Year

2018

Deliverables

Reseport paper
Prototype
Video

Expertise Area

User & Society
Technology & Realization
Creativity & Aesthetics

Tangible and Embodied Interaction

In this course project I worked on the Colorado printer graphical user interface (GUI) for operating print jobs. I worked in a team. The main disadvantage of this interface is that print operators have to perform multiple actions before being able to complete their goal. Printer settings are hidden behind icons which can only be accessed by an enforced sequential interaction. As mentioned by Dourish and Button, interactional problems in HCI lie in the way activities are obscured from the user's view. This inhibits print operators to organize their actions. Our design team proposes a tangible user interface (TUI), called Print Station, to enhance human interaction with the design system. The Print Station includes the same functionalities as the current GUI. However, I used Dourish and Fitzmaurice described characteristics and properties of tangible interfaces for making dedicated design choices that will enrich the current HCI.

My reflection about the project

This challenge was interesting one for me. I had the chance to work for a well known client in this case, which I found really exciting. In this project I Was able to use my 3D modeling skill to help create the CAD for 3D printing. Furthermore because of the tangible nature of the project I was able to help and create the tangible prototype to deliver a nice demonstration.

Despite there not being too much business involved in the project, this was a creative experience in also using a 1e person perspective while designing and it developed me in my User & Society area by giving me another tool to use.

The final design during this course was done with a question at center point at some of the decisions made during the process. Is this a valuable application of TEI and why? Currently the design consisted only of tangible bodies with which the user can interact. If this actually created value or more value than in the current situation for operators, is up for discussion as it isn’t that simple to say that it does. The design was made with the workflow of operators in mind as well as the strengths of TEI. However just because it utilizes the strengths, it doesn’t mean it is more useful or valuable than the current interaction and design that they use.