Overview: 

As an IT research agenda, the Internet of Things (IoT) is often framed according to technical and economic issues, such as protocols, standards, job-creation potential, etc. We argue that IoT also constitutes a cultural and aesthetic vision, that is, a projected image of urban- or region-scale beauty, in which lives are pursued in more meaningful and fulfilling ways than before. Aesthetic IoT is not a matter of making device surfaces more pretty, but of thinking deeply about the ways it will shape how we live. In this project, we analyze a policy intended to beautify a major city in Asia alongside aesthetic interpretations of two design initiatives contemporaneous with it: an agricultural IoT project that proposes a computationally enabled new intimacy between humans and their land, and a kitchen design company that innovates not only on manufacturing materials but also on the aesthetic conventions needed for consumers to recognize those material properties as beautiful.

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Methods: 

• Multi-sited ethnography

• Design inventory

• Design criticism

• Close reading

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Results: ​​

• Increase consumer adoption and acceptance of IoT devices by reflecting their cultural values and regional needs.

• Support cultures of making, hacking, DIY, and crowdsourcing to encourage product ownership, expand product lifespan, and reduce consumer waste.

• Advocate for traditionally underserved and marginalized communities to support inclusion, accessibility, and social justice. 

 

Collaborators:

Shaowen Bardzell, Jeffrey Bardzell (both research managers). 

 

Publications: 

• Jeffrey Bardzell, Shaowen Bardzell, and Szu-Yu (Cyn) Liu. (2018). “Beautifying IoT: The Internet of Things as a Cultural Agenda”. Social Internet of Things. Alessandro Soro, Margot Brereton, and Paul Roe (ed.). Springer.

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*This project was funded by the National Science Foundation (US) and the Ministry of Education, Taiwan.