Biosensing and Actuation—Platforms Coupling Body Input-Output Modalities for Affective Technologies

Research in the use of ubiquitous technologies, tracking systems and wearables within mental health domains is on the rise. In recent years, affective technologies have gained traction and garnered the interest of interdisciplinary fields as the research on such technologies matured. However, while...

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Main Authors: Miquel Alfaras, William Primett, Muhammad Umair, Charles Windlin, Pavel Karpashevich, Niaz Chalabianloo, Dionne Bowie, Corina Sas, Pedro Sanches, Kristina Höök, Cem Ersoy, Hugo Gamboa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/21/5968
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language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Miquel Alfaras
William Primett
Muhammad Umair
Charles Windlin
Pavel Karpashevich
Niaz Chalabianloo
Dionne Bowie
Corina Sas
Pedro Sanches
Kristina Höök
Cem Ersoy
Hugo Gamboa
spellingShingle Miquel Alfaras
William Primett
Muhammad Umair
Charles Windlin
Pavel Karpashevich
Niaz Chalabianloo
Dionne Bowie
Corina Sas
Pedro Sanches
Kristina Höök
Cem Ersoy
Hugo Gamboa
Biosensing and Actuation—Platforms Coupling Body Input-Output Modalities for Affective Technologies
Sensors
human-computer interaction
affective technologies
interaction design
biosensing
actuation
somaesthetics
author_facet Miquel Alfaras
William Primett
Muhammad Umair
Charles Windlin
Pavel Karpashevich
Niaz Chalabianloo
Dionne Bowie
Corina Sas
Pedro Sanches
Kristina Höök
Cem Ersoy
Hugo Gamboa
author_sort Miquel Alfaras
title Biosensing and Actuation—Platforms Coupling Body Input-Output Modalities for Affective Technologies
title_short Biosensing and Actuation—Platforms Coupling Body Input-Output Modalities for Affective Technologies
title_full Biosensing and Actuation—Platforms Coupling Body Input-Output Modalities for Affective Technologies
title_fullStr Biosensing and Actuation—Platforms Coupling Body Input-Output Modalities for Affective Technologies
title_full_unstemmed Biosensing and Actuation—Platforms Coupling Body Input-Output Modalities for Affective Technologies
title_sort biosensing and actuation—platforms coupling body input-output modalities for affective technologies
publisher MDPI AG
series Sensors
issn 1424-8220
publishDate 2020-10-01
description Research in the use of ubiquitous technologies, tracking systems and wearables within mental health domains is on the rise. In recent years, affective technologies have gained traction and garnered the interest of interdisciplinary fields as the research on such technologies matured. However, while the role of movement and bodily experience to affective experience is well-established, how to best address movement and engagement beyond measuring cues and signals in technology-driven interactions has been unclear. In a joint industry-academia effort, we aim to remodel how affective technologies can help address body and emotional self-awareness. We present an overview of biosignals that have become standard in low-cost physiological monitoring and show how these can be matched with methods and engagements used by interaction designers skilled in designing for <i>bodily engagement</i> and <i>aesthetic</i> experiences. Taking both strands of work together offers unprecedented design opportunities that inspire further research. Through <i>first-person soma design</i>, an approach that draws upon the designer’s felt experience and puts the sentient body at the forefront, we outline a comprehensive work for the creation of novel interactions in the form of couplings that combine biosensing and body feedback modalities of relevance to affective health. These couplings lie within the creation of design toolkits that have the potential to render rich embodied interactions to the designer/user. As a result we introduce the concept of “<i>orchestration</i>”. By orchestration, we refer to the design of the overall interaction: coupling sensors to actuation of relevance to the affective experience; initiating and closing the interaction; habituating; helping improve on the users’ body awareness and engagement with emotional experiences; soothing, calming, or energising, depending on the affective health condition and the intentions of the designer. Through the creation of a range of prototypes and couplings we elicited requirements on broader orchestration mechanisms. First-person soma design lets researchers look afresh at biosignals that, when experienced through the body, are called to reshape affective technologies with novel ways to interpret biodata, feel it, understand it and reflect upon our bodies.
topic human-computer interaction
affective technologies
interaction design
biosensing
actuation
somaesthetics
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/21/5968
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AT muhammadumair biosensingandactuationplatformscouplingbodyinputoutputmodalitiesforaffectivetechnologies
AT charleswindlin biosensingandactuationplatformscouplingbodyinputoutputmodalitiesforaffectivetechnologies
AT pavelkarpashevich biosensingandactuationplatformscouplingbodyinputoutputmodalitiesforaffectivetechnologies
AT niazchalabianloo biosensingandactuationplatformscouplingbodyinputoutputmodalitiesforaffectivetechnologies
AT dionnebowie biosensingandactuationplatformscouplingbodyinputoutputmodalitiesforaffectivetechnologies
AT corinasas biosensingandactuationplatformscouplingbodyinputoutputmodalitiesforaffectivetechnologies
AT pedrosanches biosensingandactuationplatformscouplingbodyinputoutputmodalitiesforaffectivetechnologies
AT kristinahook biosensingandactuationplatformscouplingbodyinputoutputmodalitiesforaffectivetechnologies
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spelling doaj-7e7fec8b60464ffe945dc582f7dff1e32020-11-25T03:03:04ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202020-10-01205968596810.3390/s20215968Biosensing and Actuation—Platforms Coupling Body Input-Output Modalities for Affective TechnologiesMiquel Alfaras0William Primett1Muhammad Umair2Charles Windlin3Pavel Karpashevich4Niaz Chalabianloo5Dionne Bowie6Corina Sas7Pedro Sanches8Kristina Höök9Cem Ersoy10Hugo Gamboa11PLUX Wireless Biosignals, Avenida 5 de Outubro 70, 1050-059 Lisboa, PortugalPLUX Wireless Biosignals, Avenida 5 de Outubro 70, 1050-059 Lisboa, PortugalComputing and Communications Department, InfoLab21, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4WA, UKDivision of Media Technology and Interaction Design, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 8, 114 28 Stockholm, SwedenDivision of Media Technology and Interaction Design, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 8, 114 28 Stockholm, SwedenComputer Engineering Department, Boğaziçi University, Rumeli Hisarı, 34470 Sarıyer/Istanbul, TurkeyComputing and Communications Department, InfoLab21, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4WA, UKComputing and Communications Department, InfoLab21, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4WA, UKDivision of Media Technology and Interaction Design, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 8, 114 28 Stockholm, SwedenDivision of Media Technology and Interaction Design, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 8, 114 28 Stockholm, SwedenComputer Engineering Department, Boğaziçi University, Rumeli Hisarı, 34470 Sarıyer/Istanbul, TurkeyDepartamento de Física, LIBPhys FCT—UNL Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Largo da Torre, 2825-149 Caparica, PortugalResearch in the use of ubiquitous technologies, tracking systems and wearables within mental health domains is on the rise. In recent years, affective technologies have gained traction and garnered the interest of interdisciplinary fields as the research on such technologies matured. However, while the role of movement and bodily experience to affective experience is well-established, how to best address movement and engagement beyond measuring cues and signals in technology-driven interactions has been unclear. In a joint industry-academia effort, we aim to remodel how affective technologies can help address body and emotional self-awareness. We present an overview of biosignals that have become standard in low-cost physiological monitoring and show how these can be matched with methods and engagements used by interaction designers skilled in designing for <i>bodily engagement</i> and <i>aesthetic</i> experiences. Taking both strands of work together offers unprecedented design opportunities that inspire further research. Through <i>first-person soma design</i>, an approach that draws upon the designer’s felt experience and puts the sentient body at the forefront, we outline a comprehensive work for the creation of novel interactions in the form of couplings that combine biosensing and body feedback modalities of relevance to affective health. These couplings lie within the creation of design toolkits that have the potential to render rich embodied interactions to the designer/user. As a result we introduce the concept of “<i>orchestration</i>”. By orchestration, we refer to the design of the overall interaction: coupling sensors to actuation of relevance to the affective experience; initiating and closing the interaction; habituating; helping improve on the users’ body awareness and engagement with emotional experiences; soothing, calming, or energising, depending on the affective health condition and the intentions of the designer. Through the creation of a range of prototypes and couplings we elicited requirements on broader orchestration mechanisms. First-person soma design lets researchers look afresh at biosignals that, when experienced through the body, are called to reshape affective technologies with novel ways to interpret biodata, feel it, understand it and reflect upon our bodies.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/21/5968human-computer interactionaffective technologiesinteraction designbiosensingactuationsomaesthetics