The last weeks involved exploration again, this time focused on direct manipulation and agents. Discussions, prototypes, and of course iterations created the base of this exploration.

Goal of exploration:
- create WYSIWYG functionality: appearance = behaviour
- create complex/abstract behaviour (interaction, emergence, if-then, etc)
* explore & analyse possibilities
* explore user interaction & understanding

Direct manipulation
* program 1 object
* wearables -> behaviour = complexity

Lemmings behaviour
* objects interact via simple command objects
* wearables + interaction = complexity

Manipulating the agent
* program different objects to activate each other
* “The Incredible Machine”: creating complex system = complexity

Infect the agents
* program different objects to change each other
* system, cause and effect = complexity

Follow up directions
* direct manipulation & users => focus on user userstanding & robot understanding
combine dresses, what happens?
user learns by doing, robot also learns?

* direct manipulative interaction => focus on manipulating interaction
user (unconscious?) designs a complex system
lemmings/TIM principle

* dress changes behaviour <-> behaviour changes dress
concrete vs abstract
changeable dress vs behaviour IS the dress

* shift from ‘understanding inner workings’ to ‘understanding perceivable behaviour’
behaviour ‘behaves’, user changes something, behaviour changes
user forms mental model, does not have to be correct -> understanding should ‘match’

4d, actDresses, direct manipulation, exploration, glowbots, Prototypes Hide

In the second series of exploration iterations, I started to create the WYSIWYG functionality again: allow users to directly program the robot to behave like they want. As a platform, Glowbots (REF) were used, robots with a LED display on top of them. Creating direct signs that directly manipulate/indicate the robot’s behaviour was the goal again.

Eventually, simple shapes were developed that could be placed over the robot: squares, circles, triangles and lines. The robot would then display this shape on the LEDs. When the shape was rotated, the displayed shape would start to rotate as well. Empty robots placed near a shaped robot would copy the behaviour, allowing multiple displays to be programmed. Finally, a ‘blocking’ shape would reset the robot again.

The coupling between sign and behaviour is obvious here: programming of different shapes is simple and straight forward. The interpretation of the signs is simple as well; only simple behaviour can be programmed. This exploration already shows the complication and challenge of more complex behaviour: the ‘copying’ behaviour has no sign at the moment. How could it be made more clear that two shapes copy each other? If this line of reasoning is continued, the real challenge becomes visible: programming complex behaviour using these clear, physical and direct shapes. How would an ‘if-then’ situation be handled, for example? That is the goal of the next exploration: using this platform of Glowbots to explore signs and complex behaviour.

4d, end-user programming, exploration, glowbots, Prototypes Hide