The Innovation Potential of Sensory Augmentation for Public Space

EasyChair Preprint 1206

Abstract

Improvement of public space with technology is often sought in telephone applications. However, public space exists by grace of physical interaction between people and their environment, whereas smartphones often get in the way of such interaction. Sensory Augmentation takes physical interaction as a starting point. In this paper, we explore the innovation potential of Sensory Augmentation for public space, by organizing brainstorm sessions to yield design concepts. These brainstorms brought together experts with stakeholders and resulted in 34 unique concepts that addressed social interaction, play, health, navigation, and art. These included a tool to manage of private space, a sense for physiological changes indicative of hunger, and a proposal to improve the safety of ‘smartphone Zombies’. An analysis of the 34 concepts, suggests that Sensory Augmentation holds a potential to improve public space.

Keyphrases: Applications, Sensory Augmentation, artistic research, cognitive science, interface design, public space

@booklet{EasyChair:1206,
  author    = {Michel van Dartel and Alwin de Rooij},
  title     = {The Innovation Potential of Sensory Augmentation for Public Space},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 1206},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2019}}