Sarah Chung personal project

To me interaction is like a conversation: it is two-sided, there is a cause and effect. There is an input (listening) and an output as a result of the input (responding). This definition was inspired by Crawford’s article, “The Art of Interaction”. In this text he defines interaction as “a cyclic process in which two actors alternatively listen, think and speak.” (5) However when it comes to high-level interaction I believe interaction is much more than just input and output, its definition relies more on the steps between the input and output, the process of understanding also proves vital. This idea was introduced to me by a picture titled “How Computers sees us” in Igoe and O’sullivan’s “Introduction to Physical Computing”. This figure depicts a finger with two ears and an eye. Unlike computers we are capable of both emotional and physical interaction which transcends just basic input and output.

            One project that inspired my definition of interaction is the game ‘HIT ME!’. In this game two players have a helmet with a buzzer on their head and the first player to hit the other’s buzzer wins. This game was a good example of interaction to me because it encouraged human to human physical interaction. There was a cause and effect, and input and output. To win the game when one player moved the other moves away to avoid getting hit. Not only did it encourage interaction between players spectators were also interacting with the technology by watch, commentating, laughing etc. Another project that also inspired me was a project done by a Japanese robotics firm that “helps people move and strengthens signal pathways between the brain and muscles” (CNN). The project is named Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) and works as a “wearable cyborg” for persons with disabilities and injuries. In this project it allowed not only for interactivity between the machines and the person but also easier interaction between the user and other persons/their environment. I believe that the HAL project is a better representation of interaction than HIT ME! because the machine itself process information at a higher capacity than that of the HIT ME! which is simply a button connected to a camera and buzzer. The HAL requires continuous input as well as processing to provide useful and complex outputs.

            My group project was titled “The Heal-O-Matic 5000” and used facial and handprint scanning to dispense medication to persons in need. The idea around this project was the use of interactive technology to 1) make everyday life more convenient 2) allow healthcare to be more easily accessible to the public. The machine is intended to allow typically over the counter or low dose medication to be available without having to take time off work/school to go to the doctor or pharmacy. This machine is not intended to make doctors obsolete however allows patients with minor conditions (such as the common cold or body aches) to quickly be diagnosed and treated.

            The machine fulfills interaction as it takes the user’s data (temperature, symptoms etc.) and processes that information to dispense the correct dosage and type of medication. There is an input (user’s information) and output (medication as well as voice assistant) as well as processing and understanding between the two steps.

Citations

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cnn.com_2019_09_18_health_japan-2Dcyberdyne-2Dbrain-2Dwave-2Dexoskeleton-2Dwellness-2Dscn-2Dhnk-2Dintl_index.html&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=LpH1jja9Hudffm5UnufJZA&m=1_dNpT_yx6cHdKzqqCfeJ0JcZMJBjl-TsvYOHNJwXFo&s=5b_1qR-AyWHf7TctMMBKOh34XA4Gj4Nq8KHOKSYcGRM&e=

Crawford, “What Exactly is Interactivity,” The Art of Interactive Design, pp 1-5