Interaction is very broad, but the way that I’ve come to define it is, an action from a user followed from a response from certain object. The reason I see it this broad is because instead of just defining interaction to a confined definition, I see it more as a open definition that can in turn be seen in terms of levels of interaction.
When researching projects for inspiration for our group project, two really stuck out to me in the way that the interact with the user, as well as the way that it can benefit the user. These were TAMI, an interface that helps students better understand calculus, with both physical elements as well as a digital display, as well as the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset. As Crawford states in his book Art of Interactivity, there are degrees to interaction, and these two projects are perfect examples of those. TAMI I would consider to have a very high level of interaction, since it combines both physical and digital elements to it’s interface, as well as the interaction of knowledge that the user gains when using the product. It’s very high level interaction allows for students to better understand the intricacies of graphing certain formulas, because it allows the user to interact with the product in different ways in which the user feels fit. The oculus on the other hand is a little bit lower in level in interaction as a product itself, since it can only show you the view of what you are doing, but it shows how if one can combine the oculus with other types of technologies, one can reach a higher form of interaction.
Our group project was called Knowledge Transmitter 2.0, since the first one killed someone due to some malfunctions, showing how even 100 years in the future there are still missteps with technology. The device is meant to transfer the information from books into ones brain, as to gain that new information and use it to create new ideas. The device transfers all the information from the book into ones head, but that information disappears from one’s memory unless bought again, making the seller make more money.
I would consider this project to have a high level of interaction since, just like reading a book, there is a transference of information from one object to another, and the output is what the user does with that information, as well as the information that the user chose to receive. Just like when one learns something new, it is up to them to come up with how they want to use this new information and for what purpose could it serve to better themselves interact with the information given as well as what they want to forge their output of that information and knowledge.
Works Cited:
Crawford. “What Exactly Is Interactivity.” The Art of Interactivity, pp. 1–6.
https://www.creativeapplications.net/openframeworks/tami-an-intuitive-approach-to-the-learning-of-trigonometry/
https://www.oculus.com/?locale=en_US