I initially saw interaction as two entities responding to one another. However, after reading Zach Lieberman’s reading and researching projects that incorporated interaction I had developed a deeper understanding of interaction. I came to understand interaction as being at least two actors expressing variable outputs that engage with one another and those outputs are interdependent on each other. There should be a level of exchanging in the process of interaction.
The two projects that I researched was “Alias” and the “EM Table”. The Alias is a teachable “parasite” that attaches to a smart assistant and the EM Table is a table that is able to light up fluorescent tubes within a short distance. To me, the Alias aligns with my definition of interaction because different levels of interaction are taking place. Through the app, the user is able to train the Alias to respond once a “wake-word or sound” is made. In response, the Alias turns on the home assistant when the sound is made. It also prevents the home assistant to from listening otherwise by interrupting its microphones. In all these interactions there is a response to the output. Every entity is working and responding to one another. However, the EM Table doesn’t quite align with my definition because, in the engagement between the table and the light the exchange is one-sided, they are not conversing with each other. Once the light is in the tables vicinity it turns on.
In our project, ClosetPod, we first solidified a group definition of interaction. Interaction in itself is a broad term and we wanted to make sure our project would fulfill all our perspectives on what interaction entailed. After laying the foundation of our project we wanted our project to be able to solve a real-world problem. We were inspired by sustainability since we believe Climate Change will surely still remain an issue in 100 years.
We all are guilty of spending too much money on clothes so as a group we thought “What if we didn’t have to purchase seasonal clothes every year” this will help both the environment and allow us to save money. And that is where our idea blossomed. We came up with the idea to create a portable Closet in which an individual can easily carry around. The clothing within the ClosetPod are able to detect the weather and change according to the weather. In this project many entities are working together and responding to one another. The user interacts with the ClosetPod and chooses what they want to wear, the ClosetPod responds by making the article of clothing available. When the user puts on the article of clothing the clothing interacts with the weather and alters accordingly. All the parts of the project are responding and conversing with one another. The action occurring depends on the action of the previous entity.