Ballade of Women is an interactive exhibition that aims at exploring human rights from a female p... more Ballade of Women is an interactive exhibition that aims at exploring human rights from a female perspective.It leverages on the concept of engagement through embodiment. Visitors of the exhibition ...
This Special Issue focuses on exploring the latest trends in the use of information technology to... more This Special Issue focuses on exploring the latest trends in the use of information technology to cope with emerging societal transformations on the food system and its interrelations. It aims to be a starting point, especially to show what a key role designers play today in the ongoing transformation process and transition of food systems. It shows that the great challenge of digital innovation in the food sector is to re-design not only the products, but also the services and processes imposed by the ongoing digital transformation.
Due to climate changes, resources availability and evolving markets, the food system is developin... more Due to climate changes, resources availability and evolving markets, the food system is developing towards an articulated and complex ecology, with fast transformations occurring in food production, preparation, delivery and disposal. In this context, innovation is needed not just to ideate solutions to deal with a fast-changing system but also to accompany the change adopting a systemic long-term approach. We reflect on the transformational potential of design in the food sector enabled by digital technologies, one of the current major drivers of change. We define two levels of changes implying digital technologies, those that radically change the food system and those enabling changes within a given system. These levels are exemplified with case studies documented in literature and with students’ projects showing how transformational design can help grasp the complexity of current problems, and question the current status quo by facilitating a dialogue among stakeholders to stimul...
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2000
Call centres are one of the most rapidly growing forms of employment in USA and in Europe today. ... more Call centres are one of the most rapidly growing forms of employment in USA and in Europe today. It is expected that 1.3 % (more than two millions of people) of the total European workforce will be employed in the call centres in 2002. The figures are very similar in East Asia and ...
In this paper, we describe the concept of remixing playware, which allows sampling and remixing o... more In this paper, we describe the concept of remixing playware, which allows sampling and remixing of both physical and functional (e.g. music content) aspects of a system. Such remixing playware has a number of distinguished features which are explained in the paper: user-configurable modularity, which allows the user to interact and manipulate with samples; user-guided behavior-based system, which allows music compo-sitions to emerge from the way performer interacts with the instruments that provide the primitive behaviours; intelligent sampling as the ability of creating samples that allow anybody to remix with the samples ensuring an engaging outcome. The paper exemplifies remixing playware with a variety of implementations in RoboMusic concerts, the virtual MusicTiles app, the physical MagicCubes, the physical dices in Peter Gabriel concerts, and the S’n’S system. These examples focus on music creation and performance, based upon the concept of RoboMusic, and it is argued that the...
This paper presents an early design and development work of the Multi-sensory room project, a res... more This paper presents an early design and development work of the Multi-sensory room project, a research employing a multidisciplinary research team to facilitate the development of enabling technologies to assist care for elderly people affected by dementia. The ...
This contribution moves from the definition of design put forward by Kees Overbeeke (2007) to dis... more This contribution moves from the definition of design put forward by Kees Overbeeke (2007) to discuss the social dimensions of design. In the first part, social aspects in design (such as the intimacy relationship with the client) will be described, by focusing on the work of the artisan, intended as a profession in many ways very similar to that of a designer. In the second part, the social dimensions of body and action, which play fundamental roles in knowledge acquisition and use, are discussed by briefly illustrating the embodiment approach, seen as a main asset in building a design theory. In its third part, the contribution will focus on discussing how one can teach design, i.e., on how the student-teacher didactic relationship is currently taking place, thus bringing attention to another social dimension of design
In order to improve fit and comfort, a maxillary protraction facemask customized to the patient’s... more In order to improve fit and comfort, a maxillary protraction facemask customized to the patient’s anatomy was produced by means of 3D face scanning, digital design and additive manufacturing. An 8-year-old patient in need of early treatment for the Class III malocclusion received a rapid palatal expander and a Petit-type facemask, whose components were digitally designed on a 3D scan of the patient’s face. For face scanning, the iPad Pro 2018 tablet (Apple, Cupertino, CA, USA) with the Bellus3D DentalPro application (Bellus3D, Campbell, CA, USA) was used. Facemask components were modelled with 3D Blender software. The rests were 3D printed in BioMed Clear biocompatible resin (Formlabs, Somerville, MA, USA), and the bar in stainless steel. For greater comfort, the internal surface of the rests was lined with a polymer gel pad (Silipos, Niagara Falls, NY, USA). The manufacturing procedure of the customized facemask is patented. The patient wore the facemask at night for a period of 9 ...
Design Thinking is a human-centred approach to problem solving and innovation that exploits desig... more Design Thinking is a human-centred approach to problem solving and innovation that exploits design theories and methods to solve ill-defined problems. Recently it has been a popular subject of real-life applications in research and industrial endeavours for its original way to combine creative and analytical thinking, what is desirable from a human viewpoint with what is technologically feasible. This paper focuses on the application of Design Thinking in paediatric orthodontics. Through the analysis of a design case study, the paper picks up the threads of the challenges of devising a facemask for maxillary malocclusion. The case study shows how a Design Thinking mindset can make a holistic and creative approach flourishing, bringing together different competences at any stage of the design process. The methods of design allowed to translate the different languages of the stakeholders into a single narrative where the people’s journeys are clearly depicted, monitored, and supported.
This special issue presents selected highlights from ECCE 2021, the 32nd European Conference on C... more This special issue presents selected highlights from ECCE 2021, the 32nd European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics. The conference is the annual event of the European Association of Cognitive Ergonomics (EACE), a leading conference on human-media interaction that provides an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to exchange new ideas and practical experiences for a variety of domains. The theme of the conference ‘Designing virtual and physical interactive systems’ provides a reflection on the new interactive opportunities and access to digital media, services and smart products enabled by novel technologies. These afford the creation of cooperative practices between agents distant in time and space and the development of tailored and ubiquitous services/systems closer to people’s needs and expectations. This way they have a tremendous opportunity to foster inclusion and diversity and break down the boundaries between places and levels of participation. In these scenarios, ...
Virtual Reality (VR) provides opportunity for immersive experiences in several fields of applicat... more Virtual Reality (VR) provides opportunity for immersive experiences in several fields of application, in particular in training and entertainment. Integrating tangible interaction with virtual environments that mimic real world situations can provide a tremendous enrichment to the user experience. Indeed, one of the main barriers to immersivity virtual objects is the use of fixed controllers with poor affordance. Touching, grasping, pushing, squeezing, if executed with common controllers are unnatural, impractical and sometimes frustrating. The paper presents the outcomes of a multidisciplinary panel conducted during ETIS 2020. The purpose of the panel was to engage a reflection on possible ways to integrate tangible interactions in virtual reality scenarios. To this extent, a case study was presented describing the development of a physical controller used in a virtual simulation of a DNA extraction procedure in a biotechnology laboratory. The case study shows the potential of usin...
The more hand-held computing and nomadic systems become popular and significantly address the mar... more The more hand-held computing and nomadic systems become popular and significantly address the market, the more the design of applications based on such systems need new metaphors and interaction paradigms to fit user needs in new contexts of use. On the one hand emerging technologies like Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) offer new opportunities of use, on the other hand the applications that they can support require new methodologies and design approaches to be successful.
Ballade of Women is an interactive exhibition that aims at exploring human rights from a female p... more Ballade of Women is an interactive exhibition that aims at exploring human rights from a female perspective.It leverages on the concept of engagement through embodiment. Visitors of the exhibition ...
This Special Issue focuses on exploring the latest trends in the use of information technology to... more This Special Issue focuses on exploring the latest trends in the use of information technology to cope with emerging societal transformations on the food system and its interrelations. It aims to be a starting point, especially to show what a key role designers play today in the ongoing transformation process and transition of food systems. It shows that the great challenge of digital innovation in the food sector is to re-design not only the products, but also the services and processes imposed by the ongoing digital transformation.
Due to climate changes, resources availability and evolving markets, the food system is developin... more Due to climate changes, resources availability and evolving markets, the food system is developing towards an articulated and complex ecology, with fast transformations occurring in food production, preparation, delivery and disposal. In this context, innovation is needed not just to ideate solutions to deal with a fast-changing system but also to accompany the change adopting a systemic long-term approach. We reflect on the transformational potential of design in the food sector enabled by digital technologies, one of the current major drivers of change. We define two levels of changes implying digital technologies, those that radically change the food system and those enabling changes within a given system. These levels are exemplified with case studies documented in literature and with students’ projects showing how transformational design can help grasp the complexity of current problems, and question the current status quo by facilitating a dialogue among stakeholders to stimul...
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2000
Call centres are one of the most rapidly growing forms of employment in USA and in Europe today. ... more Call centres are one of the most rapidly growing forms of employment in USA and in Europe today. It is expected that 1.3 % (more than two millions of people) of the total European workforce will be employed in the call centres in 2002. The figures are very similar in East Asia and ...
In this paper, we describe the concept of remixing playware, which allows sampling and remixing o... more In this paper, we describe the concept of remixing playware, which allows sampling and remixing of both physical and functional (e.g. music content) aspects of a system. Such remixing playware has a number of distinguished features which are explained in the paper: user-configurable modularity, which allows the user to interact and manipulate with samples; user-guided behavior-based system, which allows music compo-sitions to emerge from the way performer interacts with the instruments that provide the primitive behaviours; intelligent sampling as the ability of creating samples that allow anybody to remix with the samples ensuring an engaging outcome. The paper exemplifies remixing playware with a variety of implementations in RoboMusic concerts, the virtual MusicTiles app, the physical MagicCubes, the physical dices in Peter Gabriel concerts, and the S’n’S system. These examples focus on music creation and performance, based upon the concept of RoboMusic, and it is argued that the...
This paper presents an early design and development work of the Multi-sensory room project, a res... more This paper presents an early design and development work of the Multi-sensory room project, a research employing a multidisciplinary research team to facilitate the development of enabling technologies to assist care for elderly people affected by dementia. The ...
This contribution moves from the definition of design put forward by Kees Overbeeke (2007) to dis... more This contribution moves from the definition of design put forward by Kees Overbeeke (2007) to discuss the social dimensions of design. In the first part, social aspects in design (such as the intimacy relationship with the client) will be described, by focusing on the work of the artisan, intended as a profession in many ways very similar to that of a designer. In the second part, the social dimensions of body and action, which play fundamental roles in knowledge acquisition and use, are discussed by briefly illustrating the embodiment approach, seen as a main asset in building a design theory. In its third part, the contribution will focus on discussing how one can teach design, i.e., on how the student-teacher didactic relationship is currently taking place, thus bringing attention to another social dimension of design
In order to improve fit and comfort, a maxillary protraction facemask customized to the patient’s... more In order to improve fit and comfort, a maxillary protraction facemask customized to the patient’s anatomy was produced by means of 3D face scanning, digital design and additive manufacturing. An 8-year-old patient in need of early treatment for the Class III malocclusion received a rapid palatal expander and a Petit-type facemask, whose components were digitally designed on a 3D scan of the patient’s face. For face scanning, the iPad Pro 2018 tablet (Apple, Cupertino, CA, USA) with the Bellus3D DentalPro application (Bellus3D, Campbell, CA, USA) was used. Facemask components were modelled with 3D Blender software. The rests were 3D printed in BioMed Clear biocompatible resin (Formlabs, Somerville, MA, USA), and the bar in stainless steel. For greater comfort, the internal surface of the rests was lined with a polymer gel pad (Silipos, Niagara Falls, NY, USA). The manufacturing procedure of the customized facemask is patented. The patient wore the facemask at night for a period of 9 ...
Design Thinking is a human-centred approach to problem solving and innovation that exploits desig... more Design Thinking is a human-centred approach to problem solving and innovation that exploits design theories and methods to solve ill-defined problems. Recently it has been a popular subject of real-life applications in research and industrial endeavours for its original way to combine creative and analytical thinking, what is desirable from a human viewpoint with what is technologically feasible. This paper focuses on the application of Design Thinking in paediatric orthodontics. Through the analysis of a design case study, the paper picks up the threads of the challenges of devising a facemask for maxillary malocclusion. The case study shows how a Design Thinking mindset can make a holistic and creative approach flourishing, bringing together different competences at any stage of the design process. The methods of design allowed to translate the different languages of the stakeholders into a single narrative where the people’s journeys are clearly depicted, monitored, and supported.
This special issue presents selected highlights from ECCE 2021, the 32nd European Conference on C... more This special issue presents selected highlights from ECCE 2021, the 32nd European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics. The conference is the annual event of the European Association of Cognitive Ergonomics (EACE), a leading conference on human-media interaction that provides an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to exchange new ideas and practical experiences for a variety of domains. The theme of the conference ‘Designing virtual and physical interactive systems’ provides a reflection on the new interactive opportunities and access to digital media, services and smart products enabled by novel technologies. These afford the creation of cooperative practices between agents distant in time and space and the development of tailored and ubiquitous services/systems closer to people’s needs and expectations. This way they have a tremendous opportunity to foster inclusion and diversity and break down the boundaries between places and levels of participation. In these scenarios, ...
Virtual Reality (VR) provides opportunity for immersive experiences in several fields of applicat... more Virtual Reality (VR) provides opportunity for immersive experiences in several fields of application, in particular in training and entertainment. Integrating tangible interaction with virtual environments that mimic real world situations can provide a tremendous enrichment to the user experience. Indeed, one of the main barriers to immersivity virtual objects is the use of fixed controllers with poor affordance. Touching, grasping, pushing, squeezing, if executed with common controllers are unnatural, impractical and sometimes frustrating. The paper presents the outcomes of a multidisciplinary panel conducted during ETIS 2020. The purpose of the panel was to engage a reflection on possible ways to integrate tangible interactions in virtual reality scenarios. To this extent, a case study was presented describing the development of a physical controller used in a virtual simulation of a DNA extraction procedure in a biotechnology laboratory. The case study shows the potential of usin...
The more hand-held computing and nomadic systems become popular and significantly address the mar... more The more hand-held computing and nomadic systems become popular and significantly address the market, the more the design of applications based on such systems need new metaphors and interaction paradigms to fit user needs in new contexts of use. On the one hand emerging technologies like Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) offer new opportunities of use, on the other hand the applications that they can support require new methodologies and design approaches to be successful.
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