Papers by Lukas Van Campenhout
DS 76: Proceedings of E&PDE 2013, the 15th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, Dublin, Ireland, 05-06.09.2013, 2013
Industrial and product designers have increased access to various microcontroller based electroni... more Industrial and product designers have increased access to various microcontroller based electronic platforms to test system design and interaction design ideas. A well known example of such a platform is the Arduino environment, which offers both hardware and software tools to create prototypes. The main reason why the Arduino platform has gained popularity is the fact that the software is open source and free of cost. Additionally, the hardware is not expensive and the used electronic components are widely available. Besides the tools, there is a large community using and extending the platform. This results in the creation of a large amount of peripheral equipment that can be connected directly to the boards and specific code libraries. Both hardware equipment and software codes are accessible for people who lack specific programming knowledge. This paper describes a study that took place during the course "designing electronic products" in the department of Product Development at the Faculty of Design Sciences in Antwerp. Students were given the assignment to develop a sort of immaterial information transfer between two persons by using the Arduino board as a prototyping platform. The eventual goal was to make a functional prototype, enabling students to test the interaction of a digital product, and refine it. The 1 st year master students had no prior course in programming in the Arduino (Wiring) language, a derivative of the widely used C language. The only background on electronics was given in the course "components of electronic products" in the 3rd year bachelor. The objective of the research was to see how fast an application can be written and tested without any prior knowledge of hardware or software. The students worked in groups of three to finish their assignment during a series of five twohour classes. After the presentation of their design a questionnaire had to be filled in. This questionnaire included questions concerning their prior knowledge of any programming language, their knowledge of the used platform and their knowledge of sensors, displays ... They were also asked whether they would use the platform for future projects in their studies and if, by using this platform, the design of electronic products is better understood. The final goal of this questionnaire was to know if introducing the Arduino platform in the bachelor years is a possibility for replacing theoretical courses by practical competences.
Exploring Tangible VR as a Tool for Workplace Design
In this paper, we present a demonstrator that combines elements of physical prototyping and Virtu... more In this paper, we present a demonstrator that combines elements of physical prototyping and Virtual Reality. Our goal is to integrate VR in the design process of workplaces, not as a replacement of physical prototyping, but complementary to it. We call this approach Tangible Virtual Reality. We discuss our own background in embodied interaction, and present the context for our research: an industrial work cell for human-robot interaction, proposed by Audi Brussels, Kuka Belgium and FRS Robotics. We explain and illustrate how we used 3D CAD geometry to create a VR model and a physical prototype, and how we mapped them over one another. The result is a demonstrator that offers a VR experience, enhanced with real tactile information, and channeled by the natural limitations of the physical world. We suggest where the benefits of this physical/virtual design approach lay, and discuss how it could be operationalized in workplace design practice.
Advanced cardboard modeling
ABSTRACT This studio revolves around the exploration of (tangible and actuated) interactive produ... more ABSTRACT This studio revolves around the exploration of (tangible and actuated) interactive products and systems by means of physical sketching and prototyping. It is a hands-on studio where cardboard modeling techniques are combined with Arduino controlled sensors and actuators (the advanced cardboard modeling platform) to explore the notion of 'the aesthetics of the third way'. The 'aesthetics of the third way' recognizes different approaches to 'dematerialization' (the process of the physical becoming digital, e.g., LPs and CDs become digital files and loose the physical media) and tries to balance the qualities of both the physical and the digital in a new manner. In this workshop we both aim to acquaint participants with a new, low threshold platform for exploration as give them insight in -and a vocabulary of the 'third way. The studio lasts the whole day -- a six hour time slot.
Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, Aug 28, 2018
In this paper, we investigate the third stand, our perspective on embodied interaction with digit... more In this paper, we investigate the third stand, our perspective on embodied interaction with digital products and systems. First, we discuss its background of dematerialization, an ongoing evolution in which physical products and information carriers disappear, and become immaterial information packages and on-screen applications. We establish how dematerialization influences both design research and design practice. Next, we present a digital payment terminal that we designed in order to explore the added value of our third stand perspective. In an experiment, we compare it with an existing payment terminal. The results of the experiment reveal that the third stand terminal scores higher on hedonic values, like beauty and stimulation. The existing terminal scores higher on pragmatic values, like ease-of-use and efficiency. We position the third stand as a design approach that pleas for embodiment from a hedonic perspective, and propose to extend the argument for embodiment beyond pragmatic values. Finally, we suggest that the third stand celebrates the limitations of the physical world instead of trying to overcome them, and gives rise to specific emotional values like attentiveness, profundity and preciousness.
Programmeerbare speelgoedtrein met fysieke user interface
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 13, 2017
This research aims to measure and empirically validate the effect of tangible interaction on chil... more This research aims to measure and empirically validate the effect of tangible interaction on children's play experience. During this study a Research Through Design approach was followed. A prototype of a programmable toy train with a Tangible User Interface based on tokens, was build. Afterwards a comparative user test with 34 children aged five to six, was carried out to verify the prototype. The prototype was compared to two similar established toys, one with a Physical User Interface and one with a Graphical User Interface. After the user tests, the participants were questioned to gain insight in which type of user interface is preferred and why. Preference was asked with the use of the This-or-That method. Insight into the reasons of preference towards a user interface was gained through a Laddering method.
Designs
Coupling is a key concept in the field of embodied interaction with digital products and systems,... more Coupling is a key concept in the field of embodied interaction with digital products and systems, describing how digital phenomena relate to the physical world. In this paper, we present a Research through Design process in which the concept of coupling is explored and deepened. The use case that we employed to conduct our research is an industrial workplace proposed by Audi Brussels and Kuka. Our aim was to enrich this workplace with projection, or Spatial Augmented Reality, while focusing on operator interaction. We went through three successive design iterations, each of which resulted in a demonstrator. We present each of the three demonstrators, focusing on how they propelled our understanding of coupling. We establish a framework in which coupling between different events, be they physical or digital, emerges on four different aspects: time, location, direction, and expression. We bring the first three aspects together under one heading—coupling of meaning—and relate it to eas...
In this demo we present an experimental payment terminal, which we designed in order to explore a... more In this demo we present an experimental payment terminal, which we designed in order to explore and articulate our design approach, the third way. This third way is a possible answer to the question how dematerialization can be guided by industrial design. We start with the definition of dematerialization, and its benefits and pitfalls. Next, we distinguish two design approaches with respect to it, and position our own approach, the third way, in between them. Finally we give a description of our payment terminal, and discuss our future research. Author
Système de distribution de fibre optique
La presente invention porte sur un systeme de distribution de fibre optique comprenant un râtelie... more La presente invention porte sur un systeme de distribution de fibre optique comprenant un râtelier et des elements (10/210/310/410/510/610) qui peuplent le râtelier comprenant des terminaisons de fibre. Chaque element (10/210/310/410/510/610) comprend un châssis (20/220/520/620) et un plateau (24/224/524/624) mobile. Le plateau (24/224/524/624) mobile comprend un dispositif de deplacement synchronise pour deplacement d'un limiteur (38/238/538/638) de rayon de câble. Le plateau (24/224/524/624) comprend des terminaisons de câble qui s'etendent en une ligne generalement parallele a une direction de deplacement du plateau (24/224/524/624) mobile. Chacune des terminaisons de câble est montee sur des elements (56/256) de cadre a charniere positionnes sur chaque plateau (24/224/524/624). Les câbles entrant et sortant du plateau (24/224/524/624) mobile suivent un trajet (76/276/676) generalement en forme de S.
Dematerialization is an ongoing process in today’s generation of intelligent, digital products; c... more Dematerialization is an ongoing process in today’s generation of intelligent, digital products; content becomes disengaged from fixed carriers, and flows freely through networks and devices. We have witnessed how music CDs and cash money have been replaced by MP3 files and digital payments, as well as how dematerialization has entered the field of books. In this study, the process of dematerialization is explored. We define it and focus on its benefits and drawbacks, while trying to find answers to the question of how to design dematerialized products without neglecting the rich values of the physical world. Regarding this, we take a look at the approach of Tangible Interaction, and find it inspirational. Subsequently, in two design cases of an audio system and a payment terminal, we lay the foundations for our own design approach, which is situated in between the Tangible Interaction approach and the approach that is applied in today’s generation of digital products. Finally, our a...
International Journal of Design, 2020
This paper is about embodied interaction with digital products and systems, and more specific, ab... more This paper is about embodied interaction with digital products and systems, and more specific, about its aesthetics. We establish a particular form of aesthetics: the aesthetics of coupling. We start with illustrating them by presenting two design research projects, the rich actions camera and the Experimental Payment Terminal. We discuss the characteristics of the aesthetics, and coin their corner stone concepts, the persistent and the temporal. After that, we present the design process of two conceptual products: a night lamp and a medication dispenser. Both projects demonstrate how to design for the aesthetics of coupling. In a reflection, we position the aesthetics of coupling among several existing perspectives on interaction aesthetics, and elaborate on their significance for the design community. We conclude this paper by highlighting the broad lines of our framework, and by indicating directions for future research.
Programmeerbare speelgoedtrein met fysieke user interface
Exploring Tangible VR as a Tool for Workplace Design
In this paper, we present a demonstrator that combines elements of physical prototyping and Virtu... more In this paper, we present a demonstrator that combines elements of physical prototyping and Virtual Reality. Our goal is to integrate VR in the design process of workplaces, not as a replacement of physical prototyping, but complementary to it. We call this approach Tangible Virtual Reality. We discuss our own background in embodied interaction, and present the context for our research: an industrial work cell for human-robot interaction, proposed by Audi Brussels, Kuka Belgium and FRS Robotics. We explain and illustrate how we used 3D CAD geometry to create a VR model and a physical prototype, and how we mapped them over one another. The result is a demonstrator that offers a VR experience, enhanced with real tactile information, and channeled by the natural limitations of the physical world. We suggest where the benefits of this physical/virtual design approach lay, and discuss how it could be operationalized in workplace design practice.
Industrial and product designers have increased access to various microcontroller based electroni... more Industrial and product designers have increased access to various microcontroller based electronic platforms to test system design and interaction design ideas. A well known example of such a platform is the Arduino environment, which offers both hardware and software tools to create prototypes. The main reason why the Arduino platform has gained popularity is the fact that the software is open source and free of cost. Additionally, the hardware is not expensive and the used electronic components are widely available. Besides the tools, there is a large community using and extending the platform. This results in the creation of a large amount of peripheral equipment that can be connected directly to the boards and specific code libraries. Both hardware equipment and software codes are accessible for people who lack specific programming knowledge. This paper describes a study that took place during the course "designing electronic products" in the department of Product Deve...
This research aims to measure and empirically validate the effect of tangible interaction on chil... more This research aims to measure and empirically validate the effect of tangible interaction on children’s play experience. During this study a Research Through Design approach was followed. A prototype of a programmable toy train with a Tangible User Interface based on tokens, was build. Afterwards a comparative user test with 34 children aged five to six, was carried out to verify the prototype. The prototype was compared to two similar established toys, one with a Physical User Interface and one with a Graphical User Interface. After the user tests, the participants were questioned to gain insight in which type of user interface is preferred and why. Preference was asked with the use of the This-or-That method. Insight into the reasons of preference towards a user interface was gained through a Laddering method.
Dematerialization is an ongoing process in today’s generation of intelligent, digital products. C... more Dematerialization is an ongoing process in today’s generation of intelligent, digital products. Content becomes disengaged from fixed carriers, and flows freely through networks and devices. We already witnessed how music albums and cash money were replaced by MP3 files and digital payment. Now dematerialization has entered the world of books. Dematerialization of these artifacts enhances their flexibility and availability, but our interaction with them loses its physical richness and becomes mainly cognitive and abstract. Since we believe that digital products should appeal to cognitive and perceptual-motor skills, we consider this move towards cognition as a pitfall. In this paper, we illustrate how we educate our Industrial Design students at University of Antwerp to deal with dematerialization. We discuss a design project that forced the students to at first, design the interaction. Here, the emphasis was on movement and not the artefact. Only after that, the students were asked...
Digital products are becoming increasingly ubiquitous, and consequently interaction styles such a... more Digital products are becoming increasingly ubiquitous, and consequently interaction styles such as tangible interaction are gaining popularity. However, the theories of tangible interaction seem to be not easily translated into concrete results. A research through design approach is proposed to bridge the gap between theory and design practice, and consequently to enable industrial transfer. Research through design resides in the gray area between the theoretical and the practical. To illustrate a research through design approach and to investigate the potential of tangible user interfaces for digitally enhanced toys, a pilot case study was conducted. Three design iterations have been constructed and tested to explore tangible interactions based on the use of tokens for enriched audio sequencing in a musical toy for children aged five to six. Each of the constructed iterations take prior design solutions as a starting point and create added value by building further on conclusions a...
The enriching limitations of the physical world
Personal and Ubiquitous Computing
Physical Interaction in a Dematerialized World
International Journal of Design, Apr 1, 2013
Designing experienceable systems by using microcontroller based platforms
Ds 76 Proceedings of E Pde 2013 the 15th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education Dublin Ireland 05 06 09 2013, 2013
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Papers by Lukas Van Campenhout