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Michael Heidt

University of Kassel, Gender and Diversity in Information Systems, Associate Researcher

Technische Universität Chemnitz, CrossWorlds (DFG Graduiertenkolleg), Graduate Student

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University of British Columbia

Robin Oppenheimer

Emily Carr University of Art and Design

Auckland University of Technology

Iowa State University

Ellen Pearlman, PhD

New York University

University of Saskatchewan

McGill University

Columbia College Vancouver

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Papers by Michael Heidt

The Aesthetics of Activism: See-through Effect

For this demonstration the authors intend to present the Aesthetics of Activism as a work-in-prog... more For this demonstration the authors intend to present the Aesthetics of Activism as a work-in-progress. This interactive artwork explores the nature both of audience engagement as well as the interdisciplinary conditions of its making. The work is designed to visually represent an assemblage driven by people's bodies that are tracked and translated into interactive collage elements via motion sensors. Images projected are composed from a mixture of algorithmically scavenged social web resources and artistically curated and altered videos. The demonstration will present a new interactivity feature that continuously tracks a body, coupling it with a distinct eyehole (a region distributing transparency), allowing one of the composition's retrial layers to be viewed. The experience provided points towards the ways technological advances transform and shape public spaces, thereby subverting familiar strategies of activist practice while rendering possible new forms of aesthetic resistance.

Analyzing Disruptive Tactics and Strategies in Media Activism

by Michael Heidt, Lorna Boschman, and Robin Oppenheimer

Our 21st century media environment has grown more immersive and predominant with the invention of... more Our 21st century media environment has grown more immersive and predominant with the invention of communication technologies such as telephones, satellites, video cameras, and computers. We are all now electronically connected, able to communicate, observe, and react to what is happening anywhere in the world in an instant. How do we make sense of and trust these myriad elec- tronic messages and their messengers, or even know or understand who or what is behind the code that creates and designs our mediated reality? More importantly, how can we have agency to disrupt and change the mainstream media’s dominant control over most of these messages? This panel will share our knowledge of disruptive media activism by examining its historical origins, current code-controlled aesthetics, and strategies to promote community-based digital storytelling.

Incommensurable Writings - Examining the Status of Gender Difference Within HCI Coding Practices

by Michael Heidt and Paul Rosenthal

Gender relations are reproduced both within HCI development processes as well as within contexts ... more Gender relations are reproduced both within HCI development processes as well as within contexts of use. Hence, theorising the subject of gender becomes part of the responsibility of HCI as a form of practice. The fledgling subfield of feminist HCI has created an epistemological basis for thinking through these challenges. The current text seeks to relate to these contributions by analysing practices of coding as they pertain to HCI. We argue that coding is of yet undertheorised regarding the subject of gender relations. By drawing on the semiotic theories of Michael Mateas and combining them with Donna Haraway’s reading of material-semiotic actors, the text aims to provide new impulses for a theorisation of the practice of code-writing as a (potentially gendered) writing practice. It thus aims at increasing the translatability of HCI theory into gender-aware communities of knowledge production.

Stubborn Materialities / Unruly Aesthetics

by Michael Heidt and Kalja Kanellopoulos

Crafting Interactive Systems, Workshop @CHI '13

Digital and interactive art has reconfigured the relationship between art and technology as well ... more Digital and interactive art has reconfigured the relationship between art and technology as well as restructured the discourse within the artistic field itself. Inextricably tied to a reflection on its medium digital art must highlight the power-effects it necessarily has to (re)produce and repeat. It does so in virtue of negative aestheticisation of its interfaces, by creating noise, frustration, perplexity. Springing from an interdisciplinary background – informed by social sciences, informatics, rhetoric, literary studies and philosophy – we provide a discussion aware of specificity and historicity of its theoretical constituents. In doing so, we hope to contribute to a tentative genealogy of digital art as an expressive practice. Lastly the text itself is product of dynamic friction between positions of observation and engagement, reflexive and poietic practices. It wants to be read as a conceptual experiment.

Diverse Ecologies – Interdisciplinary Development for Cultural Education

by Kalja Kanellopoulos, Linda Pfeiffer, Michael Heidt, and Paul Rosenthal

Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2013, 2013

We present a case study outlining development efforts towards an interface ecology to be deployed... more We present a case study outlining development efforts towards an interface ecology to be deployed in museums. We argue that the problem at hand calls for a highly interdisciplinary design process. Furthermore, system design in the domain of cultural education poses a unique set of challenges. At the same time few existing design methodologies are suitable for addressing this special environment of system design. We outline a set of tentative methodological elements aimed at informing adequate interdisciplinary development processes. The discussion is embedded into a critique of existing methodologies while being orientated towards inviting critique itself. The guiding insight steering our methodological developments is that fundamental differences between project participants and other stakeholders should be construed as assets. Rather than trying to integrate them or covering them up, the dynamic friction between differing viewpoints can be rendered productive by means of poietic practices.

The Aesthetics of Activism

For this demonstration the authors intend to present the Aesthetics of Activism as a work-in-prog... more For this demonstration the authors intend to present the Aesthetics of Activism as a work-in-progress. The artwork is designed to aggregate visual material from social networks to form themed compositions that can be explored jointly within a shared interactive space. Visual elements are programmatically arranged according to formal aesthetic criteria, while motion within the exhibition space is detected via optical sensors. Artistry built into the algorithms used for creating the visual compositions and those used to present, filter and rank content within the social web are exposed for people interested in the relationships between the cultural and computer layers inherent to the system design.

HCI and the Community of Non-users

by Michael Heidt, Kalja Kanellopoulos, Linda Pfeiffer, and Paul Rosenthal

HCI’s success as a discipline is based on its ability of dealing with the problems, desires, and ... more HCI’s success as a discipline is based on its ability of dealing with the problems, desires, and requirements of technology users. Through its turn to user experience, the community was able to create products whose use is pleasant and exciting. There are, however, design contexts where the corresponding focus on fostering use might be in need of a complementing perspective.

During the last couple of years, the topic of technology non-use has appeared within the scope of HCI. Within this text, we will explore how these recent conceptualisations and analyses can be employed in order to turn non-use into a design resource. We do so by discussing them in the context of a concrete development project aimed at creating interactive technology for exhibition contexts.

Transcoding the Aesthetics of Activism

by Michael Heidt and Lorna Boschman

The Aesthetics of Activism (2014) is an artwork that aggregates visual material from social netwo... more The Aesthetics of Activism (2014) is an artwork that aggregates visual material from social networks into image and video collages. Visitors within an interactive zone can explore playback and correlation between images. The authors’ approach to transcoding aesthetically is grounded in their interpretation of both design and theatrical practices. They provide a detailed analysis of the artwork’s operation boundaries (e.g. spatial layout and themed structure) to support insight into the new roles and processes employed to translate code and aesthetics. Their approach to transcoding is a process that undermines the commercial platforms that rank, sort and filter the information on the Internet. Rather than enact document agency the artwork demonstrates the artistry required to transcode the representation of real world activism.

Extemporising Digital Empowerment

The potential of spontaneity inhering in situated human encounters is threatened by rigidly coded... more The potential of spontaneity inhering in situated human
encounters is threatened by rigidly coded interactive
apparatusses. This effect is exacerbated as elements of
interactive technology continue to permeate public spaces,
thereby restructuring human lifeworlds. However, the
presence of inflexibly coded couplings between human
input and digital response constitutes no inevitability.
Extending the notion of live coding, this text examines
applications and conceptualisations of in-situ code
production and code alteration. It thereby hopes to show
how performative practices of coding can be employed
within creative contexts of improvisation.

Towards a Vocabulary of Prototypes in Interaction Design – A Criticism of Current Practice

A methodological framework and a constructivist meta theory for formulating a vocabulary of proto... more A methodological framework and a constructivist meta theory for formulating a vocabulary of prototype characteristics in interaction design are presented. Motivation for this research approach is drawn from cognitive psychology which hypothesizes that the aesthetic cognition of artifacts lies outside the scope of verbal appreciation. First, the shortcomings of the related design research literature are discussed in an attempt to frame a suitable methodology for overcoming these issues. It is also shown how the analysis of existing literature, protocols and observations will fit into this research scheme. Second, an accompanying meta theory building on Latours [15, 16] account of artifact–subject relations within the actor network theory, is described.

Playful Exploration Of Prototypes In Interaction Design

A card deck to explore and to formulate properties of prototypes in interaction design for foster... more

by Michael Heidt, Linda Pfeiffer, and Paul Rosenthal

Vorgestellt wird die interaktive Installation PRMD. Diese erlaubt ein gemeinsames, performativ au... more Vorgestellt wird die interaktive Installation PRMD. Diese erlaubt ein gemeinsames, performativ aufgeladenes Entdecken von Biographien wie deren intersubjektiv verbindenden Elementen. Als Verschneidung rein digitaler wie aktuell performativer Elemente, thematisiert sie gleichzeitig zeitgenössische Praxen digitaler Identitätskonstruktion wie solche biographischen Erzählens in geschichtlichen Kontexten.

Deconstructivist Design within HCI

by Michael Heidt and Paul Rosenthal

Every HCI artefact reproduces a specific stance towards its users. Influential within the academi... more Every HCI artefact reproduces a specific stance towards its users. Influential within the academic sphere is the notion of a User-Centered-Design process. However, observing actual design practice renders the assumption of the centrality of users problematic. To this end, the text conducts an exploration of the relationship between discourse within the fields of HCI and architecture. A special focus are the formal expressions of deconstructivism within architecture and their potential counterparts within HCI design.

Conduplicated Symmetries: Renegotiating the Material Basis of Prototype Research

The role of materiality within prototyping recently received a high degree of attention from HCI ... more The role of materiality within prototyping recently received a high degree of attention from HCI and design communities. Existing approaches have solely focussed on the materiality of artifacts produced during prototyping. This focus largely has left the materiality of designers and users unaccounted for. The text illustrates how the Somatic-Marker-Hypothesis and Actor-Network-Theory can be employed in order to illustrate these forgotten dimensions of materiality during prototyping: Not only is material shaped during construction of artefacts. Material modifications also comprise alterations within the material of designers’ and users’ bodies themselves. In order to facilitate these descriptions, a novel approach towards symmetry had to be developed.

Reconstructing Coding Practice - Towards a Methodology for Source-Code

Mensch & Computer 2013 - Workshopband, 2013

Mutual cooperation between the domains of social research and digital artefact production compris... more Mutual cooperation between the domains of social research and digital artefact production comprises an important aspect of HCI design projects. Despite this fact, scientific practitioners are confronted by a startling lack of methodologically sound approaches pertaining incorporation of source code into the social research process. The text therefore provides a theoretically founded inquiry into possible reasons and remedies for the situation described.

Beyond Presentation – Employing Proactive Intelligent Agents as Social Catalysts

Despite long standing attention from research communities, the technology of intelligent agents s... more Despite long standing attention from research communities, the technology of intelligent agents still harbours a large amount of unrealised potential. In this text, we argue that agent technology can benefit from a shift in focus from presentation to possible functionalities. In doing this, our focus is on the provision of pro-activity: The ability of agents not to merely react but to predictively shape their environments. In order to illustrate our arguments, we present an instance of interactive technology, showing how pro-active intelligent agents can be employed in exhibition contexts.

Location Based Video Flipping: Navigating Geospatial Videos in Lean Back Settings

by Michael Heidt and Thomas Fritzsche

We propose a geospatial navigation concept for browsing videos according to their tagged geograph... more We propose a geospatial navigation concept for browsing
videos according to their tagged geographic location. This
application expands two paradigms for selecting video
content: First continuous, yet one-dimensional flipping
through subsequent video clips that are ordered in lists.
Second, the discrete selection of video clips that are
positioned on maps according to their tagged location.
While the first can be accomplished with a regular HBB TV
remote control, the second is usually done with mouse and
cursor. The proposed application achieves the ease of use of
a remote control in a lean back setting, while providing the
means of navigating videos on maps.

Tangible Disparity – Different Notions of the Material as Catalyst of Interdisciplinary Communication

by Michael Heidt, Linda Pfeiffer, and Paul Rosenthal

Communicating tangible technology designs hinges on an adequate notion of materiality. However, a... more Communicating tangible technology designs hinges on an adequate notion of materiality. However, academic disciplines involved employ wildly differing notions of the material. This issue effects communicative boundaries within interdisciplinary teams tasked with development of tangible digital artefacts. In order to address this problem, we provide an analysis of differing disciplinary modes of conceptualisation and theorisation. Following these considerations, we discuss theoretical artefacts able to serve as communicative interfaces between the disciplines in question.

Examining Interdisciplinary Prototyping in the Context of Cultural Communication

Design, User Experience, and Usability. Health, Learning, Playing, Cultural, and Cross-Cultural User Experience, 2013

Designers typically have to operate in the environment of highly interdisciplinary teams. However... more Designers typically have to operate in the environment of highly interdisciplinary teams. However, at the same time mindsets of project participants frequently remain framed within disciplinary and professional boundaries. We argue that interdisciplinary communication processes can be improved upon by further theorising the differences between disciplinary cultures. Prototyping offers unique opportunities concerning these situational configurations. It allows to make differences productive on the level of practice whose incommensurabilities often preclude integration within the realm of theory and conviction. We thus provide a tentative set of communicative and methodological tools aimed at improving the communicative process in these scenarios. Instead of trying to establish a common language or common toolset, we try to render the dynamic friction between disparate perspectives productive. Our positions are illustrated by discussing them in the context of a case study in the domain of cultural education.

Interdisziplinäre Impulse für den Begriff "Interaktion"

by Michael Storz, Kalja Kanellopoulos, Michael Heidt, V. Obländer, and Kai-uwe Martin

Informationswissenschaft zwischen virtueller Infrastruktur und materiellen Lebenswelten. Tagungsband des 13. Internationalen Symposiums für Informationswissenschaft (ISI 2013), 2013

Die benutzergerechte Gestaltung interaktiver Systeme ist einer der lebendigsten Schwerpunkte der ... more Die benutzergerechte Gestaltung interaktiver Systeme ist einer der lebendigsten Schwerpunkte der Informationswissenschaft. Die größte Herausforderung für interdisziplinäre Arbeitsfelder wie die Mensch-Computer-Interaktion besteht darin, unterschiedliche Forschungslogiken und Begriffsgebäude produktiv zu vereinen. Besonders deutlich wird das anhand des für die HCI zentralen Begriffs „Interaktion“: Seine häufige Verwendung (auch als „Interaktivität“) steht einer inhaltlichen Unterbestimmtheit gegenüber. Im Hinblick auf dieses Problem präsentieren wir in unserem Beitrag einen Ansatz zur Integration disziplinärer Theoriebestände zur Arbeit am Interaktionsbegriff.

The Aesthetics of Activism: See-through Effect

For this demonstration the authors intend to present the Aesthetics of Activism as a work-in-prog... more For this demonstration the authors intend to present the Aesthetics of Activism as a work-in-progress. This interactive artwork explores the nature both of audience engagement as well as the interdisciplinary conditions of its making. The work is designed to visually represent an assemblage driven by people's bodies that are tracked and translated into interactive collage elements via motion sensors. Images projected are composed from a mixture of algorithmically scavenged social web resources and artistically curated and altered videos. The demonstration will present a new interactivity feature that continuously tracks a body, coupling it with a distinct eyehole (a region distributing transparency), allowing one of the composition's retrial layers to be viewed. The experience provided points towards the ways technological advances transform and shape public spaces, thereby subverting familiar strategies of activist practice while rendering possible new forms of aesthetic resistance.

Analyzing Disruptive Tactics and Strategies in Media Activism

by Michael Heidt, Lorna Boschman, and Robin Oppenheimer

Our 21st century media environment has grown more immersive and predominant with the invention of... more Our 21st century media environment has grown more immersive and predominant with the invention of communication technologies such as telephones, satellites, video cameras, and computers. We are all now electronically connected, able to communicate, observe, and react to what is happening anywhere in the world in an instant. How do we make sense of and trust these myriad elec- tronic messages and their messengers, or even know or understand who or what is behind the code that creates and designs our mediated reality? More importantly, how can we have agency to disrupt and change the mainstream media’s dominant control over most of these messages? This panel will share our knowledge of disruptive media activism by examining its historical origins, current code-controlled aesthetics, and strategies to promote community-based digital storytelling.

Incommensurable Writings - Examining the Status of Gender Difference Within HCI Coding Practices

by Michael Heidt and Paul Rosenthal

Gender relations are reproduced both within HCI development processes as well as within contexts ... more Gender relations are reproduced both within HCI development processes as well as within contexts of use. Hence, theorising the subject of gender becomes part of the responsibility of HCI as a form of practice. The fledgling subfield of feminist HCI has created an epistemological basis for thinking through these challenges. The current text seeks to relate to these contributions by analysing practices of coding as they pertain to HCI. We argue that coding is of yet undertheorised regarding the subject of gender relations. By drawing on the semiotic theories of Michael Mateas and combining them with Donna Haraway’s reading of material-semiotic actors, the text aims to provide new impulses for a theorisation of the practice of code-writing as a (potentially gendered) writing practice. It thus aims at increasing the translatability of HCI theory into gender-aware communities of knowledge production.

Stubborn Materialities / Unruly Aesthetics

by Michael Heidt and Kalja Kanellopoulos

Crafting Interactive Systems, Workshop @CHI '13

Digital and interactive art has reconfigured the relationship between art and technology as well ... more Digital and interactive art has reconfigured the relationship between art and technology as well as restructured the discourse within the artistic field itself. Inextricably tied to a reflection on its medium digital art must highlight the power-effects it necessarily has to (re)produce and repeat. It does so in virtue of negative aestheticisation of its interfaces, by creating noise, frustration, perplexity. Springing from an interdisciplinary background – informed by social sciences, informatics, rhetoric, literary studies and philosophy – we provide a discussion aware of specificity and historicity of its theoretical constituents. In doing so, we hope to contribute to a tentative genealogy of digital art as an expressive practice. Lastly the text itself is product of dynamic friction between positions of observation and engagement, reflexive and poietic practices. It wants to be read as a conceptual experiment.

Diverse Ecologies – Interdisciplinary Development for Cultural Education

by Kalja Kanellopoulos, Linda Pfeiffer, Michael Heidt, and Paul Rosenthal

Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2013, 2013

We present a case study outlining development efforts towards an interface ecology to be deployed... more We present a case study outlining development efforts towards an interface ecology to be deployed in museums. We argue that the problem at hand calls for a highly interdisciplinary design process. Furthermore, system design in the domain of cultural education poses a unique set of challenges. At the same time few existing design methodologies are suitable for addressing this special environment of system design. We outline a set of tentative methodological elements aimed at informing adequate interdisciplinary development processes. The discussion is embedded into a critique of existing methodologies while being orientated towards inviting critique itself. The guiding insight steering our methodological developments is that fundamental differences between project participants and other stakeholders should be construed as assets. Rather than trying to integrate them or covering them up, the dynamic friction between differing viewpoints can be rendered productive by means of poietic practices.

The Aesthetics of Activism

For this demonstration the authors intend to present the Aesthetics of Activism as a work-in-prog... more For this demonstration the authors intend to present the Aesthetics of Activism as a work-in-progress. The artwork is designed to aggregate visual material from social networks to form themed compositions that can be explored jointly within a shared interactive space. Visual elements are programmatically arranged according to formal aesthetic criteria, while motion within the exhibition space is detected via optical sensors. Artistry built into the algorithms used for creating the visual compositions and those used to present, filter and rank content within the social web are exposed for people interested in the relationships between the cultural and computer layers inherent to the system design.

HCI and the Community of Non-users

by Michael Heidt, Kalja Kanellopoulos, Linda Pfeiffer, and Paul Rosenthal

HCI’s success as a discipline is based on its ability of dealing with the problems, desires, and ... more HCI’s success as a discipline is based on its ability of dealing with the problems, desires, and requirements of technology users. Through its turn to user experience, the community was able to create products whose use is pleasant and exciting. There are, however, design contexts where the corresponding focus on fostering use might be in need of a complementing perspective.

During the last couple of years, the topic of technology non-use has appeared within the scope of HCI. Within this text, we will explore how these recent conceptualisations and analyses can be employed in order to turn non-use into a design resource. We do so by discussing them in the context of a concrete development project aimed at creating interactive technology for exhibition contexts.

Transcoding the Aesthetics of Activism

by Michael Heidt and Lorna Boschman

The Aesthetics of Activism (2014) is an artwork that aggregates visual material from social netwo... more The Aesthetics of Activism (2014) is an artwork that aggregates visual material from social networks into image and video collages. Visitors within an interactive zone can explore playback and correlation between images. The authors’ approach to transcoding aesthetically is grounded in their interpretation of both design and theatrical practices. They provide a detailed analysis of the artwork’s operation boundaries (e.g. spatial layout and themed structure) to support insight into the new roles and processes employed to translate code and aesthetics. Their approach to transcoding is a process that undermines the commercial platforms that rank, sort and filter the information on the Internet. Rather than enact document agency the artwork demonstrates the artistry required to transcode the representation of real world activism.

Extemporising Digital Empowerment

The potential of spontaneity inhering in situated human encounters is threatened by rigidly coded... more The potential of spontaneity inhering in situated human
encounters is threatened by rigidly coded interactive
apparatusses. This effect is exacerbated as elements of
interactive technology continue to permeate public spaces,
thereby restructuring human lifeworlds. However, the
presence of inflexibly coded couplings between human
input and digital response constitutes no inevitability.
Extending the notion of live coding, this text examines
applications and conceptualisations of in-situ code
production and code alteration. It thereby hopes to show
how performative practices of coding can be employed
within creative contexts of improvisation.

Towards a Vocabulary of Prototypes in Interaction Design – A Criticism of Current Practice

A methodological framework and a constructivist meta theory for formulating a vocabulary of proto... more A methodological framework and a constructivist meta theory for formulating a vocabulary of prototype characteristics in interaction design are presented. Motivation for this research approach is drawn from cognitive psychology which hypothesizes that the aesthetic cognition of artifacts lies outside the scope of verbal appreciation. First, the shortcomings of the related design research literature are discussed in an attempt to frame a suitable methodology for overcoming these issues. It is also shown how the analysis of existing literature, protocols and observations will fit into this research scheme. Second, an accompanying meta theory building on Latours [15, 16] account of artifact–subject relations within the actor network theory, is described.

Playful Exploration Of Prototypes In Interaction Design

A card deck to explore and to formulate properties of prototypes in interaction design for foster... more

by Michael Heidt, Linda Pfeiffer, and Paul Rosenthal

Vorgestellt wird die interaktive Installation PRMD. Diese erlaubt ein gemeinsames, performativ au... more Vorgestellt wird die interaktive Installation PRMD. Diese erlaubt ein gemeinsames, performativ aufgeladenes Entdecken von Biographien wie deren intersubjektiv verbindenden Elementen. Als Verschneidung rein digitaler wie aktuell performativer Elemente, thematisiert sie gleichzeitig zeitgenössische Praxen digitaler Identitätskonstruktion wie solche biographischen Erzählens in geschichtlichen Kontexten.

Deconstructivist Design within HCI

by Michael Heidt and Paul Rosenthal

Every HCI artefact reproduces a specific stance towards its users. Influential within the academi... more Every HCI artefact reproduces a specific stance towards its users. Influential within the academic sphere is the notion of a User-Centered-Design process. However, observing actual design practice renders the assumption of the centrality of users problematic. To this end, the text conducts an exploration of the relationship between discourse within the fields of HCI and architecture. A special focus are the formal expressions of deconstructivism within architecture and their potential counterparts within HCI design.

Conduplicated Symmetries: Renegotiating the Material Basis of Prototype Research

The role of materiality within prototyping recently received a high degree of attention from HCI ... more The role of materiality within prototyping recently received a high degree of attention from HCI and design communities. Existing approaches have solely focussed on the materiality of artifacts produced during prototyping. This focus largely has left the materiality of designers and users unaccounted for. The text illustrates how the Somatic-Marker-Hypothesis and Actor-Network-Theory can be employed in order to illustrate these forgotten dimensions of materiality during prototyping: Not only is material shaped during construction of artefacts. Material modifications also comprise alterations within the material of designers’ and users’ bodies themselves. In order to facilitate these descriptions, a novel approach towards symmetry had to be developed.

Reconstructing Coding Practice - Towards a Methodology for Source-Code

Mensch & Computer 2013 - Workshopband, 2013

Mutual cooperation between the domains of social research and digital artefact production compris... more Mutual cooperation between the domains of social research and digital artefact production comprises an important aspect of HCI design projects. Despite this fact, scientific practitioners are confronted by a startling lack of methodologically sound approaches pertaining incorporation of source code into the social research process. The text therefore provides a theoretically founded inquiry into possible reasons and remedies for the situation described.

Beyond Presentation – Employing Proactive Intelligent Agents as Social Catalysts

Despite long standing attention from research communities, the technology of intelligent agents s... more Despite long standing attention from research communities, the technology of intelligent agents still harbours a large amount of unrealised potential. In this text, we argue that agent technology can benefit from a shift in focus from presentation to possible functionalities. In doing this, our focus is on the provision of pro-activity: The ability of agents not to merely react but to predictively shape their environments. In order to illustrate our arguments, we present an instance of interactive technology, showing how pro-active intelligent agents can be employed in exhibition contexts.

Location Based Video Flipping: Navigating Geospatial Videos in Lean Back Settings

by Michael Heidt and Thomas Fritzsche

We propose a geospatial navigation concept for browsing videos according to their tagged geograph... more We propose a geospatial navigation concept for browsing
videos according to their tagged geographic location. This
application expands two paradigms for selecting video
content: First continuous, yet one-dimensional flipping
through subsequent video clips that are ordered in lists.
Second, the discrete selection of video clips that are
positioned on maps according to their tagged location.
While the first can be accomplished with a regular HBB TV
remote control, the second is usually done with mouse and
cursor. The proposed application achieves the ease of use of
a remote control in a lean back setting, while providing the
means of navigating videos on maps.

Tangible Disparity – Different Notions of the Material as Catalyst of Interdisciplinary Communication

by Michael Heidt, Linda Pfeiffer, and Paul Rosenthal

Communicating tangible technology designs hinges on an adequate notion of materiality. However, a... more Communicating tangible technology designs hinges on an adequate notion of materiality. However, academic disciplines involved employ wildly differing notions of the material. This issue effects communicative boundaries within interdisciplinary teams tasked with development of tangible digital artefacts. In order to address this problem, we provide an analysis of differing disciplinary modes of conceptualisation and theorisation. Following these considerations, we discuss theoretical artefacts able to serve as communicative interfaces between the disciplines in question.

Examining Interdisciplinary Prototyping in the Context of Cultural Communication

Design, User Experience, and Usability. Health, Learning, Playing, Cultural, and Cross-Cultural User Experience, 2013

Designers typically have to operate in the environment of highly interdisciplinary teams. However... more Designers typically have to operate in the environment of highly interdisciplinary teams. However, at the same time mindsets of project participants frequently remain framed within disciplinary and professional boundaries. We argue that interdisciplinary communication processes can be improved upon by further theorising the differences between disciplinary cultures. Prototyping offers unique opportunities concerning these situational configurations. It allows to make differences productive on the level of practice whose incommensurabilities often preclude integration within the realm of theory and conviction. We thus provide a tentative set of communicative and methodological tools aimed at improving the communicative process in these scenarios. Instead of trying to establish a common language or common toolset, we try to render the dynamic friction between disparate perspectives productive. Our positions are illustrated by discussing them in the context of a case study in the domain of cultural education.

Interdisziplinäre Impulse für den Begriff "Interaktion"

by Michael Storz, Kalja Kanellopoulos, Michael Heidt, V. Obländer, and Kai-uwe Martin

Informationswissenschaft zwischen virtueller Infrastruktur und materiellen Lebenswelten. Tagungsband des 13. Internationalen Symposiums für Informationswissenschaft (ISI 2013), 2013

Die benutzergerechte Gestaltung interaktiver Systeme ist einer der lebendigsten Schwerpunkte der ... more Die benutzergerechte Gestaltung interaktiver Systeme ist einer der lebendigsten Schwerpunkte der Informationswissenschaft. Die größte Herausforderung für interdisziplinäre Arbeitsfelder wie die Mensch-Computer-Interaktion besteht darin, unterschiedliche Forschungslogiken und Begriffsgebäude produktiv zu vereinen. Besonders deutlich wird das anhand des für die HCI zentralen Begriffs „Interaktion“: Seine häufige Verwendung (auch als „Interaktivität“) steht einer inhaltlichen Unterbestimmtheit gegenüber. Im Hinblick auf dieses Problem präsentieren wir in unserem Beitrag einen Ansatz zur Integration disziplinärer Theoriebestände zur Arbeit am Interaktionsbegriff.