on Interaction Design

Interaction Design and ID:
You’re already doing it…don’t you want to know what it’s all about?

By David Malouf

Chopsticks & Cultural Connection

  • Chopsticks Design
  • http://baike.baidu.com/view/9855.htm
  • 比较起来,西方人大概到16世纪、17世纪才发明了刀叉,但刀叉哪能跟筷子相比呢?”日本的学者曾测定,人在用筷子夹食物时,有80多个关节和50条肌肉在运动,并且与脑神经有关。因此,用筷子吃饭使人手巧,可以训练大脑使之灵活,外国人对这两根神奇的棍状物能施展出夹、挑、舀、撅等功能钦羡不已,并以自己能使用它进食而感到高兴… …… … 筷子的发明与食物形式有关我们的祖先发明筷子与食物有关。中华民族很早就开始了农耕生活方式,主要作物是适应性强的谷子(黍)。黍类粮食有两大特点,一是颗粒小,二是粗糙的外皮不易被除去。在最初的时候,我们祖先可能是将谷粒(小米)捣碎煮粥食用的,往往还要掺杂一些野菜、树叶之类一起煮,以便改善口味,并节约粮食。据有人研究,“茶”字的原始意义是掺有野菜和树叶的粥状食物。至今在西北地区还有一种叫做“油茶”的食物,用羊油把面粉炒熟,再掺上一些甜杏仁之类的东西,食用时用热水一冲即可。在这里,“油茶”一词中的“茶”就是使用的它最原始的意义。广东人至今把吃早点叫做“吃早茶”,实际上也是使用的“茶”比较接近原始的意义。在湖南口音中,“吃”字读作“恰”,很接近“茶”字读音。在华北一些地区,把“熬玉米粥”称为“擦黏粥”,同样,“擦”与“茶”同音。这些现象都说明“茶”原本是一种食物。茶吃起来比较费事,其中的野菜和树叶之类会妨碍茶的流动,而不容易把茶喝进口中。这是我们的祖先发明筷子的关键所在。西方人最早是游牧民族,食物是烤熟煮熟的肉块,可以切成小块拿在手中进食。印度人的主要食物是稻米,容易去壳,可以蒸煮成团,同样可以用手抓着是进食。我们祖先的日常食物是茶,是一种粘稠的半流质食物,不能用手抓着吃,也不能用手捞食影响其中的野菜和树叶。可能有一个聪明的古人顺手取来小木棍儿之类的东西试着把野菜或树叶拨入口中,这就是筷子的最初形式。筷子最早的称呼是“箸”,箸字的繁体写法是“筯”。从读音和字形上,就可以看出,筷子最原始的作用是帮助进食,并非必不可少的进餐工具。但那时的小木棍儿之类还不能称之为筷子,筷子之所以称筷子,主要在于人们必需具有使用筷子的技术,而用筷技术则需经过刻苦练习才能掌握。我们的祖先发现用小木棍儿之类拨食茶中野菜树叶的方法之后,就会纷纷模仿,最后把小木棍儿的数量固定为两根。熟能生巧,古人们使用小木棍儿的技艺越来越高,直到把两根小木棍儿使得上下翻飞,巧得如同自己的十指一样灵活自如,筷子就诞生了。在这里,本人把筷子定义为两根小木棍及其使用技巧,两者缺一不可。

Understanding Sound

  • Digital Signal,  Synthesized Sound 
  • Narrative aspect of sound emotions, characters transcended by sound
  • Sound Interaction Design (SID) An alarm clock that you cannot hear, but still wakes you up. A shower curtain that sings along with you. Chewing gum that allows you to catch sounds that surround you and chew them into a new remixed soundscape. An umbrella that creates your personal acoustic shield. A pair of gloves that can catch the sounds, mould and sculpt them like clay… What will our interactive future sound like? What do you think the sonic world should or will become? What are you making or imagining that can be a part of this world?  Sonic Interaction Design is an interdisciplinary area of research and practice that explores ways in which soundcan be used to convey information, meaning, and aesthetic and emotional qualities in interactive contexts. 

Interactive Sound for Dining Experience

photo1.jpg photo3.jpgphoto2.jpgphoto4.jpg[Reading]Gamelunch: Forging a Dining Experience through Sound 2007Notes:

  1. “the Gamelunchaims at forcing the natural flow of the sonic aspectsraising from enactive processes in order to show, bymeans of the paradox (a sort of proof per absurdum), how sound feedback is crucial.”
  2. Causality of Physical Movement (Cause) - Sound (Effect) and how it could be altered to evoke “fun” or “emotion”For example, the sound of ocean (or on the contrary, a dramatic sound) is heard while a romantic mood or calming emotion is being detected by the systemIt is noticed that as we eat fast and in a hurry, the hand movement is faster and create bigger fluctuation in motions.

  • http://www.soundobject.org/
  • TableRecorder http://www.fregment.com/?cat=0&p=7868
  • GameLunch http://acroe.imag.fr/enactive07/gamelunch.php

Sensors for Media Kitchen Project

Texture SensorStirring Spoon