Emotional Interaction Qualities: Vocabulary, Modalities, Actions, And Mapping

TL;DR

This paper explores how multisensory and multimodal IoT devices can be designed to better match user interaction qualities, using a vocabulary and mapping approach developed through co-design workshops.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to characterizing and mapping interaction qualities in multisensory IoT devices using a dedicated vocabulary and design methodology.

Findings

Users desire more expressive interaction modalities.

A structured vocabulary helps in designing multisensory interactions.

Mapping interaction qualities to sensors and actuators enhances user experience.

Abstract

Have you ever typed particularly powerful on your keyboard, maybe even harsh, to write and send a message with some emphasis of your emotional state or message? Did it work? Probably not. It didn't affect how you typed or interacted with your mouse. But what if you had other, connected devices, with other modalities for inputs and outputs? Which would you have chosen, and how would you characterize your interactions with them? We researched with our multisensory and multimodal tool, the Loaded Dice, in co-design workshops the design space of IoT usage scenarios: what interaction qualities users want, characterized using an interaction vocabulary, and how they might map them to a selection of sensors and actuators. We discuss based on our experience some thoughts of such a mapping.