Overview: 

Smart materials foresee huge potential but are not commonly used in our everyday products. To date, materials remain passive to the context and are widely recognized as a “not-so-smart” skin. To guide the exploration of using smart materials in everyday objects, we propose the theoretical framework "sensorial interaction", which focuses on the expression (input through embedded sensors) and the effect of that expression (output through physical manifestation) rather than the computation process per se. 

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Methods: ​​

• Contextual tracing

• Artifact analysis

• Literature review

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Results: ​​

• Guide the development of wearables that reflect the multisensory experience of individuals and intuitively fit into the users' workflow. This transforms the way people interact with information to help increase productivity, reduce cognitive loads, and create immersive interactive experiences.

• Enable all users, regardless of their different sensory disabilities and functional limitations, to access, interact, and stay informed with information. 

 

Collaborators: 

Daniel Alenquer (research manager), Tung-Jen Tsai (design researcher).

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Publications:

Szu-Yu (Cyn) Liu, Tung-Jen Tsai, Daniel Alenquer. 2016. Exploring Computational Composite: An Approach to Sensorial Interaction. In Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing Companion: CSCW ‘16. (Extended Abstract and Poster).