Making Playful Interfaces for Serious Content

June 8-14, 2002

Instructor

Slavko Milekic, M.D., PhD, Associate Professor of Cognitive Science & Digital Design, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, USA

Summary

In this workshop we will play with the design and building of non-traditional interface solutions, ranging from voice and gesture interaction to controlling the application with your mind! Using the current research findings from the areas of cognitive science, interface design and social psychology you will learn how to prototype and evaluate alternative interaction mechanisms with your content. Special emphasis will be made on alternative interactions with Web-based content. No previous programming experience required. A creative and open mind is a prerequisite.

The goal of this workshop is twofold:

a) to expose you to the current research findings in the area of cognitive science, interface design and social psychology relevant for the design of interactive media, and
b) to demonstrate a series of non-traditional interface solutions, ranging from voice and gesture interaction to controlling the application with your mind;

The workshop will be conducted in eight three-hour sessions, roughly half of which will be devoted to hands-on demonstrations. Previous scripting/programming experience is not a necessary prerequisite for this workshop. By the end of the workshop you will be acquainted with the wide spectrum of alternative interaction possibilities and will be able to design and evaluate non-traditional interfaces for various applications. Special emphasis will be made on designing interaction with Web-based content.

The topics that will be covered in individual sessions are listed below. Although theoretical and hands-on sessions will be presented in alternating fashion, they are listed sequentially for clarity.

Theoretical/illustrative sessions:

I. Conceptual background.
Virtualization. Implications of global virtualization trends for cultural heritage information.

II. The concept of interaction.
Interactive media. Authoring environments for interactive media. Design of new pedagogical tools based on the unique properties of the digital medium.

III. Interaction devices.
Conceptual & physical barriers to building alternative interaction environments. Local interaction. Global interaction. Collaborative knowledge building/discovery.

IV. The future of interactive media.
Adaptive interface design. Responding to viewer's intention.

Hands-on sessions:

1. Working on flat surfaces.
Pseudo 3D layouts. Interaction using touch & pressure. Gesture and motion capture using flat surfaces. Haptic interfaces.

2. Moving away from the surface.
Presence sensing. Proximity sensors. Motion & gesture detection. Gesture-based browsing.

3. Interaction using body movements.
Creating 'smart' spaces. Multiple user interaction. Creating immerse and adaptive environments. Supporting knowledge building and transfer.

4. Intention-based interaction.
Eye- and gaze-tracking. Detecting and reacting to user's emotions.