Colliding with Robots

Steve Benford, University of Nottingham

Abstract

As robots populate our homes so we must learn to collide with them - and them with us. Not only are collisions inevitable, but they can also be pleasurable - in sports and rough and tumble play. We might even consider that humans have a moral right to collide with robots or risk being boxed in by a plethora of collision adverse mobile devices. I will explore collision as an essential facet of human bodily experience that needs be brought to mobile HCI. I will draw on examples of collisions with delivery, telepresence and assistive robots, and designing a robot to play with cats, to reveal the human, technological and ethical challenges of colliding with robots.

Bio

Steve Benford is the Dunford Professor of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham where he co-founded the Mixed Reality Laboratory. His research explores artistic applications of digital technologies through performance-led methods that engage artists in creating, touring and studying unique interactive experiences. In turn, these have inspired fresh perspectives on interaction such as trajectories and uncomfortable interactions. He directs the EPSRC-funded Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training and the University's newly founded Cobot Maker Space that is exploring human interaction with robots. He was previously an EPSRC Dream Fellow and a Visiting Professor at the BBC.

Voice Interfaces: Holy Grail or Pandora's Box?

Cosmin Munteanu, University of Waterloo

Abstract

For close to five decades, at least since the famous "Put that there" MIT demo, voice interfaces have been regarded as the Holy Grail of (mobile) interaction design. The ability to interact with devices through a hands-free modality that is so natural to most users was considered the pinnacle of design, allowing users to be truly mobile and untethered from the devices they interact with. Voice can also naturally be combined with other modalities such as gestures, affording true human-like interaction capabilities to technology. While progress toward uncovering this Holy Grain of interaction has been challenged earlier by engineering limitations such as the accuracy of processing voice input, the past few years have seen tremendous breakthroughs that make voice (and other conversational) interfaces technically feasible. Yet, while this rapid pace of engineering progress may have allowed us to get closer to the Holy Grail, we may have also open wide the ethical doors to Pandora's Box. We are now on the cusp of unleashing new interfaces and interaction capabilities that, while truly mobile, natural, and hands-free, are also failing to include and support marginalized users that stand to benefit the most from such technologies. In fact, I argue that the current state of design of mobile voice interfaces is not only excluding such users, but actively risk marginalizing them from critical services and essential information that is increasingly transitioning to being delivered primarily through such interactions (e.g. "voice-first interfaces"). Grounded in close to three decades of research in this space, I deconstruct in this talk some of current design trajectories that are emerging in the space of hands-free, mobile voice interfaces. I then discuss how we may approach the design of such interfaces in ways that are more ethical, inclusive, and meaningful to a broader range of users and contexts.

Bio

Cosmin Munteanu is an Associate Professor and Schlegel Research Chair in Technology for Healthy Aging at the Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, and Director of the Technologies for Ageing Gracefully lab. He is a Human-Computer Interaction scholar, conducting sociotechnical research at the intersection of user experience design, digital inclusion, aging, natural language processing, and ethics. Cosmin takes a primarily ethnomethodological approach to study how voice- and language-enabled interactive technology and media interfaces should be designed in a safe, effective, inclusive, and ethical manner, in order to empower digitally underrepresented groups such as older adults. Cosmin has dedicated close to three decades to research on facilitating natural, meaningful, and safe interactions between people and digital media and devices. Cosmin's interests include designing intelligent applications that improve access to information, support learning late in life, and reduce digital marginalization, such as for older adults whose enjoyment of life and participation in society could be better supported by advances in interactive assistive technologies such as voice, conversational, or virtual reality interfaces. Cosmin is the co-founder of the new ACM Conversational User Interfaces conference series and one of the early researchers to bring speech processing and mobile interface design research together. He is also serving as a member of the ACM SIGCHI Ethics Committee where he contributes perspectives on ethical research with underrepresented user groups.

The mobile as a probe for collocated sociality in cultural Contexts

Maria Roussou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Abstract

The ubiquity of mobile devices has transformed our social interactions, and cultural institutions have seized the opportunity to leverage these interfaces to enhance visitor experiences. In this talk, I draw on case studies and real-world examples of mobile applications serving as probes for understanding and promoting sociality and (historical) empathy in diverse cultural settings to: discuss the challenges faced during design and implementation as well as aspects that may undermine the authenticity of social and cultural nuances within these shared physical spaces; to provide insights into the intricate interplay between technology, social dynamics, and cultural environments; and to showcase the transformative potential of mobile HCI in museums and its ability to create meaningful and engaging experiences while preserving the essence of human interaction in them.

Bio

Maria Roussou is an Associate Professor in Interactive Systems at the Department of Informatics & Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She co-founded makebelieve, an experience design and consulting company in 2003 and previously established and directed the Virtual Reality Department at the Foundation of the Hellenic World from 1998 to 2003. Her work there involved creating immersive projection-based VR exhibits and overseeing research, design, and development of VR programs and visitor experiences. For most of the nineties (1993-1997), during her extensive work with the CAVE® at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory in Chicago, she focused on designing, applying, and evaluating virtual and digital media environments for education and cultural representation. She holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of London (UCL); a Master in Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Electronic Visualization and an MSc in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago; and a BSc in Applied Informatics from the Athens University of Economics and Business. Maria is a Senior Member of the ACM, Vice-chair of the Greek ACM SIGCHI Chapter and the Greek ACM-W Chapter, and the recipient of the 2013 Tartessos Award in Digital Heritage and Virtual Archaeology.