Interactions - November/December 2012

Demo Hour highlights new prototypes and projects that exemplify innovation and novel forms of interaction. Leah Maestri, Editor

CHI Interactivity Explorations Track

Chairs: Danielle Wilde and Eva Hornecker

Herzfassen (Take Heart) Herzfassen is a self-contained kinetic object that uses physical computing and biometric data to provide an aesthetic and sensual experience while maintaining an ordinary outer appearance: a metal bowl filled with water. When someone touches the handles, the human heartbeat is detected and represented through vibration and patterns on the water’s surface. People are invited to explore and engage with their own physicality, as well as inter- act with others to create a social dynamic around the responsive object.

Project website: http://herzfassen.org

Publication: Monika Hoinkis. Herzfassen: A responsive object. Proc. of CHI 2012 Extended Abstracts. ACM, New York, 2012.

Monika Hoinkis | University of Applied Sciences Potsdam | Berlin University of the Arts | hoinkis@fh-potsdam.de

Not all research is best understood through papers or videos. CHI Interactivity pro-
motes and provokes engagement with ideas through touching, squeezing, hearing,

HWD Corporation HWD (hard-wired devices) Corporation is a collection of 100 electronic devices, each con- sisting of a travel alarm clock connected to a different game controller selected from the last 30 years of gaming culture. For each device a new interaction has been crafted by hardwiring the functions of the alarm clock onto the digital switches of the controller. As a result, the basic functions of the alarm clock, such as setting the time, can be controlled with the joysticks. This project is a journey through the history of game controllers, to celebrate both its revolutionary successes and its remarkable failures.