"Towards a Transparent Self"

Embodied Interaction Advanced HS2015 (Max Rheiner, Martin Feuz, Joël Gähwiler)

Movie: Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

The Transparent Self is a future scenario where all personal data is publicly available and can be read by any digital device or service. The body is extended with self-monitoring devices that deliberately upload a person's inputs (e.g. food consumed, quality of surrounding air), states (e.g. mood, arousal, blood oxygen levels), and performance (mental and physical) to the global network. The data is then automatically made available to other devices in the person's close space (eg. buildings, transportation vehicles, doors, etc.) or virtual services in distant data centers (health tracking, smart insurances, etc.).

This embodied interaction advanced course deals with the fictional future scenario of a "Transparent Self" which is an extrapolation of current emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, movements like the Quantified Self, hypes like Wearables and scientific efforts like "biofeedback". In five weeks you will create fictional embodied experiences that incorporate "seamless" interaction between the body and such digital-physical spaces. The resulting experience prototype connects to the topics, is based on a valid background research and is embedded in an authentic story.

Research Questions

• What implications does a public availability of such personal data cause?
  
• How do interpersonal relationships transform as for example on a first date?
• What kind of interactions with the environment could emerge or vanish?

Input

• Martins slides reflecting on the term "Embodied" can be downloaded here.
• The google doc with the list of networks can be found here.
• The atlas of networks can be found here.

Related Projects 

Biofeedback

• Pulse Room (Rafael Lozano-Hemmer)
• Connected Heartbeats (Phan V), Article
• Heart Rate Project (Linda Tegg)
• pplkpr (Kyle McDonald & Lauren McCarthy), Article
• knife.hand.chop.bot (5VOLTCORE), Video
• Art of the Thrill (The Atlantic)
• Pulse of the City (George Zisiadis), Article
• A Brief History of Biosignal-Driven Art (eContact!)
• The Bertillon System (Forensic Views of the Body)

Quantified Self & Internet of Things

• The Networked Society (Ericsson), Video
• EM-Sense (Disney Research), Article
• aprilzero.com (Anand Sharma)
• quantifiedself.com (self knowledge through numbers)
• existence.io (An interface for your life)
• Favorite Ted Talks (Hemavault Labs)
• Towards a sensored future (Rachel Kalmar)
• Better Living Through Big Data (PSFK)

Technology

• Pulse Sensor (Sparkfun)
• e-Health Sensor Platform (Cooking Hacks)
• e-Health Library (Fixed for new Arduino)
• shiftr.io (Communication Platform)

Deliverables

1. Individual Research (Discussion Round) (Friday 20.11)
   Please post found projects in the following Google Docs for sharing. (Download PDF Version here)
2. Concept Illustration (Concept Presentation) (Thursday 26.11)
   Each group submits a concept illustration in the form of a video (1-2 minutes).
3. Experience Prototype (Final Presentation) (Thursday 17.12)
   Each group submits a working experience prototype as well as a video illustrating the final concept embedded in a story.
4. Documentation (Delivery) (Friday 18.12)
   Each group submits a documentation of their work that includes images, textual documentation (process & reflection).
   

Schedule

Structure: 16h, Inputs: 16h, Individual Research: 12h, Group Work: 104h, Documentation: 12h