMD). The system enables users to sketch freely 3D objects in various colors, arrange and situate the objects in the environment and finally export the virtual objects into a 3D file for fabrication. We evaluated the system in a small workshop with users, and the system was found to have a possibility for rapid ideation and for spatially conceptualizing ideas.
Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016
Figure 1. Mirror Mirror is a design system that combines Spatial Augmented Reality with a mirror ... more Figure 1. Mirror Mirror is a design system that combines Spatial Augmented Reality with a mirror display. Virtual garments are visible in the mirror reflection (a) as well as on the body (b). Multi user interaction is supported (c, d) and designs are readily printed (e).
Conference Companion Publication of the 2019 on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing
Understanding natural human behaviours in-the-wild are highly valued in HCI and CSCW communities.... more Understanding natural human behaviours in-the-wild are highly valued in HCI and CSCW communities. However, it is challenging to collect and analyze the field data due to public privacy. We present Skeletonographer, the tool that supports anonymous digital ethnography studies using skeletonized representations of people. Our system utilizes computer vision techniques to generate and visualize skeletons from video. Users can play back the skeleton data similar to a video player, and apply custom labels for analysis. We applied this tool to our project as a case study, and proved its feasibility to act as an ethnographic research tool.
In the early stage of product design, designers make fluid and extensive use of external represen... more In the early stage of product design, designers make fluid and extensive use of external representations to support their creative process. Sketching and modeling are used to quickly explore a product’s shape and configuration. Material aspects of a product are, in comparison, explored completely different, and are selected rather than created. Colors, textures and graphics, are selected by examples found in existing products, samples, or while browsing magazines or the web. We have developed a creative design technique in which we have designers do exactly the opposite. In a two-hour session designers “create” materials in a quick and playful way, while they "select" the spatial arrangement of the product out of a discrete set of shapes. We report of two workshops in industry where we applied this technique. In each workshop we used the materials designers already had, e.g. their moodboards, models, example products, and collections of visual materials. Based on the consi...
User-centered design processes are comprised of several methods and are deployed to gain insights... more User-centered design processes are comprised of several methods and are deployed to gain insights about user needs and experiences. Many of these methodologies require qualitative studies with small groups of users based on set guidelines and are time and resource intensive. In this paper, we propose a new technique: “User Review Analysis” that makes use of big data to uncover user needs. The technique consists of collecting and analyzing online User Reviews on shopping sites such as Amazon. The basic idea is that because of the fast and cyclic nature of consumer products development, reviews of Today’s products inform designers on the next product generation. As the data is based on actual product-use experience with similar products, the aggregated insights provide product-in-use experience and brings to light several product design aspects and complement the existing methods. User Reviews; User-Centered Design Method; Product Experience; Currently, the relationship between design...
Laypeople are increasingly motivated to participate in design processes, but what knowledge do th... more Laypeople are increasingly motivated to participate in design processes, but what knowledge do they actually possess that enables such participation? Some studies show that laypeople have gained detailed product knowledge from exposure. This knowledge can be applied to accurately recognize product categories, and to manage emotional expectations. In the experiment presented here, we test if laypeople can apply product category knowledge to production tasks using an animation production toolkit designed by the authors. In a betweensubjects experiment, participants with and without production training produced 3D animations for four distinct genres—comedy, drama, action, and non-fiction. Their task was to deliver versions of a basic animation film by adapting the motion of the film’s central figure by using an interactive test device. This device allowed participants to control four parameters of figure motion: velocity, efficiency, fluency, and deformation. As predicted, the animatio...
As computer systems become increasingly complicated, it is harder for users to maintain an overvi... more As computer systems become increasingly complicated, it is harder for users to maintain an overview. In many professional applications, user tasks are spread out over many windows located on different virtual screens, and sometimes displayed on a single physical screen. The design of the interface for this must enable the user to understand the relative locations of these windows. Studies of navigation in airplanes and automobiles have established that egomotion is an important contributor to people's sense of orientation: people can rapidly, accurately, and with little conscious effort tell the direction of movement from visual flow patterns displayed on a screen. It has also been reported that this perception of egomotion can be elicited from computer graphics that simulate the flow of a visual scene moving past an observer. This paper proposes an interface that uses such visual flow patterns to support users navigating between application windows on screens that are virtually placed around the user. Three-dimensional background images on a computer screen are generated to give users a sense of egomotion. One "home" window is located in the direction of egomotion, and serves as a reference point for the application acting as a main menu or a starting/exit point. Users can switch between multiple windows located on both sides of the home window, just like turning their head right or left. When they turn to the direction of their screen, the flow in the background helps them to stay aware of the direction of the home window. The proposed interface was implemented into an e-mail application and validated through an experiment. Eighteen undergraduate students participated as subjects. Performance data showed that the proposed method had a significant advantage in reducing errors. Subjective evaluations also indicated a significant advantage of the proposed interface for a user's overview of a complex environment.
The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec), 2013
We introduce a novel robot system "Shader Printer Robot" that can print graphics on everyday obje... more We introduce a novel robot system "Shader Printer Robot" that can print graphics on everyday objects and environments. Our system exploits the persistence and states of color changing materials as a physical framebuffer for graphics on arbitrary surfaces. Graphics produced with our system last without requiring energy and are rewriteable. These unique properties enable various applications in which traditional display; projector or manufacturing technology is not feasible.
2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)
The study of bio-mechanics allows us to infer measurements for every day objects without needing ... more The study of bio-mechanics allows us to infer measurements for every day objects without needing measurement tools. A limitation of this comes from the complex mental transformations of space involved. The efficiency of this task degrades the larger these measurements become. We present B-Handy, a system that offloads this mental workload by providing visual transformations of space in the form of tracking and duplicating the user's hand in AR. It is our hope that this system will simplify the complexity of these mental transformations and increase the efficiency of bio-mechanical measurements.
Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 2021
“Footsie” is an interactive kinetic art installation. It inspires to connect people through the c... more “Footsie” is an interactive kinetic art installation. It inspires to connect people through the counter-intuitive physical interaction that is mediated by flirtatious machines. It consists of a table and four robotic chairs; the chair legs carry the motion of “footsie” and arms caress the back of the participant. While it tackles the controversial culture and social norms on touching others body or being touched, an experimental bodily experience explores new aesthetic interaction between lonely human and a mischievous digital entity. The interaction is provocative in a slightly uncomfortable way, and the paradoxical feelings and stimulating sensations open simultaneous interpretations on the meaning of Human-Machine-Interaction. Through nature inspired design like human spine, flexible muscle of mollusca and a caterpillar’s undulating wave motion, these pliable structures were fabricated with 3D printed meta-materials to create the sensual gestures.
Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, 2017
Food 3D printing is getting the spotlight by offering the opportunity to customize food appearanc... more Food 3D printing is getting the spotlight by offering the opportunity to customize food appearances, textures, and flavors that are troublesome to make by hand. In additive manufacturing, machines extrude ingredients into a certain shape, however, they cannot be applied to all types of food, such as mandu (Korean dumpling). In this pictorial, we extend the research on digital gastronomy by using digital fabrication to create custom tools that assist the process of cooking. We present the iterative process of designing the "Ori-mandu" system, and how Ori-mandu enables users to fabricate dumplings in whatever shape they want.
Products are typically aesthetically appreciated using multiple of our senses. However, studying ... more Products are typically aesthetically appreciated using multiple of our senses. However, studying the aspects that influence multi-sensory product aesthetics is complicated because of the interaction of visual and tactile product properties, such as form and material, which underlie the aesthetic experience. Illustrated by our ongoing study on the tactile and visual aesthetic appreciation of tangible products, we demonstrate a design research methodology that is highly suitable for studying the influence of material and shape properties. Using state-of-the-art 3D-printing techniques, modular and variety through changes in form and material. The modular approach of designing stimuli, in which form and material properties are customizable through the use of exchangeable components, offers a way in which multisensory aesthetics can be effectively experienced and researched. Such an approach follows the designer’s natural methodology of designing, results in realistic stimuli, and gives ...
"Serial paintings" are a series of works highlighting the role of the canvas - or more ... more "Serial paintings" are a series of works highlighting the role of the canvas - or more generally the support of the painting - in the construction of the final form. "Back and Forth - Pneumatic Anadrome" is the first work in the series. In it, a string of coloured beads is pushed back and forth between two spiralling "canvases" using compressed air. Without rearranging the order of the beads, the string is forced to coil alternatively into one or the other spiral: this folding and unfolding reveals in turn images or text with opposing meanings or connotations. Each image has to be destroyed in order to create the other; this cyclic process of creation and destruction is purposefully revealed and triggered by the curiosity of the public.
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 2021
A well-designed workplace has a direct and significant impact on our work experiences and product... more A well-designed workplace has a direct and significant impact on our work experiences and productivity. In this paper, we investigate how office interior layouts influence the way we socially experience office buildings. We extend the previous work that examined static social formations of office workers by looking at their dynamic movements during informal desk visiting interactions. With a month of video data collected in the office, we implemented a vision-based analysis system that enables us to examine how people occupy space in social contexts in relation to desk configurations. The results showed that both social territoriality and approach path highlight social comfort in human-building interactions, which are different from efficiency or path optimization. From these findings, we propose the concepts of socio-spatial comfort: social buffers, privacy buffers, and varying proxemics to inform a user-centered way of designing human building interactions and architecture.
Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 2017
Figure 1. With Spatial Physical Computing (SPC) data processing modules are deployed in space and... more Figure 1. With Spatial Physical Computing (SPC) data processing modules are deployed in space and programmed with simple physical actions. Our prototype modules are battery powered and communicate wirelessly to form long range smart sensor/actuator networks. An example scenario is shown on the left: a proximity sensor generate events as a door opens, and a non-collocated accumulator module counts and display them.
Recent studies in cognitive linguistics have demonstrated that objects are conceptualised in term... more Recent studies in cognitive linguistics have demonstrated that objects are conceptualised in terms of the actions they afford, i.e., in terms of their spatial-functional meaning. Since our interactions are constrained by the structure of our body, these studies view conceptualisation as essentially embodied. In this paper we argue that an object's abstract/figurative meaning is also embodied in that it is grounded in patterns of recurrent interactions with our environment, referred to as image schemas. On the basis of the spatial, relational structure of three such image schemas, two everyday products, a jug and an alarm clock, were systematically varied on form dimensions. Experiment 1 showed that participants with a background in design relate abstract characteristics to the form changes in the way predicted. To rule out the possibility that the relations uncovered are due to learned associations, a replication of the experiment was conducted with nai ve participants (experiment 2), leading to highly similar results. In experiment 3, we tested the cross-cultural consistency of our findings by performing a second replication with Brazilian participants. The results of this experiment were only partly in line with our predictions, suggesting that cultural differences in interacting with the environment to some degree affect our understanding of the abstract meaning of objects.
We introduce a sketch-based 3D modeling system using Virtual Reality (VR) with a Head Mounted Dis... more We introduce a sketch-based 3D modeling system using Virtual Reality (VR) with a Head Mounted Display (HMD). The system enables users to sketch freely 3D objects in various colors, arrange and situate the objects in the environment and finally export the virtual objects into a 3D file for fabrication. We evaluated the system in a small workshop with users, and the system was found to have a possibility for rapid ideation and for spatially conceptualizing ideas.
Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016
Figure 1. Mirror Mirror is a design system that combines Spatial Augmented Reality with a mirror ... more Figure 1. Mirror Mirror is a design system that combines Spatial Augmented Reality with a mirror display. Virtual garments are visible in the mirror reflection (a) as well as on the body (b). Multi user interaction is supported (c, d) and designs are readily printed (e).
Conference Companion Publication of the 2019 on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing
Understanding natural human behaviours in-the-wild are highly valued in HCI and CSCW communities.... more Understanding natural human behaviours in-the-wild are highly valued in HCI and CSCW communities. However, it is challenging to collect and analyze the field data due to public privacy. We present Skeletonographer, the tool that supports anonymous digital ethnography studies using skeletonized representations of people. Our system utilizes computer vision techniques to generate and visualize skeletons from video. Users can play back the skeleton data similar to a video player, and apply custom labels for analysis. We applied this tool to our project as a case study, and proved its feasibility to act as an ethnographic research tool.
In the early stage of product design, designers make fluid and extensive use of external represen... more In the early stage of product design, designers make fluid and extensive use of external representations to support their creative process. Sketching and modeling are used to quickly explore a product’s shape and configuration. Material aspects of a product are, in comparison, explored completely different, and are selected rather than created. Colors, textures and graphics, are selected by examples found in existing products, samples, or while browsing magazines or the web. We have developed a creative design technique in which we have designers do exactly the opposite. In a two-hour session designers “create” materials in a quick and playful way, while they "select" the spatial arrangement of the product out of a discrete set of shapes. We report of two workshops in industry where we applied this technique. In each workshop we used the materials designers already had, e.g. their moodboards, models, example products, and collections of visual materials. Based on the consi...
User-centered design processes are comprised of several methods and are deployed to gain insights... more User-centered design processes are comprised of several methods and are deployed to gain insights about user needs and experiences. Many of these methodologies require qualitative studies with small groups of users based on set guidelines and are time and resource intensive. In this paper, we propose a new technique: “User Review Analysis” that makes use of big data to uncover user needs. The technique consists of collecting and analyzing online User Reviews on shopping sites such as Amazon. The basic idea is that because of the fast and cyclic nature of consumer products development, reviews of Today’s products inform designers on the next product generation. As the data is based on actual product-use experience with similar products, the aggregated insights provide product-in-use experience and brings to light several product design aspects and complement the existing methods. User Reviews; User-Centered Design Method; Product Experience; Currently, the relationship between design...
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Papers by Daniel Saakes