Our group defines interaction as a continuous conversation between two or more corresponding elements. One of the operative words that we identified early on is “continuous.” To us, truly interactive projects should not have a “one-trick pony” so to speak, but rather sophisticated elements that continuously call and respond to each other. In this way, we also emphasized the term “conversation” because like a conversation, truly interactive elements should respond to each other naturally as opposed to having simple, set inputs and outputs that just loop. Crawford’s thoughts on this were very influential in the shaping of this definition. We agree that interaction involves listening, thinking, and speaking, and we are also interested in interactivity that, “has some blood in its veins” (Crawford 6).
A project we think is a good example of interaction is Firewall. The artist, Aaron Sherwood, is an IMA professor at NYU Abu Dhabi and definitely understands true interactivity. Firewall satisfies both the continuous and conversational aspects of our definition of interaction in that neither the input or output is set in stone. A user could move her hand quickly or slowly, with a lot or very little force etc. And while the Firewall’s reaction is somewhat predictable, it is not a simple open or close of a door or a light turning on or off–the elements themselves are already in play and are influenced by user input.
A project we feel is not as strong of an example of interaction is Click Canvas. While this seems like a nice project, it is very basic and it is not continuous nor is there a conversation. After a user clicks a button, the light turns on and that’s basically it. Unlike the Firewall, the buttons themselves are not active and once they are turned on, nothing else happens. There is no “conversation.”
Our project, The Katy Perry, fulfills our requirement’s needed for true interactivity. Constantly sensing body temperature, The Katy Perry is not simply an on/off, open/close device. It “listens” to the need and the input of its user, “thinks” about what that means, and “speaks” by changing the thermostat to the appropriate temperature. There is a constant conversation between the user and the device and fchanges naturally as needed. It is like the Firewall in that both actors are already functioning independent of one another, but when they do make contact, there is a call and response without set inputs or outputs. It is unlike the Click Canvas because there’s not simply one level of interaction, but rather a consistent flow of interaction.