Motivation
Connected things in the Internet of Things do not only connect each other. They can also connect people and can help to bridge spatial and temporal distances between loved ones without replacing other forms of social interaction. Thus these things generate closeness and relatedness over distance. However, since these smart things come with a multitude of sensors they might also generate implications, e.g. for privacy.
The workshop aims to introduce the participants to our research in the field of Human-Computer Interaction and give them tangible results by allowing them to create their own plushified connected things The follow-up study will give them an insight into how the actual research process works and they will be given access to the results once published.
The workshop is a joint effort of the projects Bitplush and Simplications. Bitplush is researching how smart cuddly toys can be things for closeness over distance and Simplications is focussing on privacy implications of sensors in everyday things in the home.
In the workshop
An introductory talk on the topic of relatedness over distance will be the start of our workshop. Following on we will ideate what sensors the participants might want in connected smart things and how they would like to share data.
In the hands-on part each participant will create an own pair of connected devices using Yo-Yo Machines as a technical base (an open project created by Interaction Research Studio, London, University of Northumbria), wiring the components, setting them up and decorating them with plush to create unique, fluffy and useful communication devices. We prepare and provide the necessary materials (WiFi microcontroller, electronics, cables, decoration/plush) and support the participants in building their creation. They participants can and should take their creations back home.
We can accommodate up to 10 participants in the workshop. The number is limited due to restrictions in materials and available tools, as well as limited capacity to give support in the creation process. The participants do not need any special knowledge or hardware in the workshop but later on a smartphone/tablet, an USB power supply and WiFi in their home.
After the workshop
After creating their Plushy Yo-Yo Machines, the participants can take them home and will be asked to participate in an online follow-up study to monitor their experiences over the next weeks and months. We aim to publish the results of the follow-up study along with pictures of the creations at a later date.
Hosts
Albrecht Kurze, Arne Berger, Klaus Stephan, Stephan Hildebrandt, Karola Köpferl