Studios

We are happy to announce the following studios (ordered alphabetically). Information on how to register for a studio can be found on the registration page.

For registrations after December 20, an additional 15€ per studio will be charged.

  1. Advanced Cardboard Modeling: exploring the aesthetics of the third way
  2. Dancing Robots
  3. Designing in Skills Studio
  4. Embedded Audio Without Beeps: Synthesis and Sound Effects From Cheap to Steep
  5. Form & Function Toolkit: printed electronics for unconventional interfaces
  6. Handcrafting Electronic Accessories Using 'Raw' Materials
  7. Prototyping Device Ecologies: Physical to Digital and Vice Versa
  8. Skweezee Studio: Turn your own plush toys into interactive squeezable objects
  9. The misbehavior of animated objects
  10. Tools and Methods for Creating Interactive Artifacts

1. Advanced Cardboard Modeling: exploring the aesthetics of the third way

Price: 92€
Max. # of participants: 15
Room: Richard Wagner Straße 10 - Room 101

This studio revolves around the exploration of (tangible and actuated) interactive products and systems by means of physical sketching and prototyping. It is a hands-on studio where cardboard modeling techniques are combined with Arduino controlled sensors and actuators (the advanced cardboard modeling platform) to explore the notion of 'the aesthetics of the third way'. The 'aesthetics of the third way' recognizes different approaches to 'dematerialization' (the process of the physical becoming digital, e.g., LPs and CDs become digital files and loose the physical media) and tries to balance the qualities of both the physical and the digital in a new manner. In this workshop we both aim to acquaint participants with a new, low threshold platform for exploration as give them insight in -and a vocabulary of the 'third way. The studio lasts the whole day – a six hour time slot.

Organizers:
  • Joep Frens
  • Lukas van Campenhout

2. Dancing Robots

Price: 79€
Max. # of participants: 8
Room: Richard Wagner Straße 10 - Room 12

Robots have a long history as a tangible platform through which designers and artists can explore human and social experiences. From Pierre Jaquet-Doz's Automatons from the Eighteenth Century, to Dunne & Raby's technological dreams of non-anthropomorphic robots that assist our lives, robots have been a rich form of technology that artists and designers have used to explore the human condition and how we relate to technology. This studio will give an introduction to e-puck programmable robots and participants will learn how to use them to develop swarm-based performances. Following an introduction to the programming interface, participants will work in small groups to develop behaviours for a 'swarm' of e-pucks, for example choreograph a dance based upon a twitter feed or perform a collective task that assists a human. The studio will culminate in a series of performances by the e-pucks that explore the potential for robots as materials for designing with data.

Organizers:
  • Chris Speed
  • Larissa Pschetz
  • Jon Oberlander
  • Alexandros Papadopoulos-Korfiatis

3. Designing in Skills Studio

Price: 71€
Max. # of participants: 16
Room: Richard Wagner Straße 10 - Room 11

The Designing in Skills Studio provides a framework and tools to address the theme of collaboration in a design process, applying the theories of embodiment and skilful coping. Each participant will collaborate with the others in order to explore one of his perceptual- motor skills, and find out how this skill shapes his sensitivity and can contribute to a richer shared design process and outcome. The studio aims at creating the stage for reflecting on the impact of embodiment on cooperation, and based on these insights, discussing and initiating the development of new ways of tangible and embodied interaction for multi-stakeholder cooperation in the future.

Organizers:
  • Caroline Hummels
  • Ambra Trotto

4. Embedded Audio Without Beeps: Synthesis and Sound Effects From Cheap to Steep

Price: 35€
Max. # of participants: 25
Room: Richard Wagner Straße 10 - Room 110

Can your microwave be musical? What does it take to design devices that produce better sounds than the prototypical square wave beeps we are accustomed to hearing today? The authors have developed several prototyping toolkits for the rapid creation - sketching in hardware - of sonic and tangible interaction designs focusing on audio for interactive devices; specifically, producing higher-quality sound than the typical beeps so commonly heard from many digital devices today. Participants will learn how to create both completely self-contained devices for embedding into various objects or clothing, and wireless devices for the control of sound or music generated remotely. For example, studio creations can synthesize sound directly with an Arduino or a more powerful "Create USB Interface" board via Direct Digital Synthesis. Alternatively, they can control a program such as Pure Data (or other common software environments for audio processing) via innovative interfaces that send real-time inputs to such software running on a laptop, mobile device, or small Linux board (e.g., Raspberry Pi or Beagleboard). Basic hardware will be provided, but participants are also encouraged to bring related equipment they may already own.

Organizers:
  • Dan Overholt
  • Nikolaj "DZL" Møbius

5. Form & Function Toolkit: printed electronics for unconventional interfaces

Price: 145€
Max. # of participants: 15
Room: Richard Wagner Straße 10 - Room 106
Website: http://www.uni-weimar.de/de/medien/professuren/interface-design/fandf/

The studio deals with the potential of printed electronics as a way to embed electronic functionalities into everyday physical objects. Inspired by children educational toys we present a toolkit for experimenting with printed electronics and their tangible applications. It is an experimental prototyping platform for printed electronics that can be combined with different sensors and actuators from traditional and printed electronics. We will build a small toolbox from a pre-fabricated model set, that includes an Arduino connected to a printed circuit board. Different electronic components and sensors will be attached to the board and will be used to record environmental parameters. These smart tangible devices communicate with each other and the Internet. Participants will then develop concepts for future Internet of Things applications based on their experience with the toolkit. In the final step we would like to discuss ideas for developing this platform further with the workshop participants.

Organizers:
  • Jens Geelhaar
  • Johannes Deich
  • Martin Schied
  • Jens Hammerschmidt
  • Michael Markert
  • Gabriel Rausch

6. Handcrafting Electronic Accessories Using 'Raw' Materials

Price: 35€
Max. # of participants: 10
Room: Richard Wagner Straße 10 - Room 104

In this studio we explore the design of interactive electronic accessories made from natural materials such as wood, copper, silver, wool and leather. A set of handcrafted sensor components along with easy to use sensor boards that connect with example smartphone software, will be utilized as a toolkit for the studio activities. Participants will, through hands-on activity, create with, learn about and discuss the role of natural materials in the design of wearable interactive designs.

Organizers:
  • Ylva Fernaeus
  • Vasiliki Tsaknaki
  • Martin Murer
  • Jordi Solsona Belenguer

7. Prototyping Device Ecologies: Physical to Digital and Vice Versa

Price: 65€
Max. # of participants: 12
Room: Richard Wagner Straße 10 - Room 109

This Studio will involve participants creating interactions with physical and digital elements. They will have the opportunity to use a toolkit we developed that combines physical and digital widgets into a unique environment to allow the rapid setup of device ecologies. Therefore, participants will be able to explore how the toolkit support to physical/digital interaction gives people with low, when no, technical skills the possibility to rapidly prototype interactions among heterogeneous devices, thus blurring the boundaries between the physical and the digital world. The Studio is structured in two parts: in the first one, participants will get familiar with the toolkit hardware and software functionalities. In the second part they will experiment directly the toolkit capabilities by developing interactions among digitally-augmented objects in a cultural heritage context. We expect, in this Studio, people to learn what are the possibilities and challenges in the development of device ecologies.

Organizers:
  • Andrea Bellucci
  • Ingnacio Aedo
  • Paloma Diaz
  • Alessio Malizia

8. Skweezee Studio: Turn your own plush toys into interactive squeezable objects

Price: 95€
Max. # of participants: 15
Room: Richard Wagner Straße 10 - Room 108

Skweezees are soft, deformable objects that recognize their shape deformation. Typically, a Skweezee has a fabric 'skin' and is filled with conductive padding. Several fabric electrodes are dispersed over the shape, and a small electronic circuit measures the resistance between each possible pair of electrodes. As the shape is deformed as a result of a squeeze gesture, the resistance patterns between electrode pairs change. A machine learning algorithm allows to differentiate between the different shape deformations. In addition, user-friendly open source software allows defining and recording squeeze gestures. Consequently, Skweezees enable rich gestural squeeze interaction for the DIY community. In this Skweezee Studio, participants are invited to bring their own plush toy (or another soft object) and to transform it into a Skweezee. Moreover, participants will be introduced to the mechanical , electrical and digital properties of Skweezees and participants will be able to explore and discuss the potential of e-textile, and of soft, tangible and haptic interactions in general.

Organizers:
  • Luc Geurts
  • Vero Vanden Abeele
  • Karen Vanderloock
  • Jolien Deville
  • Jelle Saldien

9. The misbehavior of animated objects

Price: 35€
Max. # of participants: 18
Room: Richard Wagner Straße 10 - Room 103

How to create & animate an object of simple, abstract form which movement would confer a behavior? How to give the impression that such an object have a personality allowing to be proactive, with self-motivated behavior, not directly responding to our expectations, or even challenging them through the demonstration of mis-behavior? To address these questions, we propose a studio allowing to design and rapid-prototype such object from an easily accessible toolbox (hardware and software) for the studio's audience to experiment with. This toolbox will have been developed beforehand through the collaboration of MIT Tangible Media Group and the Ensadlab composed of researchers in art, design, technology (HCI and tangible media) for this specific studio experiment.

Organizers:
  • Samuel Bianchini
  • Rémy Bourganel
  • Jean-Baptiste Labrune
  • Hiroshi Ishii
  • Emmanuel Mahé
  • Emanuele Quinz

10. Tools and Methods for Creating Interactive Artifacts

Price: 105€
Max. # of participants: 15
Room: Amalienstraße 17, Back Building, B102-B104
Website: http://teistudio14.hcilab.org/

Many embedded platforms that support the creation of interactive smart objects have become available over the last years. Arduino, Raspberry Pi, electric imp, mbed, MSP430, and .NET Gadgeteer are examples of hardware platforms with very different properties and capabilities. In order to make interactive artifacts additional sensors, actuators, and networking elements are available for the different platforms. Additionally there are different software environments and development tools that support developers in creating custom applications for embedded systems. It is apparent that one size doesn't fit all and that choosing the right platform and tools is an important step towards an effective solution. In this TEI2014 studio we first provide an overview of available platforms and tools that allow developers to create novel and tangible interactive systems. We will present and discuss developing environments, with a specific focus on browser based programming tools and social coding. In a second step we will have 2 hands-on sessions, where in each we use a different platform and create an initial functional prototype. The aim is to provide the participants with an overview of existing embedded development tools suitable for creating interactive artifacts and to provide some hands on-experience with different new platforms.

Organizers:
  • Thomas Kubitza
  • Norman Pohl
  • Tilman Dingler
  • Albrecht Schmidt
  • Daniela Petrelli
  • Nick Dulake
TEI 2014 Proceedings in the ACM Digital Library.

Keynote Speakers

Opening Keynote
Chris Harrison
The Rich-Touch Revolution is Coming
Closing Keynote
Eric Paulos
Hybrid Ecologies: New Stratagems for Computing Culture

Important Dates

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