by edwin.lang -

Blog Post – Tangible STEM-Education

In this blogpost I want to give insights in the second of my two topics I researched during this semester. A concept for a hands-on exhibit in the context of science education.

Concept

Using the microscope as a reference for centuries of research, visitors will explore hidden information of objects by placing them under a modified microscope and looking through it.

The microscope as an invention to enlarge and discover details normally not seen by the human eye, gets therefore transformed into a hidden screen, displaying animations layered on top of the object in real time.

Explore

Visitors experience the research process in a playful way and explore hidden information about selected objects.

Physical Material

The Objects will have a reference to STEM-Education and be selected to fit different educational levels. They will be designed as slides normally put under microscopes. Depending on the size, objects will be cut in slices and protected by epoxy resin.

Participation

As only one person can look into the microscope, I also thought about alternative methods for displaying content. While still using the microscope as the primary display, one possibility would be to also project the content to a second display, visible to visitors walking by. However, by doing so technology gets visible what I try to avoid.

by edwin.lang -

Blog Post – Tangible Data Visualization

In this blogpost I want to give insights in the first of my two topics I researched during this semester. A concept for a hands-on exhibit in the context of science education.

Concept

A physical representation of an iceberg that will change its shape and texture according to the ongoing process of ice melting in real life because of climate change. Together with an interactive soundscape of ice cracking visitors get a multisensory experience.

Interactivity will either be realized by controlling the melting process by turning a wheel which symbolizes the time in years or voting on climate related questions by placing the hand on a reactive surface.

Texture

The texture being projected on the mesh will simulate the sun casting shadows on the lower parts of the iceberg. Furthermore, the texture will change as the shape changes and visualize the transition from ice to water and cracking ice sheets. Based on my interviews, a grayscale texture will be the preferred method if done in real time processing. If the textures will be pre rendered, further research and comparison on visibility between grayscale and color will be necessary.

Projection

The projection will be made from the ceiling. However, as in figure 1 shown, there are two possibilities to hide the beamer. While the first approach will mask the beamer with a lampshade the second will hide the beamer in the ceiling and project with the help of a mirror on top of the mesh.

Physical Material

The physical representation will be realized with sticks and an elastic mesh on top. The sticks will be connected to small motors that pull or push the stick individually. With this approach the shape can be changed and simulate the melting process.

A realization of the mechanics can be seen under the following link: https://vimeo.com/125111011#t=590s

by edwin.lang -

Workshop Week

This blogpost is about my experience I made in a workshop about “Tangible Scientific Concepts” and the Design Process it is based on. The Workshop was held by Carla Molins Pitarch who is based in Barcelona and currently finishing her PhD at the Pompeu Fabra University (Spain).

How can a code with only four letters (A, C, G, and T) create so many different proteins necessary for your body? Could we humans encode it better? The one-week workshop aims to question the current systems for encoding DNA and reconsider an infinite array of interactive visual systems with a hands-on approach and critical thinking.

In the following section I will describe the prototyping process of my group and outline what I learned during this intensive week.

The project was developed together with Theresa Dietinger and focuses on the exploration of the DNA Bases “Letters“ by trying out how the physical representations fit together.

First Phase: Ideation

In this phase we wrote all our ideas on a flipchart, clustered our interests and focused on one idea.

Second Phase: Testing

In this phase we created a wireframe prototype and performed the first user tests with our colleges to get new insights and discover problems we didn’t think of.

Third Phase: Prototyping

In this phase we developed the logical states needed to indicate whether the physical representations of the DNA Letters fit together. If the Letters don’t fit together (for example A and T) a red light will be switched on. If the Letters fit together (for example A and C) a green light will be switched.

Forth Phase: Final Prototype

Here you can see our finished prototype with the installed LEDs on both sides of the physical DNA Letters.

In this workshop I experienced the importance of simplifying complex topics as much as possible. Focusing on one specific part and making sure you don’t overwhelm your audience is the key to make them excited and raise interest for further reading at home.

by edwin.lang -

An Overview on existing Frameworks for Tangible User Interfaces

The following post gives insights into my research about existing frameworks for Tangible User Interfaces (TUI) in the context of museums, schools and public places. In total, I want to summarize five different papers published between the years 2006 and 2019 in which the authors developed different guidelines for designing TUIs.

Tangible User Interfaces in Learning and Education

This framework is designed for the application in schools and learning activities. The original model called “Cybergogy Model” by Wang and Kang was developed in 2006 for autonomous and collaborative learning in a virtual environment and consists only of three dimensions – emotion, cognition and social factors. The authors of “Tangible User Interfaces in Learning and Education” adapted this model and added a fourth dimension called body factors.

Getting a Grip on Tangible Interaction: A Framework on Physical Space and Social Interaction

This paper was published during the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) 2006 and focuses on the social interaction of TUIs. The authors provide concepts and perspectives for considering the social aspects of tangible interaction and summarize their ideas in the following framework.

Embodied Engagement with Narrative: A Design Framework for Presenting Cultural Heritage Artifacts

The authors have developed a framework called “Tangible and Embodied Narrative Framework (TENF)” providing a conceptual structure to design elements of physical engagement, narrative role, and narrative consequences. While the authors focus on creating an immersive experience in the field of cultural heritage artifacts, their concept could also be applied for various other use cases.

A Framework for Designing Interfaces in Public Settings

In this paper an analytic framework for public interfaces was developed, showing how current design approaches can be related through a few underlying concepts. It provides a range of examples – analyzing interfaces and studies of interaction especially from interactive art and performance. The framework acts as a way of mapping a design space, and as a series of constraints and strategies for a broad range of design communities.

Social Immersive Media: Pursuing Best Practices for Multi-user Interactive Camera/Projector Exhibits

The authors articulate philosophical goals, design principles, and interaction techniques that create strong emotional responses and social engagement through intuitive interaction. Their work builds on camera-based interactive research in interactive arts, tangible interfaces, and interactive games.

What is the language of this social medium? How do we control and modulate people’s responses and behavior? How can we design experiences for the greatest educational and cultural impact?

References:

“Tangible User Interfaces in Learning and Education” by Yuxia Zhou and Minjuan Wang (2015)

“Getting a Grip on Tangible Interaction: A Framework on Physical Space and Social Interaction” by Eva Hornecker and Jacob Buur (2006)

“Embodied Engagement with Narrative: A Design Framework for Presenting Cultural Heritage Artifacts” by Jean Ho Chu and Ali Mazalek (2019)

“A Framework for Designing Interfaces in Public Settings” by S. Reeves (2011)

“Social Immersive Media: Pursuing Best Practices for Multi-user Interactive Camera/Projector Exhibits” by Scott S. Snibbe and Hayes S. Raffle (2009)

by edwin.lang -

Current State and Outlook

Mind Map Update

I expanded the mind map by adding the topic “Tangible User Interfaces” which I already discussed in my previous post. Now the mind map consists of 84 sources and is categorized in 6 main topics. In the next semester I will continue with this format by adding new relevant sources as I see great value in it.

Here you can see the topic named “Tangible User Interfaces”, which has been added to the mind map recently:

Final Presentation

As this is the last blog post for this semester, I would like to take the opportunity and share the slides I made for my final presentation. By doing so, this not only gives a great overview of all the topics I did research on but also underlines my current vision and goals for the next semester.

The presentation will be presented in a very restricted format called “Pecha Kucha” and consists of 10 slides á 20 seconds. Despite being very challenging, this format forces me to condense my research topic even further.

So without further ado, here you can take a look at my final presentation:

DesignResearch1_Presentation_Final_Credits_EN

Vision

For the next Semester, I want to explore different media technologies to discover the
“sweet spot” between the digital and analog medium. Therefore I am looking forward to all the upcoming lectures giving me new insights into programs and concepts.