R E S E A R C H P R O J E C T

ReflectUnderstanding the Experiential Qualities of Reflection

ProjectBrief

An academic consortium is researching new modes of motivating people to actively

engage with their physical rehabilitation exercises. One of the research focuses is to leverage and build on the current observed practices of situated negotiations with the settings for exercising. For example, a rehabilitee picks up the cushions from the couch and lays them on the floor to perform a series of exercises, and return them back to the couch. This whole range of activities of picking up, laying on the floor and keeping them back in place is an exercise in itself. The aim of this project is to support and augment the ongoing research[1] in the field of healthcare in HCI community. The paper[1] argues that the concept of ‘Concordance’ as a new design ideal, can be used to design solutions that will promote a more active patient role in process of rehabilitation both in and out of clinic.

Refurn, a research project, demonstrated how self-reflection can become a means to create motivation in rehabilitees to pursue their physical rehabilitation in out of clinic setting. Fleck and Fitzpatrick, in their paper[5], present five levels of reflection: R0 - revisiting, R1 - revisiting with explanation, R2 - exploring relationships, R3 - fundamental change and R4 - wider implications. In particular the work discusses how the level of revisiting is not actually performing reflection, but more about ‘setting up the conditions for reflection’. Based on the work done so far in the project Refurn and illustrated in the paper[2], three concepts (ReRide, RePlenish and ReLuminate) were identified that demonstrate how everyday objects can trigger reflection in the users. The concepts directly align with the notion of setting up the conditions for reflection, rather than actually supporting deep, contemplative reflection.

AIM

Understand the nuances and experiential qualities of self-reflection along the Fleck and Fitzpatrick’s framework, using different technologies as triggers.

This will involve achieving the following lower-level objectives:

• To understand the qualities and nuances of deep & contemplative reflections (above R0 upto R3) along the dimension of time of intervention and reflection triggered.

• To qualitatively evaluate the concepts to construct a design space.

The objective is to explore the use of a series of re-imagined everyday objects and accessories, as technology probes to research the experiential qualities of the self-reflections triggered.

CONTEXT

• Some people begin exercises but quit at the early stage due to lack of guidance, lack of time, confusion about the exercises and soreness.

• People often make excuses about not having access to proper equipment to exercise or they do not know how to use them.

• Every individual has different capability and physical limitations. Hence, a generic exercise routine might be discouraging.

• 80% of the population is expected to have back issue at some point in their life. (Global burden of disease 2010)

USER & KEY STAKEHOLDERS

People aged 25-35 years, undergoing physical rehabilitation; their families and friends; physiotherapists in Urban India

80% of the population is expected to have back issue at some point in their life. (Global burden of disease 2010)

Issues

Time

Current Ph ysical Condition

Competing Interests

Non Personal ized Exercise Routines

Privac y

Poor Die t

No access to equipmen t

No access to equipmen t

Expecting instantresult s

Space restriction

Lack of Moti vation

Fig. Issues that prevent people to keep exercise in their daily routine

Research Questions?

•What are the kinds of reflect ions that are tr iggered by everyday objects or spaces with regards to the user’s

physical rehabil i tat ion?

•What are the nuances and experiential quali t ies of these reflect ion tr iggered?

•What is the relat ionship between the different kinds of technology and the kinds of reflect ion? How does

this relat ionship affect the quali ty of reflect ions?

Methodology

Within the practise of User-Centered Design, my diploma project is a

research which focuses on “understanding the qualities of reflection and not solving problems”.

I am exploring new approach to design research, which uses technology probes

as tools and means to generate insights and draw conclusions.

T he larger aim of this project is to establish use of this methodology as Constructive

Research to explore the possibilities in physical rehabilitation.

• “According to Hutchinson, et al, technology probes are simple, flexible, adaptable technologies used in co-designing new technologies with the users, with three interdisciplinary goals: the social science goal of understanding the needs and desires of users in a real-world setting, the engineering goal of field-testing the technology, the design goal of inspiring users and researchers to think about new technologies.” - Hutchinson, Hilary, et al. “Technology probes:

inspiring design for and with families.” Proceedings

of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in

computing systems. ACM, 2003.

In context of this project, the technology probes are adaptations that seek to embed

inspiration within the design process, in contrast to providing inspiration for design. However, the technology probes later can themselves evolve to become inspirations to design.

Methodology

Levels of Reflection

Based on the framework proposed by Fleck & Fitzpatrick, I mapped out the

cognitive processes that a human brain goes through. This helped me further understand what the nuances of different stages of reflection are.

†

Key Features of Design

- Open ended

- Provocative/Disruptive

- Abstract Representation

~Abstrac t Representat ion Abs trac t ing informat ion/data/s ignal by removing cer ta in aspec t s or qual i t i e s from i t t o i so late re levant nuances for in tended response . Eg. Smart wri s t band calculat ing no . of s t eps , calor i e s burnt , gai t speed e tc . abs t rac ted to show amount of ac t iv i t y done us ing 5 led bar .

References :

•AROMAProjec t by Pedersen, El inRønby, andTomasSokoler .

•Bauhaus legacy in research throughdes ign : Thecase of bas ic sonic

in terac t ion des ign by Monache , Stefano, and Rocchesso .

•Designingkine t i c in terac t ions for organic User Interfaces by Parkes ,

Amanda, Ivan Poupyrev , and Ishi i .

•PneUI: (Pneumat ic User Interfaces) Projec t by Yao, Lining, e t al .

CollaborativeIdeation

Once the features of design for the technology probes were defined, the

ideation process was conducted collaboratively with the key user. This enabled the probes to be pre-validated along the lines of user requirement.

Concepts

Multiple concepts showing iteration of earlier three scenarios through

different explorations of sound, haptic, texture and shape shifting.

Each concept was evaluated during ideation as to whether and how deep a

level of reflection is triggered.

Key User

Taking inspiration from one key user to co-design solutions.

•UserhasSlipdiskL3/L4 •Restrictedfromprolongedposture. •Advised4exercisesdailyfortheback. •Nodedicatedspaceforactivities. •Feelsdiscomfortduringriding. •Travels3hoursonaverageinaday. •Verybusyschedule. •Liveswithfamily,hencesocialcontextplays an important role.

- Lower back sensing.

- Bike ride. (solitary activity & opportunity to leverage user’s thoughts towards reflection)

- Interruption vs. Distraction.

-PeripheralVisionorAmbientSound.

Key Concepts

Based on the contraints established, the chosen activity and space for the user

was ‘bike ride. While riding a bike the user is isolated, hence restricting the influence of social context and is usually reflecting on different things. It is the perfect intervention to lead the user to reflect on his body.

1) LED indicator on dashboard

2) Shape shifting speed-o-meter

3) Ambient Engine sound

Motorbike Ergonomics (medical perspective)

Three posture shapes - Standard - Cruiser - Sports

Main focus of medical perspective on ergonomics lies in the angle formed between the wrist, lower back and foot. Hence, possible interventions areas being looked into are the handle bar, the seat and the footpeg.

“A host of musculo skeletal disorders can be caused due to incorrect riding posture, importantly lower back ache, neck ache and carpal tunnel syndrome.” - Anas Shakil

In the figure, the stress on body regions are marked. The regions can be clustered based on posture (affecting neck, lowerback and shoulders), wrist position (affecting hands) and foot position (affecting knees).

Cognitive Issues-WorkLoad–trafficconditions,filtering,junctions-SituationAwareness–trafficsignals,junctions-Riderfatigue–mental&physicaleffort-Risktakingbehavior–when/why?

- Human-Motorcycle Interaction (HMI): Research issues in

motorcycle ergonomics and rider human factors by Alex Stedmon

Opportunities in this space

There are interventions such as padded gloves and position of footpeg which

have been helpful. However, interventions on seat designs are still being made to help the optimal posture position.

I n the figure, McInally illustrates motorcyclying as an interactive system.

The key concepts and area of exploration for this project lie in the intersection containing; hearing, feeling, body, sight and smell. The exploration for intervention in this space is very limited hence the scope is immense.

ConceptValidation

(Wizard of Oz)

“Wizard of Oz” is a technique used to validate concepts. It is usually done as

a low fidelity concept reproduction; that is experientially as close as possible to the actual concept without any use of technical prototyping.

T his is done in order to refine the concept and its nuances before testing through

prototype.

LED on Speed-o-meter

“Not at all distracting. Usually un-consciously eyes go to the dashboard when I stop at the signal, so it is a good place to put it.”

“Its like a game to see what light comes up everytime I stop. In a way, I am not thinking about my posture for back ache but to keep up with the game.”

SHAPE SHIFTING Speed-o-meter

“Slightly discomfort as I am not used to seeing it this way. However, it doesn’t inhibit my riding so that is good.”

“Visuallythedisturbanceandcrumbleson glass kind of gives me a feeling of how stressed my back is.”

Different ial ENGINE SOUNDS

“The sound right now is irritating as it is shrill, however it gets the point across with higher pitch for stress on back.

“I wouldn’t like it on headphones, unless it is ambient faint sound with the music that I will be playing.”

Key Design Parameters

The technology probes arising from the concepts needed to be designed through

three design parameters which were defined during research. So the concepts were evaluated against these three parameters before putting it to test.

OPEN ENDED

LED–designcanevolveintodifferentlights in terms of color, shape, place on bike and function.

Shapeshifting–limitedtotimeandfunction.

Enginesoundsimulation–notveryopenended, due to technical contraints.

PROVOCATIVE

LED–notprovocative

Shapeshifting–veryprovocative,needsimmediate attention, cannot be ignored

Enginesoundsimulation–somewhatprovocative, over a period of time can be ignored as ambient noise

DATA ABSTRACTION

LED–dataisabstractedtorepresentback posture.

Shapeshifting–dataabstractedtoshowthe stress on back.

Enginesoundsimulation–dataabstracted such that it can be interpreted to posture and stress on back.

Experimental Setup

• The user was made to wear abdomen belt. (sensing device)

• The sensitivity of the sensor was adjusted to the specific user’s posture range.

• The technology probe was set up on/near to bike dashboard.

Research Discourse

• Concept demonstration to the user.• 20 mins. concept evaluation and observation

during bike ride.• 30 mins. interview/discussion post bike ride.• Repeated all the above process for three concepts

with each user.• User rode the bike with technology probe.

LED Dashboard Probe

SHAPE SHIFTING Probe

Different ial ENGINE SOUND Probe

Insights &Initial findings

LED PROBE

• Not at all distracting. There are already three different lights on the dashboard which keep lighting up often.

• Also, the fact that it comes on when I stop and not while moving, the interruption is negated.

• At signals, as I re-adjust myself, the light is assisting me correct my posture; surprisingly without imposing.

• Let’s keep the base as; I end up with back pain by the time I reach office. What I will do is, figure out how many intervals of bad posture it takes me to get to the point of back ache. That way, I do not have to consciously keep a tab of sitting upright all through the ride and also relax at some points of time.

• I also prefer the light showing feedback of my previous ride when I begin my ride. This will let me pre-determine my goal for the current ride to neutralize the effect.

• So I will be happy, if at the end of the day, I can at the least maintain average performance and not hurt my back.

• The kind of person I am, I work towards goals and need cumulative data to notice trends. Hence, previous day performance at the start of the day would also help.

• There might be a possibility of the light becoming obsolete in the long term. After a point of time I can ignore it easily.

SHAPESHIFTING PROBE

• Not a fan of disruptive design. But I understand this will not become obsolete as Speed-o-meter is something you can’t ignore no matter how long you have been riding.

• What I like about the concept is the fact that the shape is almost a metaphor of back crumbling. It is a direct correlation I can make as opposed to lights where it is right or wrong posture.

• I feel shape-shifting concept is the right abstraction of stress on back. Light concept represents the posture, while the shape-shift concept translates the stress on back.

• As immediate action is required to fix the shape in this concept, there might be times at which I might get annoyed.

• It is like a plaster that you wear which inhibits your movement but you have to do it. So I guess if this helps avoid back pain then why not?

• There is still a leeway, as I see the shape shifts slowly based on amount of stress on the back and not based on bad posture. So I can relax till the shape is shifted to a point of no visibility.

• Immediate shift is interrupting; and slow shift is distracting when new but not so much after a while.

• It becomes a definite interruption when I haven’t paid attention to it and suddenly see no visibility of speed.

ENGINE SOUNDS PROBE

• As of now, uncomfortable as it is just noise which sort of gets annoying overtime. But I understand if actual engine sound is replaced by this then it will work.

• In case the sound is played by headphones, then I would like it to be ambient to music and not just engine sound.

• Higher the pitch to me relates to higher stress on the back. In a way, I can roughly understand how much my back is stressed based on the sound.

• As of now, this sound doesn’t resemble my bike sound. Hence, I don’t know what is correct posture. But if it resembles my bike’s natural sound then I will know what is right.

• It will definitely scare me in the beginning if my bike makes weird sound. I will assume something is wrong with the bike. So it will take me sometime to get accustomed to make the connection that it is to do with my back.

• I like all the concept’s abstraction. These are so much more effective than the numeric data which is difficult to make patterns out off.

• I rather get back to using this than doing the exercises as I get to know where I might be going wrong.

Research Analysis (How findings/observations were analysed)

Key words from reflection framework were associated with user statements

and observations to determine the stage of reflection.

T hen tallied the key words according to technology probes to determine the stage

of reflection for each probe.

Final Findings

• Data abstraction allows for directing people to reflect on specific aspect or goal with ease.

• All the users have at some point shown to have reached Level 3 stage of reflection. Compared to usual engagement, users seemed to have reached this deeper level of reflection within the second cycle of feedback.

• There is clear evidence of a relationship between the abstraction and reflection triggered, not necessarily to the technology used. However, abstraction in this case was dependent on the technology.

• Even with disruptive design, users showed signs of following up, as they reflect on their body and realize it is necessary.

• Users showed concerns of how solutions can become obsolete in the long run.

• Rectifying errors or putting efforts towards rehabilitation is instantly gratified through these concepts. Hence, users prefer going back to adhering to these concepts in case discomfort/pain is felt.

STAGESOFREFLECTIONACHIEVEDTHROUGHTECHNOLOGYPROBE

ProjectOutcome

Primary outcome of this project are the research insights.

- These insights will augment the ongoing research; which argues the concept of

‘concordance’ as a new design ideal, can be used to design solutions that will promote a more active patient role in process of rehabilitation both in and out of clinic.

- These insights can become enabling platform for embedded and pervasive technology,

internet of things, personal informatics and HCI, to design novel solutions for physical rehabilitation.

S econdary outcome of this research are the concept prototypes itself, which can be

further developed into products for physical rehabilitation.

Area of Relevance

• Personal Informatics • Quantified Self • Intel Science and technology center

for pervasive computing

References of ongoing, supporting and similar work

1.Naveen L Bagalkot , Tomas Sokoler , Er ik Grönvall , “Concordance : Des ign Ideal for Faci l i ta t ing Si tuated Negot ia t ions in Out-of-c l in ic Heal thcare .” 2014

2.Naveen Bagalkot , Tomas Sokoler and Suraj Baadkar, “ReRide , RePlenish, ReLumniate : Explor ing the Des ign for Self-Reflec t i on on Personal Rehabi l i ta t ion Data wi th an Embodied & Si tuated Interac t ion Perspec t ive .” 2014

3.Hutchinson, Hilary , e t al . “Technology probes : insp i r ing des ign for and wi th famil i e s .” Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in comput ing sys tems . ACM, 2003.

4.Naveen Bagalkot , Tomas Sokoler , “Rehandle : Towards Integrat ing Phys ical Rehabi l i ta t ion in Everyday Life .” 2011

5.Rowanne Fleck, Geraldine Fi tzpatr i ck , “Reflec t ing on Reflec t i on : Framing a Des ign Landscape .” 2010

6.Pedersen, El in Rønby, and Tomas Sokoler . “AROMA: abs t rac t representat ion of presencesuppor t ing mutual awareness .” Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human factors in comput ing sys tems . ACM, 1997.

7.Parkes , Amanda, Ivan Poupyrev , and Hiroshi Ish i i . “Des igning kine t i c in terac t ions for organic user in terfaces .” Communicat ions of the ACM 51.6 (2008): 58-65.

8.Delle Monache , Stefano, and Davide Rocchesso . “Bauhaus legacy in research through des ign : The case of bas ic sonic in terac t ion des ign .” Internat ional Journal of Des ign 8.3 (2014): 139-154.

9.Yao, Lining, e t al . “PneUI: pneumat ical ly ac tuated sof t compos i t e mater ials for shape changing interfaces .” Proceedings of the 26th annual ACM sympos ium on User in terface sof tware and technology . ACM, 2013.

10.Stedmon, Alex W., e t al . “ ‘Motorcyc leSim’: An Evaluat ion of Rider Interac t ion wi th an Innovat ive Motorcyc le Simulator .” The Computer Journal (2009): bxp071.

Suraj Baadkar