Title: Immodest Proposals: Research Through Design and Knowledge

Authors:

• Jeffrey Bardzell, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, United States
• Shaowen Bardzell, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, United States
• Lone Koefoed Hansen, Dept of Aesthetics and Communication & PIT Center for Participatory Research , Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

Abstract

The paper offers theoretical support for research through design (RtD) by arguing that in order to legitimize and make use of research through design as research, HCI researchers need to explore and clarify how RtD objects might contribute to knowledge. Leveraging the tradition of aesthetics in the arts and humanities, we argue that while the intentions of the object’s designer are important and while annotations are a good mechanism to articulate them, the critical reception of objects is equally foundational to RtD’s broader knowledge impacts within HCI. Such a scholarly critical reception is needed precisely because of the potential inexhaustibility of design objects’ meanings; their inability to be paraphrased simply and adequately. Offering a  multilevel analysis of the (critical) design fiction Menstruation Machine by Sputniko!, the paper explores how design objects co-produce knowledge, by working through complex design problem spaces in non-reductive ways, proposing new connections and distinctions, and embodying design ideas and processes across time and minds.

Title: BaseLase: An Interactive Focus+Context Laser Floor

Authors:

• Jörg Müller, Department of Computer Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
• Dieter Eberle, Quality and Usability Lab, Telekom Innovation Laboratories, TU Berlin, Berlin, Germany
• Constantin Schmidt, Quality and Usability Lab, Telekom Innovation Laboratories, TU Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Abstract:

We present BaseLase, an interactive laser projected focus + context floor display. In order to provide a transportable system that works in areas where there are no ceilings, we provide an integrated unit (1.3m height) that stands on the floor. One unsolved challenge for laser projectors is to cover large projection areas while providing high resolution at the same time. Our focus + context laser projector solves this problem. BaseLase can cover a large context area in low resolution, while providing three movable high-resolution focus spots. We provide a convex mirror design that enables the laser to reach a large area (75m2) with low resolution while decreasing the beam divergence compared to spherical or parabolic mirrors. This hyperboloidal mirror shape approximately equalizes the point size on the floor independent from the projected location. We propose to add a number of planar mirrors on pan-tilt units to create dynamic zones of high resolution that can adjust to the user behavior. We provide example applications for BaseLase and report on user experience in preliminary trials.