1. Design Research on Social Things
© 2015, Jun Hu

2. Internet of Things
• "Beyond RFID - The internet of things”, “a world-wide network of
uniquely addressable interconnected objects, based on standard
communication protocols” (Eposs, 2008).
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3. Internet of Things
• Internet of Things
• As technology (sensors, actuators, controllers, Internet),
technology as material for design
• As a concept to be designed, and to inform technology
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4. Internet of Things
• Internet of Things
• As technology (sensors, actuators, controllers, Internet),
technology as material for design
• As a concept to be designed, and to inform technology
• Research questions
• How do we design using these technologies as material for interactive and intelligent
products and systems?
• What are the affordances of digitally enhanced things?
• How can design innovate the Internet of Things, and related systems and services?
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5. Internet of Things
• European Research Cluster on the IoT (BEUC/ANEC, 2008): the
internet of people
• Accenture (2008): Internet of Everyone
• “standard Internet protocols to allow for human-to-thing or thing-to-
thing communication”, hence, including the human element in the
very definition (Garcia-Morchon, 2011).
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6. Internet of things + Internet of People
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7. Social things
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8. Social things : Design Research?
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9. Design Research on Social Things
• “Internet of Social Things”, allowing the objects to have their own
social networks, enabled by communication technologies.
• “Internet of Social things” are further in connection with their
environments and users through sensors and actuators, forming a
“Social Internet of Things”.
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10. Design Research on Social Things
• “Internet of Social Things”, allowing the objects to have their own
social networks, enabled by communication technologies.
• “Internet of Social things” are further in connection with their
environments and users through sensors and actuators, forming a
“Social Internet of Things”.
• New opportunities and challenges in designing new products (that
are networked) and services (that are adaptive to their human users
and context aware in their physical and social environments).
• Therefore the design research to meet these new opportunities and
challenges needs a social approach to the Internet of Things.
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11. Design Research on Social Things
Vision
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12. Design Research on Social Things
Vision
• Social things for service centric design
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13. • Social things for social innovation
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Design Research on Social Things
Vision

14. Design Research on Social Things
Vision
• Social things as “simulation” platforms for design
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15. • Social things as a competency and as a tool in the design education
Design Research on Social Things
Vision
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16. Design Research on Social Things
Areas

17. • Social Things to support Cyber-Physical Systems
Design Research on Social Things
Areas
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18. • Social things for Health and Care
Design Research on Social Things
Areas
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19. • Social things in Public Spaces
Design Research on Social Things
Areas
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20. • Social things for sustainability
Design Research on Social Things
Areas
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21. Design Research on Social Things
Areas
• Data Mining
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22. • Research with the Internet of Things Industry
Design Research on Social Things
Areas
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23. • Intersection of computational systems and social behavior
Design Research on Social Things
Research Methodology
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24. • Intersection of computational systems and social behavior
• Engineering methods
Design Research on Social Things
Research Methodology
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25. Design Research on Social Things
Research Methodology
• Intersection of computational systems and social behavior
• Engineering methods
• Empirical research methods
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26. Design Research on Social Things
Research Methodology
• Intersection of computational systems and social behavior
• Engineering methods
• Empirical research methods
• Research through Design
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27. Integration of research and education
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28. • Bi-directional integration
• Research tools and infrastructure to be shared with education
• Research results to be fed into education
• Active involvement of the students in on-going research
Integration of research and education
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29. Basic skills to be introduced
• Introduction to sensors, actuators and embedded systems
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30. Basic skills to be introduced
• Introduction to creative programing
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31. Makerspace for Internet of Things
• Where the research and education take place
• Where researchers and students work together
• Open for participation
• Encourage cooperation between design and engineering
• Links to other makerspaces
• Make the makerspace a “make space”.
• Make learning playful and social.
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32. PhD research projects as touch points
• Involve PhD candidates in Education
• Encourage cooperation between students and PhD candidates
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33. Education in context
• Active involvement of both the researchers and the students
• Internships in cooperation with industry
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34. Design Research on Social Things
© 2015, Jun Hu