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A Walk in Nature: Exploring the Creative Potentials of a Generative Design Tool for Soft Robotic Surfaces that Foster a Connection with Nature.
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Research on product attachment has shown that users tend to retain emotionally meaningful products longer and delay their disposal. This has been suggested to be more environmentally sustainable, though little empirical evidence of the actual long-term use of these products is available. Two studies sought to understand the factors of product attachment and their role in sustainable product usage behavior. Study 1 involved qualitative semi-structured interviews to understand users’ relationships with meaningful product possessions and how this connected to their long-term product use. Through an online questionnaire, Study 2 quantitatively investigated the relative roles of factors of product attachment in product usage behaviors. The results from both studies showed differing patterns of product use. While at times, products of attachment are used actively for their practical utilitarian purpose, at other times, they are set aside for more passive psychological reasons. In this passive use pathway, evidence was found of increased redundant product consumption to satisfy practical needs, contrary to expectations expressed in previous literature. Perceived irreplaceability of a product, while being most influential in stimulating higher levels of attachment, was associated with more passive use and redundant product consumption. This paper discusses implications for design practice with future research directions.
Soft robotics technology has been proposed for a number of applications that involve human–robot interaction. It is commonly presumed that soft robots are perceived as more natural, and thus more appealing, than rigid robots, an assumption that has not hitherto been tested or validated. This study investigates human perception of and physical interaction with soft robots as compared with rigid robots. Using a mixed-methods approach, we conducted an observational study to explore whether soft robots are perceived as more natural, and what types of interactions soft robots encourage. In a between-subjects study, participants interacted with a soft robotic tentacle or a rigid robot of a similar shape. The interactions were video recorded, and data was also obtained from questionnaires (Nvideo = 123, Nquest = 94). Despite their drastically different appearances and materials, we found no significant differences in how appealing or natural the robots were rated to be. Appeal was positively associated with perceived naturalness in all cases, however we observed a wide variation in how participants define “natural”. Although participants showed no clear preference, qualitative analysis of video data indicated that soft robots and rigid robots elicit different interaction patterns and behaviors. The findings highlight the key role of physical embodiment and materiality in human–robot interaction, and challenge existing assumptions about what makes robots appear natural.
Genetic algorithm (GA) is an artificial intelligence search method, that uses the process of evolution and natural selection theory and is under the umbrella of evolutionary computing algorithm. It is an efficient tool for solving optimization problems. Integration among (GA) parameters is vital for successful (GA) search. Such parameters include mutation and crossover rates in addition to population that are important issues in (GA). However, each operator of GA has a special and different influence. The impact of these factors is influenced by their probabilities; it is difficult to predefine specific ratios for each parameter, particularly, mutation and crossover operators. This paper reviews various methods for choosing mutation and crossover ratios in GAs. Next, we define new deterministic control approaches for crossover and mutation rates, namely Dynamic Decreasing of high mutation ratio/dynamic increasing of low crossover ratio (DHM/ILC), and Dynamic Increasing of Low Mutation/Dynamic Decreasing of High Crossover (ILM/DHC). The dynamic nature of the proposed methods allows the ratios of both crossover and mutation operators to be changed linearly during the search progress, where (DHM/ILC) starts with 100% ratio for mutations, and 0% for crossovers. Both mutation and crossover ratios start to decrease and increase, respectively. By the end of the search process, the ratios will be 0% for mutations and 100% for crossovers. (ILM/DHC) worked the same but the other way around. The proposed approach was compared with two parameters tuning methods (predefined), namely fifty-fifty crossover/mutation ratios, and the most common approach that uses static ratios such as (0.03) mutation rates and (0.9) crossover rates. The experiments were conducted on ten Traveling Salesman Problems (TSP). The experiments showed the effectiveness of the proposed (DHM/ILC) when dealing with small population size, while the proposed (ILM/DHC) was found to be more effective when using large population size. In fact, both proposed dynamic methods outperformed the predefined methods compared in most cases tested.
Combining graph-based parametric design with metaheuristic solvers has to date focused solely on performance-based criteria and solving clearly defined objectives. In this article, we outline a new method for combining a parametric modelling environment with an interactive Cluster-Orientated Genetic Algorithm. In addition to performance criteria, evolutionary design exploration can be guided through choice alone, with user motivation that cannot be easily defined. As well as numeric parameters forming a genotype, the evolution of whole parametric definitions is discussed through the use of genetic programming. Visualisation techniques that enable mixing small populations for interactive evolution with large populations for performance-based optimisation are discussed, with examples from both academia and industry showing a wide range of applications.
Over the last decade, a number of craft-based approaches to research have emerged within the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). In this paper, we examine the roots of crafting as they apply to these approaches, which blend analog crafts with digital technology, and we outline three defining characteristics: the integration of analog and digital crafting processes, the creation of highly refined products, and the creation of a deep and embodied knowledge. Moreover, we demonstrate how Richard Sennett's tripartite deconstruction of the crafting process can be applied to support analysis of the types and processes of knowledge generated in craft-based approaches to HCI.
Soft robotics technology has been proposed for a number of applications that involve human-robot interaction. This study investigates how a silicone-based pneumatically actuated soft robotic tentacle is perceived in interaction. Quantitative and qualitative data was gathered from questionnaires (N=47) and video recordings. Results show that the overall appeal of the robot was positively associated with its perceived naturalness. They further indicate a slight user preference for the movements and the tactile qualities of the robot and a slightly negative evaluation of its appearance.
Evolutionary methods with artificial selection have been shown to be a useful computer-human technique for exploring wide design spaces with unknown goals. This paper investigates a similar approach in the evolution of visual programs currently used in popular parametric modelling software. Although associative models provide a useful cognitive artifact for the designer to interact with, they are often bound by their topological structure with the designer left to adjusting (or optimising) variables to explore the design space. By allowing the topological structure of the graph to be evolved as well as the parameters, artificial selection can be employed to explore a wide design space more suited to the early design stage.
Research has shown that humans have a preference for images of nature over images of built environments, and that eye-movement behaviour and attention are significantly different across these categories. To build on these findings, we investigated the influence of low-level visual properties on scene preference, cognitive load, and eye-movements. In the present study, participants viewed a mixture of unaltered and altered photographs of nature and urban scenes to determine if low-level visual properties influenced responses to scenes. Altered versions included photographs with only low or mid-to-high visual spatial frequency information, and photographs where the phase or amplitude of visual spatial frequencies had been scrambled. We replicated past findings, demonstrating preference and longer fixation-time for nature scenes versus urban cities. We then demonstrated that the visual spatial frequencies and power spectra contained in images significantly influenced preference, cognitive load, and eye-movements, and can partially explain the restoration response to natural environments.
The mental state in which an individual claims an object as theirs is called psychological ownership. Psychological ownership is associated with motives, routes, affordances, and outcomes directly linked to attachment. This research introduces psychological ownership in the context of designing object attachment and identifies affordance principles that help facilitate it. A framework presenting the motives for and routes to psychological ownership is proposed to provide a holistic understanding of object attachment. In the framework each route to psychological ownership, that is, control, intimate knowledge, and self-investment, has a corresponding class of affordances. Overall a total of 16 affordance principles are identified through contextual inquiry with 4 objects (a car, a mobile phone, a pair of shoes, and a park bench). Previous studies have identified various elements of this framework but have fallen short of clearly defining and relating the motives, routes, and affordances to psychological ownership identified here. These affordance principles are readily mapped to experience design models and provide a practical resource for designers. Together, the framework and the affordances inform design decisions and move towards a prescriptive design method for facilitating object attachment.
We apply an interactive genetic algorithm (iGA) to generate product recommendations. iGAs search for a single optimum point based on a user’s Kansei through the interaction between the user and machine. However, especially in the domain of product recommendations, there may be numerous optimum points. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a new iGA crossover method that concurrently searches for multiple optimum points for multiple user preferences. The proposed method estimates the locations of the optimum area by a clustering method and then searches for the maximum values of the area by a probabilistic model. To confirm the effectiveness of this method, two experiments were performed. In the first experiment, a pseudouser operated an experiment system that implemented the proposed and conventional methods and the solutions obtained were evaluated using a set of pseudomultiple preferences. With this experiment, we proved that when there are multiple preferences, the proposed method searches faster and more diversely than the conventional one. The second experiment was a subjective experiment. This experiment showed that the proposed method was able to search concurrently for more preferences when subjects had multiple preferences.
In this paper we report on an exploration of how to apply the theory of Slow Design to mass produced products to establish more mindful usage of products; the intention behind this is to promote product attachment and the associated sustainable benefits of long term use. Slow Design is a design philosophy that focuses on promoting well-being for individuals, society, and the natural environment. It encourages people to do things at the right time and at the right speed which helps them to understand and reflect on their actions. Several authors have proposed Slow Design principles and cases have been reported in which these principles were applied in cultural design projects. These applications indicated that Slow Design can indeed have a positive impact on wellbeing. Although promising, this philosophy has not yet been used in the design of mass consumer products. In this paper we present a design case study in which we explored how the Slow Design principles can be applied in the design of an electric fruit juicer. Two studies are reported on where the conditions for implementing Slow Design are explored. The results led to a revision of the principles for use by product designers. The main finding from the case study is that the Slow Design principles can be used to create more 'mindful' interactions that stimulate positive user involvement. This is not from designing interactions that require more time per se, but by stimulating the user to use more time for those parts of the interaction that are meaningful and less for those that are not meaningful.
Due to differences in the attachment consumers experience towards the durable products they own, they hang on to certain products whereas they easily dispose of others. From the viewpoint of sustainability, it may be worthwhile to lengthen the life span of many durable consumer products. Hence, there is a challenge for designers to strengthen the bond between consumers and their products through the product design process. In the present study, we develop a scale to measure consumer-product attachment, and we identify and measure seven possible determinants of attachment: enjoyment, memories to persons, places, and events, support of self-identity, life vision,
utility, reliability, and market value. Only memories and enjoyment contribute positively to the degree of attachment. The highest levels of attachment are registered for recently acquired products (
This paper aims to enrich the design research community's notions of quality by turning to the techniques and values of master craftspeople. We describe and analyze interviews conducted with elite craft practitioners in the US and Taiwan to consider how they perceive and produce quality. The crafters articulate a consensus view of interaction with integrity. American participants tend to frame their understanding of quality in terms of self-expression through a creative interaction with materials, while participants from Taiwan emphasize the role of communities in establishing---and benefitting from---craft quality. As HCI continues to turn to design approaches on account of their strengths producing works of socio-cultural relevance and value, our study sheds light on the qualities of interacting with integrity, the pleasures of self-expression through creative interaction with materials, and the practical benefits of positioning creative work in relation to the material resources, aesthetic tastes, and socio-economic needs of a public.
Different conceptual perspectives converge to predict that if individuals are stressed, an encounter with most unthreatening natural environments will have a stress reducing or restorative influence, whereas many urban environments will hamper recuperation. Hypotheses regarding emotional, attentional and physiological aspects of stress reducing influences of nature are derived from a psycho-evolutionary theory. To investigate these hypotheses, 120 subjects first viewed a stressful movie, and then were exposed to color/sound videotapes of one of six different natural and urban settings. Data concerning stress recovery during the environmental presentations were obtained from self-ratings of affective states and a battery of physiological measures: heart period, muscle tension, skin conductance and pulse transit time, a non-invasive measure that correlates with systolic blood pressure. Findings from the physiological and verbal measures converged to indicate that recovery was faster and more complete when subjects were exposed to natural rather than urban environments. The pattern of physiological findings raised the possibility that responses to nature had a salient parasympathetic nervous system component; however, there was no evidence of pronounced parasympathetic involvement in responses to the urban settings. There were directional differences in cardiac responses to the natural vs urban settings, suggesting that attention/intake was higher during the natural exposures. However, both the stressor film and the nature settings elicited high levels of involuntary or automatic attention, which contradicts the notion that restorative influences of nature stem from involuntary attention or fascination. Findings were consistent with the predictions of the psycho-evolutionary theory that restorative influences of nature involve a shift towards a more positively-toned emotional state, positive changes in physiological activity levels, and that these changes are accompanied by sustained attention/intake. Content differences in terms of natural vs human-made properties appeared decisive in accounting for the differences in recuperation and perceptual intake.
Analogy is a fundamental process of creativity. Biologically inspired design by definition entails cross-domain analogies, and in practice has led to many innovative designs. Thus, biological inspired design is an ideal domain for studying creative analogies. In this paper, we describe an intricate episode of biologically inspired design that unfolded over an extended period of time. We then analyze the episode in terms of Why, What, How and When questions of analogy. This analysis provides a content theory of creative analogies in biologically inspired design.
In my thesis I address the topic of mobile attachment. I provide a theoretical framework for mobile attachment together with influencing factors that indicate user's emotional attachment (EA) to mobile devices and services. I investigate how the concept of user experience (UX) and EA are linked together and I outline how user behavior driven experience sampling can be exploited to measure mobile attachment. My research will result in design suggestions how the creation of EA to mobile devices and services can be facilitated.
Our possessions are a major contributor to and reflection of our identities. A variety of evidence is presented supporting this simple and compelling premise. Related streams of research are identified and drawn upon in developing this concept and implications are derived for consumer behavior. Because the construct of extended self involves consumer behavior rather than buyer behavior, it appears to be a much richer construct than previous formulations positing a relationship between self-concept and consumer brand choice.
Games hold the potential to help many address health-related issues such as chronic stress. We investigated the use of biophilia, an affective response to nature grounded in the psychology literature, as indirect physiological input for biofeedback games. We designed and developed a non-violent exploration game, and conducted an empirical study that examined affective and physiological responses to gameplay in virtual nature and urban settings. Our results did not identify a difference in stress levels experienced by players between these two settings, but point to improved attention when playing in nature settings. We discuss implications of these findings, and discuss both difficulties in and potential future strategies for applying biophilia to the design of biofeedback games.
By incorporating living micro‐organisms within architecture, London‐based ecoLogicStudio have found ways to read their evolving appearance as a measure of environmental value. Practice partners Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto combine this approach with digital techniques to create arresting architectural assimilations of the organic and the inorganic that celebrate the beauty of non‐human intelligence.
Environmental psychology has provided evidence for psychologically favorable effects of exposure to natural settings, by means of controlled laboratory experiments as well as outdoor field studies. Most of these studies have employed subjective rating scales to assess processes and outcomes of exposure to nature, while only few of them have used physiological measures to assess the neural correlates of these benefits. The present study used electroencephalography (EEG) to explore how the brain engages in processing of images of natural vs. urban scenery. During EEG recording, the participants (n = 32) were presented with a series of photos depicting urban or natural scenery. Participants rated the sceneries for their subjective relaxing value. Images of natural scenery were rated as more relaxing compared to the images of urban scenery. Event related potentials suggested a lower attentional demand for images of natural scenery compared to urban ones. Signal spectral analyses revealed differences in brain activity level and cognitive demand between natural and urban scenery. Our data suggest that the visual perception of natural environments calls for less attentional and cognitive processing, compared with urban ones.
The design of social robots usually does not focus on their kinetic expression, and often follows the assumption that their appearance should be human or animal like. To encourage a broader understanding of the possibilities for design of social robots, and as an inquiry into alternative relations with them, we present two robots, the Lat-Sac and the Blo-Nut, which are purposefully moving away from typical social robot design. We present how we engaged performance experts in the choreographic sketching of their elastic expression, and how we staged the robots in a fictitious near-future scenario to create a discursive space for reflection on emerging relations. Based on these encounters we discuss how acknowledging the otherness of social robots can be valuable in designing as well as growing intriguing relations with them.
Soft fascination is a key but underexamined element of Attention Restoration Theory (ART). According to ART, attending to softly fascinating stimuli not only requires little effort but also leaves mental space for reflection. We propose that soft fascination can be characterized as the interaction of both attentional effort and mental bandwidth and hypothesize that the restorative potential of everyday activities can be categorized based on this interaction. In an online survey, 398 adults rated four activities on Mental Bandwidth (MB), Perceived Restorativeness (PR), and preference. Supporting the hypothesis, the results showed that walking in nature was perceived as softly fascinating, whereas watching television was a source of hard fascination. Furthermore, PR, but not MB, was highly correlated with preference. Findings are discussed in the context of developing a measure to help people better anticipate activities that may or may not be restorative.
Divergent search is a recent trend in evolutionary computation that does not reward proximity to the objective of the problem it tries to solve. Traditional evolutionary algorithms tend to converge to a single good solution, using a fitness proportional to the quality of the problem's solution, while divergent algorithms aim to counter convergence by avoiding selection pressure towards the ultimate objective. This paper explores how a recent divergent algorithm, surprise search, can affect the evolution of soft robot morphologies, comparing the performance and the structure of the evolved robots.
Soft robots are typically developed with specific functions in mind. What we propose here is to shift focus to their aesthetic and performative qualities as means to open up a larger space of potential expressions and tacit abilities of these animated artefacts. Basically, to focus on the aesthetic potential of the objects through form, material, and movement exploration. As a strategy, we use provocations to broaden the design space with new interactive experiences in the physical realm. We argue that by using provoking performative objects as inspiration we can ultimately design a more connected and bodily engagement with computational devices.
Artificial landscapes whose human use has expired pose a major reprogramming challenge. The Solana Open Aviary, a transformation of former salt marshes into an enormous openair ornithological park, shows how cutting-edge technology can be used to address biopolitical, operational and tectonic concerns in such situations. Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto – cofounders of the project-leading London practice ecoLogicStudio – explain.
Abstract
Artificial landscapes whose human use has expired pose a major reprogramming challenge. The Solana Open Aviary, a transformation of former salt marshes into an enormous openair ornithological park, shows how cutting-edge technology can be used to address biopolitical, operational and tectonic concerns in such situations. Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto – cofounders of the project-leading London practice ecoLogicStudio – explain.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has gained increasing popularity as an attractive paradigm in which users and smart objects interact socially. To propose effective ways of providing a more positive IoT user experience, this study examined the effects of identity extension (user identity being extended onto an IoT device vs. not being extended) and the type of framing (hedonic vs. utilitarian) of messages delivered via the device. Preliminary data from a between-subjects experiment (N = 22) revealed that identity extension induced greater attachment and satisfaction with regard to the device and resulted in the experience of greater feelings of social presence. In addition, the results indicated that the effect of identity extension on satisfaction and social presence was mediated by user attachment to the device. The implications of the key findings are discussed.
This paper carries forth the conceptual framework for biophilic design that was first laid out by Cramer and Browning in Biophilic Design (2008), which established three categories meant to help define biophilic buildings - Nature in the Space, Natural Analogues and Nature of the Space - and a preliminary list of "biophilic conditions". New research and insights from the neurosciences, endocrinology and other fields have since helped evolve the scientific basis for biophilic design. This paper begins to articulate this growing body of research and emerging design parameters in architectural terms, so that we may draw connections between fields of study, highlight potential avenues for future research, evolve our understanding of biophilic design patterns, and capture the positive psychophysiological and cognitive benefits afforded by biophilia in our design interventions. © 2014 Archnet-IJAR, International Journal of Architectural Research.
Humanity has sat at the center of philosophical thinking for too long. The recent advent of environmental philosophy and posthuman studies has widened our scope of inquiry to include ecosystems, animals, and artificial intelligence. Yet the vast majority of the stuff in our universe, and even in our lives, remains beyond serious philosophical concern. This book develops an object-oriented ontology that puts things at the center of being—a philosophy in which nothing exists any more or less than anything else, in which humans are elements but not the sole or even primary elements of philosophical interest. And unlike experimental phenomenology or the philosophy of technology, this book’s alien phenomenology takes for granted that all beings interact with and perceive one another. This experience, however, withdraws from human comprehension and becomes accessible only through a speculative philosophy based on metaphor.
A trained architect, who works with the Specialist Modelling Group (SMG) at Foster + Partners, Daniel Piker is also the developer of the Kangaroo plug-in for Rhinoceros® and Grasshopper®. He explains how Kangaroo has been devised to simulate aspects of the behaviour of real-world materials and objects in order to modify designs in response to engineering analyses, engendering an intuitive sense of the material world.
A class of algorithms is described which enables computer quantized images to be decomposed into constituent reflecting the structure of the images. This decomposition is viewed as the morphological precursor to a higher level syntactic analysis. Numerical results for a typical biological image are presented.
Directed attention plays an important role in human information processing; its fatigue, in turn, has far-reaching consequences. Attention Restoration Theory provides an analysis of the kinds of experiences that lead to recovery from such fatigue. Natural environments turn out to be particularly rich in the characteristics necessary for restorative experiences. An integrative framework is proposed that places both directed attention and stress in the larger context of human-environment relationships.
We consider the problem of designing software tools that automatically evaluate the aesthetic content of images. Our purpose is to enhance the creative potential of generative art systems. We propose a number of meta-rules for enhancing creativity.
Evolutionary algorithms have been used in many ways for design tasks and other creative endeavors. The choice of representation in these evolutionary algorithms influences the way in which the operators used by a given evolutionary algorithm need to be implemented. In this paper, I explore the way in which it also influences the performance of the algorithm, both from the point of view of the reliability and speed of the algorithms as well as from the point of view of the designs generated by them.
Interactive evolutionary design (IED) has the potential to change development processes in industrial design from generating individual solutions to designing parametric models that are employed to create a vast space of possible solutions. This paper describes the current stage of a continuing interdisciplinary project between computer science and industrial design to make IED accessible for designers. The long term goal is to integrate the software into participatory design research methods, since interactive evolutionary design interfaces can be used without extensive training and skills. Everybody can use it to intuitively identify, communicate and explore appealing solutions within a large solution space. A case study is conducted to illustrate initial experiences by applying interactive evolutionary design software to the design process of a small, electric vehicle. The findings of the case study are immediately applied to further develop the software as a new design tool. The main contribution of this article is an explanation of basic techniques for designers/artists to design and shape a solution space.
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