“Interaction” to me means how two participants work and influence each other, or how one participant responds to another participant’s input. The Art of Interactive Design most clearly defines interaction as “a cyclic process in which two actors alternately listen, think, and speak,” through comparing the act of interaction similar to a conversation (5). More precisely, however, interaction is typically composed of three steps: input, output, and processing, as outlined in Introduction to Physical Computing (Igoe & O’Sullivan, 20).
One example of an interactive project is the teamLab’s Infinity of Flowers, where viewers can touch the artwork and see the flowers dance. When one participant is doing an action, the artwork is responding to the participant’s input. One example of a non-interactive project would be the ARC poster board, where fellows pin their names to their respective rooms. One participant is working to change the board, but the board is not actively responding and interacting with their actions. TeamLab Borderless’ exhibition more closely aligns with the definition of interaction as both participants are interacting with each other, instead of it being a one-sided interchange.
The most important component of defining interactivity is how there are two people involved, who collectively react with each other. The visitors interacting with the exhibition portrays “a cyclic process in which there are two actors that alternately” interact with one another, as defined by Chris Crawford in The Art of Interactive Design (5).
My group proposed to design FitBox, an interactive fitness partner device that is capable of correcting improper form or posture when working out through the use of a modern hologram of a fitness trainer. FitBox is additionally capable of being the emotional support for you to continue the workout, as a way of encouraging you to finish your exercise routine. FitBox is targeted towards people that do not have the means for an actual physical trainer, nor the time to go to the gym to workout. They are instead able to workout from the comfort of their home, or whatever environment they feel most comfortable working in. FitBox interacts with the person working out to improve and maximize upon their exercise experience; if they were to continue working out incorrectly, it would undeniably injure their body in the long run. Users tap the button to power the machine, then interact with FitBox using voice commands to select the function they would like to utilize. Then, during the routine, the device interacts with the person working out, scanning and analyzing points of interest along the body to determine if they are working out correctly. For the moral support feature of FitBox, the device interacts with the person to boost their morale during their performance. The two participants, FitBox and the one performing the physical exercise, are working together and influencing each other, to enhance the exercise performance. The FitBox responds to the user’s input by scanning their movements, and the user responds to FitBox’s input by correcting their form and matching themselves to the hologram.
