Principal Investigators

Prof. Dr. Sarah Diefenbach, LMU Munich
Prof. Dr. Marc Hassenzahl, Universität Siegen

A central challenge within the design of pervasive computing environments (PCEs) is how to identify general characteristics that can be transferred across devices and domains, but at the same time, acknowledge contextual demands to provide a fulfilling user experience (UX). Our research project addresses this with a focus on the emerging “aesthetics of interaction”, i.e., interaction that “feels” good because it fits the current context and relevant psychological needs. We apply this approach in the reference scenario of public smart spaces, a scenario where sensible design with regards to experiential aspects and psychological needs seem especially relevant. While users perform and experience their own interaction, they may also think about how others perceive this interaction and the impression they make on others. Social acceptability, thus, seems crucially relevant for the experience and use of public interactive systems. In a set of systematic studies, we will identify psychological needs and specific requirements for positive experience and interaction in public contexts. Based on this, we will design, prototype, and evaluate interaction concepts in concrete application scenarios (e.g., smart restaurant, airport, citizen’s registration office).