This presentation is taken from DIS 2008 conference. It aims at presenting a methodological perspective based on the notion of the Aesthetics of Interaction in ambient computing systems. Aesthetics of Interaction is challenged by the design proposal for the soft qualities of interaction, which is used as a tool to complement the existing design methodologies. It is indeed the author’s conviction that the role of these aspects is indispensable to the design of ambient computing systems, in which the interaction does not take place only according to the ‘one on one’ relationship between the human and the device; it is also distributed within the setting - and throughout the settings -, pervades everyday objects, and enables new relationships, which arise from the environmental and relational conditions enabled.

1. opening the design space
the soft set of requirements
A methodological perspective regarding the design of ambient computing systems
informed by the notion of Aesthetics of Interaction
Work conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Siena Hospital - Italy as a part
of the EU PalCom project.
Alessia Rullo
University of Siena
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

2. 01
motivation of this work
Addressing the role of the Aesthetics of Interaction in
ambient computing systems
how the notion of aesthetics can provide indications that
can reflect on the design methodologies
Tradition of Participatory Design:
Questioning the role of the users in the design of
human-technology systems, which should continuously
adapt to the design contexts and to the novel design
demands.
Design Challenge
The role of Aesthetics of Interaction in the Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

3. the neonatal intensive care unit
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

4. 02
the neonatal intensive care unit
understanding the context
Despite in the last years the survival rate
of premature and very low weight
newborns is constantly increasing, the
equipment used for the infant care and
monitoring is still not able to supply all of
the composite necessities of this system.
Need for non invasive monitoring
Interpreting the notion of care
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

5. 02
understanding the context
NIDCAP approach to the care of premature newborns:
Interpreting the notion of care
NIDCAP is an acronym that stands for Newborn Individualized
Developmental Care and Assessment Program, which is an approach that
uses a range of medical and nursing interventions that aim to decrease the
stress of preterm neonates in NICUs and to support the creation of
communities of care around each baby (Westrup, 2005, Als, 1982, 1984,
1986, 1989)
Macro and micro environmental conditions
Relationship: the presence of the families
Non invasive monitoring
Care actions
Focus on the mattress on which the baby lies
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

6. 03
design approach
the soft approach to design
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

7. 03
design approach
foundations
How to externalize the emotional/experiential values that
affect our experience of architectural spaces?
Lessons from Industrial and Architectural Design:
the soft design (Branzi, 1986, 2004)
the ‘quality without a name’ (Alexander, 1979)
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

8. 03
design approach
the soft qualities of interaction
1. they are analytical tools that try to isolate specific elements
of the interaction, which are related to the way in which people
construct meaning (the expressional level of interaction) than to
the way in which people do things (the functional level of
interaction).
2. the soft qualities are inspirational instruments that enlighten
the design space from a perspective focused on these latent
values of the interaction that often escape the design techniques.
3. these qualities may complement the design methodologies
interpreting the experiential values that emerge in the interaction
and effecting the expressional level at which computation can
be manifested.
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

9. MICRO ENVIRONMENT Overlapping
Interferences
Separation / interpenetration
MACRO ENVIRONMENT Background/foreground effect
Layering
RELATIONS Nature of Access
Different levels of visibilites
Separation / interpenetration
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

10. 03
design approach
The soft set of requirements
The soft set of requirements describes the
soft qualities of interaction by illustrating the
features to be considered in the mattress
prototype
They define the physical, ‘tangible’
characteristics of the prototype, such as
the shape, the material and the functioning
system
The nature of these requirements defines
new interaction modalities by the specific
use of sensors and smart material
The use of graphical representation to
embody the requirements in order to
share and negotiate in design workshops
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

11. the leaf design proposal 03
making explicit the soft set of requirements design approach
Postural
stabilization/embracement
Soft Quality: overlapping; access
Open/closed environment
Soft Quality: background/
foreground effects;
separation/interpenetration; access.
Layering
Soft Quality: layering; access.
Rigid structure/foldable material
Soft Quality:
separation/interpenetration
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

12. 03
the leaf design proposal design approach
making explicit the soft set of requirements
Filtering: different level of
opacity
Soft Quality: interferences;
background/foreground
effects.
Perceivable output
Soft Quality: background/
foreground effects; different
visibilities
Granularity
Soft Quality: background/
foreground effects; different
visibilities; interferences.
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

13. 03
the leaf design proposal
design approach
reconvening the mattress
the conditions of access and the separation/interpenetration
dynamics are supported, in the idea of the leaf, by the co-
existence of a rigid structure (i.e. the leaf’s skeleton) and more
flexible part (i.e. the leaf itself)
this also brings to the novel conception of the newborn’s micro-
environment, to be dynamically closed or opened according to
the necessities
the possibility of manipulating the leaf surface suggest different
solutions to manage the interferences and the overlapping
effects at the micro-environmental level
the transparency of a leaf surface addresses the possibility of
having a different layer of visibility, in order to reveal or mask
the baby’s status, depending on the situation, and to support the
varying perceptions of the caregivers, whether they be parents,
nurses or neonatal doctors.
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

14. 03
the soft prototype
design approach
a dynamic layer which protects the child, keeps the baby’s body in
place, facilitates the transportation of the newborn, allows the
detection of the pressure points of the baby’s body and can enable a
more direct and intimate contact between the newborns and the
caregivers.
future lab workshops with designers and neonatal team
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

15. 03
design approach
an ongoing work
introducing new technologies in a Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit is a long and quite complicated task, and it
is therefore necessary to perform a number of different
trials before testing the designed solutions with users in
a setting that is as realistic as possible.
interpreting the specific fragility of this domain:
facing ethical considerations, socio-organizational
issues, safety and security standard
early implementations of the mattress prototype
devoted to calibrate the sensors on the specific needs
of premature and very low weigh babies
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

16. 03
design approach
Experimenting the impact on
the work practice through
dramatization of the
mattress use
Understanding and exploring
the interaction modalities
through performance
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

17. 03
design approach
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

18. 04
lessons learnt
how knowledge is shared and transformed within the design process:
making it explicit
let emerging the latent variables: supporting acceptance
of new technologies
shaping interaction by exploring new variables
- modify the nature of the access to the baby
- interpreting the separation/interpenetration dynamics
- triggering specific technological features: sensors and smart materials
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

19. 05
Opening the design space
design implications
Soft qualities of interaction
Soft requirements
Soft prototype
User needs User requirements Mockup & prototype
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

20. 05
design implications
What is the role for the Aesthetics of Interaction
The aesthetic aspect is intended as
the material process by which the possibilities for
interaction can manifest themselves by the creation of
meaning through interaction and by balancing the different
qualities that effect ambient computing systems.
Appropriation by use
Support people attitudes ( e.g. the ‘care’ approach in the
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008

21. Alessia Rullo
University of Siena
rullo@media.unisi.it
rullo@unisi.it
Thanks
DIS 2008, Cape Town – South Africa , February 25-27 2008