Stories of Herbs is a visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory VR experience around the theme of herbs. Our goal is to advance the understanding of how smell can be used actively in our interactions within VR. Specifically, we use physical objects – a mortar and pestle - with which participants actively create smell as part of their action in a corresponding world within VR. In the current experiment participants crush mint leaves, and corresponding virtual leaves guide their attention to an animated story about mint. We examined how enjoyment, recollection of the story, the experienced connection between physical and virtual, and the perceived role of smell were influenced by crushing real mint leaves or odorless paper ‘leaves’. Initial findings from an exploratory study with 15 participants show that the smell was a positive element in the experience, that participants in both the odor and odorless groups experienced a strong connection between the physical and digital elements, and that while some participants felt that smell helped them remember the story, the smell may have contributed to a sensory load that took attention away from the story.

We present an embodied conversational assistant (CA) designed specifically for a learning space. We first relate the attributes of our learning space and the needs and opportunities that led to the creation of our CA. We then describe its main qualities, including the mutual assistance designed between the CA and its users. We present a visual narrative of the process of designing and implementing the CA prototype, including scenario building, form making, interaction design, engineering, and textile design. We describe the working prototype and initial trials with students. Finally, we discuss the rich potential of designing embodied CAs for specific learning spaces.

We present “Plantimus”, an external sensory enhancement device that enables children to ‘hear’ plants. By embedding a digital layer on top of the physical world, we encourage children to step-out and reflect upon our inherent connection to nature as well as our responsibility towards it. Aimed to develop abstract thinking and self-exploration, the Plantimus is a two-piece device resembling a stethoscope, that generates different sounds when directed towards plants. The design process, as well as the technical implementation are described in detail. Insights from the initial user testing are presented, showing that children react positively to the experience of ‘hearing’ plants; and that the experience is also intriguing to adults. Future work involves advancing the plant recognition method and the specificity of the plant-sound relationship and testing the device within new scenarios of use.

We present "Sew-Flow", a craft interpretation of the Digital Game "Flow Free" that is played on smartphones and computers. In Sew-Flow the screen is replaced by a fabric interface that is played by a process of sewing with conductive yarn. Feedback to the game play is presented by thermo-chromic colors that gradually appear. We lay out the motivations for slowing down the game experience and moving it into the material world. The crafting of the game elements and the game experience are described in detail, as well as the technological implementation. Insights from initial trials are described, showing that children and adults perceived the game in different ways. Future directions involve solving a number of challenges involving the thermo-chromic materials and conductive yarn.

We describe a novel controller for a remote controlled (R/C) car. The controller is a small car-shaped toy which is used for controlling the larger toy car. In this avatar-inspired relationship between controller and controlled, operations performed on the small car are implemented by the larger car. The cArVATAR addresses limitations of the traditional R/C, and is proposed as an alternative allowing younger children to use R/C toys. Details of the prototype and observations from an exploratory study performed with five children aged 6 to 7 are presented, and possible applications to other products and domains are discussed.

Cubes is a collection of 20 objects combing a single input with a single output. Cubes celebrates the potential of simple tangible interactions for engagement and pleasure. By fixing the form of these interactive objects into the simplest one: a cube, we can explore affordances and behavior in a "lab-like" environment. A new aesthetic language is created by making the cubes transparent, equally sized and self-contained.