New Ecology of Things Project

Working on a proposal for my NET class, our big project is coming up. The assignment wants us to look at ways to de-homogenize (heterogenize?) activities which have all fallen into the traditional keyboard, mouse, and computer screen interactions.

“Typical computer interactions tend to be very similar – a person sitting at a desk, using a mouse and looking at a screen. In contrast, someone building a car in an auto factory has a completely different apparatus and environment than someone making pottery in a studio. Likewise each interaction with ubiquitous computing should aspire to fit into the context of the activitiy rather forcing the users into a default technology interface. Imagine that instead of millions of people sitting in similar chairs, at similar desks, using similar computers, each individual uses a system (physical objects & space, interfaces, activities, system behaviors, gestures, affordances, etc.) that makes sense for the activity they are doing right now.

This NET project should rethink how people communicate, work, or play using the ideas of NET, including productive, embodied, and mythological interaction. The project must incorporate some kind of distributed computation, where more than one object or space composes the whole project. This should involve remote sensors, effectors or other parts of system accessed through the network.“

I’ve been trying to think of different, physical ways users can do some of the same creative activities that they normally do on a laptop, only in a more interesting or beneficial way. I’ll often watch films, TV shows, and/or music videos for inspiration on a lot of projects. Granted I’m a sci-fi nerd so I do have a bit of a bias on what sources of inspiration I’ll draw from, but there’s generally a good amount of great content in science fiction. There’s always the Star Trek/Star Wars interactions of characters blindly pushing buttons on some console, but there’re other interactions that move away from this cliche.

Specifically, the newest Battlestar Galactica series. It’s set in an alternative future with the human race as a space-faring species living on multiple planets. An intelligent race of machines called Cylons has been created who eventually turn on the humans. The only way that one of the older space warships survives (called a Battlestar) is because its computer systems onboard aren’t networked. The Battlestar has a strange mix of old and new technology, where people still use phone intercome systems and paper printouts while ordering starfighters in intergalactic dogfights.

Dr. Know (from the film A.I.)

Minority Report is another, fairly obvious film referenced quite often for innovative interactions (or takes on them, rather). I, Robot and A.I. are also both looks on different technological interfaces, mainly in the form of robots, but there’re other bits like when the robot-boy, David, encounters “Dr. Know”.

Pip Boy (from the video game Fallout 3)

Several post-apocalyptic or retro-futuristic video games offer a great take on different interactions as well; thinking of ways which people would have to interact with technology without electrical computers controlling everything. Fallout 3’s PipBoy is one example (though it still has a screen), along with a great number of other weapons and gadgets in the game. BioShock shows an interesting way of “hacking” into mechanical devices by connecting different tubes together so a fluid will flow through in time. If data and information were actually liquids (in the physical sense), how would we interact with them?

Working within the constraints of creating present-day technology in a pre- or post-computer age seems to be a great way of inspiring new and innovative interactions. Adding in ubiquitous computing should also create some interesting ideas. Hopefully I can get at least 1 or 2 concepts from the mix for my proposal tomorrow.