Wherever there is light, there is shadow — an inevitable immaterial material, with an undeniable presence in interaction gestalt. Inspired by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s book In Praise of Shadows, we report on our journey towards building a sensibility and somaesthetic appreciation for shadows physically, metaphorically, and poetically. To investigate the idea of cultivating attentiveness to shadows, we embarked on a “dérive”-inspired adventure, gathering first-person perceptions and photographs of tables. We analysed these examples of tables and their shadows in order to inform the development of a project on interactive tables. Along with the artifact collection, we present a set of concepts, an initial prototype, and reflections on our own experience in developing this sensibility. We discuss shadows as a design material and an example of a design sensibility: a skill that can be sparked, fostered, and ultimately embedded.

Tables are a ubiquitous piece of furniture, a familiar sight in most environments from intimate to public. The dimensions of social interplay surrounding every single table are profoundly complex. In our project, we lift the importance of the neglected space under the table through the playful development of a tangible prototype. We approached this by a design remake of the Mediated Body: a wearable prototype encouraging touch between strangers using the conductivity of the skin. Instead, we leverage the familiarity of tables as a means to encourage playful explorations of bare-skin touch. We report in visual and textual form on the emerging design knowledge throughout our design process, including first-person narratives by the designers. We contribute with (1) a series of counterfactual table artifacts inspired by the Mediated Body; (2) a sequence of participant studies analysed through reflexive thematic analysis and summarised into the notion of “an odd invitation” as a new lens for homo explorens; and (3) an appeal to the importance of design remakes for research-through-design.

In this paper, we motivate and introduce a novel concept in using a tangible prototype with the intention of creating a new type of relationship between a plant and its owner. The HoneyPot uses ambient light to create a cozy vibe and atmosphere to evoke pleasant emotions as an attempt to reduce isolation issues in adolescent populations. By remotely connecting two pots, users can also stay socially connected to each other despite the physical distances separating them. After explaining our iterative design process and testing of the product, we discuss our results and the findings of four main themes regarding the usage of HoneyPot.

This paper introduces the ZenStem, an interactive prototype that facilitates meditation by visually guiding a user’s breathing pattern. The ZenStem links users’ breathing and heart rate to the irrigation of an indoor plant, as it will water the plant so long as the user can maintain a meditative state. Upon feedback from a pulse-sensing armband that the user’s heart rate has risen, it will initialize its light-based breathing guide to help the user re-enter their meditative state. We describe the ideation and prototyping process of the ZenStem, followed by the initial impressions gained from pilot evaluations with potential users. Based on impressions pertaining to the appearance and functionality of the ZenStem, we end by proposing future research directions and design suggestions.

The utilization of extra-robotic limbs to regain and extend motor abilities poses challenges. Nonetheless, the evidence suggesting the extension of these abilities without functional interference holds promise for the advancement of extra-robotic fingers or limbs. To gain insights into design improvement from diverse perspectives, we conducted a focus group study utilizing a prototype supernumerary robotic finger (SRF). The main purpose of the study is to gain knowledge on the current prototype, and then use the outcomes in a future co-designing process of SRF having the potential to be used as an assistive and augmented tool. Fifteen healthy subjects with an engineering background participated in the current study. We analyzed the collected data through a thematic analysis process to generate key design recommendations. These recommendations contain suggestions for designing for personal and social acceptance, adaptability, and multi-modal interaction. The results serve as a subset of future subsequent studies to be carried out with other stakeholders of the prototype, including patients, clinicians, and designers. Future work focuses on using the recommendations in a co-design process to inform the prototyping of SRF technologies supporting and extending motor abilities in upper limbs.

The spectrum of applications for social drones is broadening as they become an increasingly accessible technology. In order to expand on the immensely rich but poorly researched field of Human-Drone Interaction (HDI), we present a minimal, explorative, and anti-solutionist design. We describe the first steps of a Research through Design (RtD) project focused on the concept-driven exploration of an unlikely pairing: drones and breathing. We present Wisp, a micro-drone probe controlled by a user’s breath. Informed by experts on breathing, drawing inspiration from soma design, Wisp is described as platform for the development of defamiliarising views towards intimate somatic interactions between humans and drones. In this paper we describe the initial studies in a RtD development process, including expert interviews, prototyping, and informal evaluations. We contribute to the field of HDI with a design composite framework combining soma design and slow technology for exploratory somatic slow interactions between humans and drones.

We introduce Azalea: a design to enrich remote dialog by diminishing externalities, created through a process informed by somaesthetics. Azalea is a tactile cushion that envelops a smartphone running a bespoke app. A pair of Azaleas mediate an embodied co-experience between remote interlocutors via a motion-driven soundscape and audio-driven visuals. While most designs for enriching remote communication increase dimensionality and fidelity of modalities, Azalea diminishes distractions and serves an abstract medium for co-experiencing embodied information. We present the theoretical foundations and design tactics of Azalea, and characterize the experience through a qualitative empirical study. Our findings culminated in 12 qualities, supporting 5 themes with design implications that contribute to (1) a design ethos of diminished reality and (2) an expansion of somaesthetic HCI towards expression and communication.

Slow breathing guiding applications increasingly emerge, showing promise for helping knowledge workers to better cope with workaday stress. However, standard breathing guidance is non-interactive, with rigid paces. Despite their effects being proved, they could cause respiratory fatigue, or lack of training motivation, especially for novice users. To explore new design possibilities, we investigate using heart rate variability (HRV) data to mediate breathing guidance, which results in two HRV-enhanced guidance modes: (i) responsive breathing guidance and (ii) adaptive breathing guidance. These guidance modes are implemented on a soft haptic interface named “ViBreathe”. We conducted a user test (N = 24), and a one-week field deployment (N = 4) with knowledge workers, to understand the user experience of our design. The HRV-enhanced modes were generally experienced to reduce tiresome and improve engagement and comfort. And Vibreathe showed great potential for seamlessly weaving slow breathing practice into work routines. We thereby summarize related design insights and opportunities.