From an engineering perspective, sensors provide measurements of phenomena in the world. Sensor data might be noisy, biased or otherwise subject to error, and these labels presuppose the existence of an objective ground truth the sensor is intended to approximate. This paper explores an alternative look at sensor signals as situated observations entangled with the systems they seek to measure, where meaning can be carried in qualitative particulars rather than quantitative and statistical analyses. Karen Barad’s ‘agential realism’ [3] and Graham Harman’s ‘tool-being’ [29] inform our approach to understanding together with the sensors, which become co-investigators and co-creators of the subsequent knowledge. We illustrate our collaborative effort with the sensor through a case study where we examine sensor signals from a device designed to query the experience of woodcarving by making the experience unfamiliar. We seek a qualitative approach to knowledge (co-)creation with sensor data from a more-than-human perspective.

A one-size-fits-all design mentality, rooted in objective efficiency, is ubiquitous in our mass-production society. This can negate peoples’ experiences, bodies, and narratives. Ongoing HCI research proposes design for meaningful relations; but for many researchers, the practical implementation of these philosophies remains somewhat intangible. In this Studio, we playfully tackle this space by engaging with the nuances of soft, flexible, and organic materials, collectively designing probes to embrace plurality, embody meaning, and encourage soma-reflection. Focusing on materiality and practices from e-textiles, soft robotics, and biomaterials research, we address technology’s role as a mediator of our experiences and determiner of our realities. The processes and probes developed in this Studio will serve as an experiential manifesto, providing practitioners with tools to deepen their own practices for designing soma-reflective tangible and embodied interaction. The Studio will form the first steps for ongoing collaboration, focusing on bespoke design and curation of meaningful, personal relationships.

A shift in perspective is underway in design research and human-computer interaction (HCI) from humans as the centre of attention to considering complex assemblages of human and non-human stakeholders. While this shift is often approached from a broad ecological level, there is opportunity for a more local shift in understanding our day to day meeting with the material world. Drawing on the posthuman theories of Karen Barad, we explore the creation of a digital interactive system as a material-discursive practice in which matter and culture are inseparably entangled. We seek a fresh look at the process rather than the outcome of interactive system design through a diffractive reading of four traditional woodworking practices and an auto-ethnographic account of the development of a digital sensor and actuator apparatus as a way to find alternative ways of attending to materials in HCI.

This paper explores the process by which designers come to terms with an unfamiliar and ambiguous sensor material. Drawing on craft practice and material-driven interaction design, we developed a simple yet flexible sensor technology based on the movement of conductive elements within a magnetic field. Variations in materials and structure give rise to objects which produce a complex time-varying signal in response to physical interaction. Sonifying the signal yields nuanced and intuitive action-sound correspondences which nonetheless defy easy categorisation in terms of conventional types of sensors. We reflect on a craft-based exploration of the material by one of the authors, then report on two workshops with groups of designers of varying background. Through examining the objects produced and the experience of the participants, we explore the tension between tacit and explicit understanding of unfamiliar materials and the ways that material thinking can create new design opportunities.