Papers by Bruna B Petreca
In his seminal paper ‘Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognit... more In his seminal paper ‘Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science’ Andy Clark (2013) argued that the brain’s job is to predict whatever information is coming ‘next’ on the basis of prior inputs. This is because the organism’s survival is key to biological agents such as humans. Survival however crucially depends on rapid and accurate information processing of what is happening in the here and now. In this paper we suggest that term ‘next’ in Clark’s seminal formulation must include not only the temporal dimension (i.e. what is perceived now); but (ii) also the spatial dimension (i.e. what is perceived here or next-to-my-body). This is because ‘here’ and ‘now’ are like the two sides of the same coin when it comes to processing survival relevant perceptual information. We argue that perceptual processing of proximal sensory inputs has a key impact on the organism’s survival. Specifically, we focus on tactile experiences mediated by the skin a...
In a context where fashion design and retail activities are increasingly transferring to the digi... more In a context where fashion design and retail activities are increasingly transferring to the digital environment, mediating touch has become a matter of concern for the field. However, as literature shows, articulating our sensory experiences with materials is a challenging task. This position paper explores the experiential knowledge observed through embodied design processes. This is done by analysing our diverse approaches to introduce tools that help designers to understand people’s perceptual experience with textile materials. We build on our previous research that identified relevant embodied processes to textile selection, and reflect on how we have explored how sensing technology can augment and empower each of these processes, thereby supporting design. We conclude by discussing the learning outcomes of analysing such tools, in order to reflect on the future of our research applied to the digital realm.
SN Applied Sciences, 2020
The enzymes have been gaining more importance in different fields, among the most important the p... more The enzymes have been gaining more importance in different fields, among the most important the pharmaceutical field. However, due to the protein nature of the enzymes, a significant part of them presents high instability under certain conditions of use. A great way to stabilize them is to use immobilization techniques. Bromelain from pineapple has shown potential to be used in the treatment of burn-like skin injuries and superficial injuries. Biocatalytic textile fibers from cellulose of sugarcane bagasse were prepared using surface functionalization with epichlorohydrin (4% v/v) and glutaraldehyde (0.5% v/v), and 1-ethyl-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide and bromelain immobilization by covalent bonding in the fibers. The best immobilization results for the bromelain enzyme immobilization were using the aminopropyltriethoxysilane and glutaraldehyde activating agent at pH 7 to values of 68.97% and 88.14% for total protein content and enzyme activity, respectively. Considering the approach described in this paper, others advanced materials from pulp fibers and bioprocesses might be developed using bromelain and other enzymes for the target applications.
DAT Journal, 2016
Nós nascemos sem compreensão das convenções, mas com todos os nossos sentidos. Sentimos prime... more Nós nascemos sem compreensão das convenções, mas com todos os nossos sentidos. Sentimos primeiro. A diversidade nas pesquisas relacionadas à nossa experiência diária de produtos, serviços, interfaces e ambientes, bem como a oferta de produtos e serviços voltados à experiência é crescente e sem precedentes. Este é o momento de exceder os limites da pesquisa, e diálogos multidisciplinares e colaborações são premissa. Neste artigo apresento um panorama de projetos que buscam compreender e criar para a experiência humana, especialmente a experiência de materiais. Partindo de minha pesquisa relacionada aos materiais têxteis, passando por exemplos de pesquisas pioneiras em outras áreas que tangem a experiência humana e intersecções com as indústrias criativas, e finalizo a discussão apresentando desenvolvimentos tecnológicos e novas possibilidades de design para a experiência.Palavras chave: Experiência, Materiais, Pesquisa em design. Reflections on Designing ...
Proceedings of the 2016 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing Adjunct - UbiComp '16, 2016
In this study, research tools are used to investigate designers' textile selection activities and... more In this study, research tools are used to investigate designers' textile selection activities and uncover the sensorial experiences that underpin those activities. Such tools were purposely introduced to disrupt the way designers generally interact with textiles and generate conversations around it. The study was conducted in a textile fair during two consecutive years with an expert audience who were in the mind-set of sourcing. This study resulted in four main themes that reveal the importance of the multisensory experience to textile selection, and the complexity of remembering and communicating such experiences in the design process, given how tacit such experiences are.
Textile selection involves aspects of objective function and subjective experience. While technic... more Textile selection involves aspects of objective function and subjective experience. While technical assessments of textiles are extensively supported by standards and machinery that provide the industry with rigorous specifications, the more subjective characteristics remain heavily reliant on designers’ tacit knowledge, experience and intuition. In this paper, we present a study that investigated designers’ textile sourcing activities and if and how digital tools could provide support. The study was conducted in a textile fair with an expert audience in the mind-set of sourcing. An existing digital tool that allows textiles manipulation was introduced to familiarise participants with the digital context and enable conversations on the future of textiles sourcing. We also look at the implications of adopting digital tools for their activities including a transition to more sustainable practices. The results raise awareness of designers’ use of experiential information to support tex...
Multimodal Technologies and Interaction
Humanity is living through a crisis that sees our way of life exhausting the resources of the ear... more Humanity is living through a crisis that sees our way of life exhausting the resources of the earth and ourselves. The fashion sector shows the negative impacts of conspicuous consumption on our socioenvironmental wellbeing. Despite citizens’ growing awareness of their responsibility within consumption cycles, they reveal concerns about their lack of understanding and the support required for them to become agents of responsible consumption. The Circular Economy flourishes as a conceptual approach to help society transition to a more sustainable existence. This paper explores how emerging creative technology and interaction design might support a shift in the role of citizens in the Circular Economy. We performed a design inquiry that investigated the moment of acquisition via configuration of products, storytelling, and multimodal interaction techniques for the creation of experiences that could catalyse citizen-consumers to become custodians of materials. We developed a retail-bas...
In a context where fashion design and retail activities are increasingly transferring to the digi... more In a context where fashion design and retail activities are increasingly transferring to the digital environment, mediating touch has become a matter of concern for the field. However, as literature shows, articulating our sensory experiences with materials is a challenging task. This position paper explores the experiential knowledge observed through embodied design processes. This is done by analysing our diverse approaches to introduce tools that help designers to understand people's perceptual experience with textile materials. We build on our previous research that identified relevant embodied processes to textile selection, and reflect on how we have explored how sensing technology can augment and empower each of these processes, thereby supporting design. We conclude by discussing the learning outcomes of analysing such tools, in order to reflect on the future of our research applied to the digital realm.
Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, Feb 9, 2020
▶ When cooking we negotiate between instructions in recipes and personal preferences to make in-t... more ▶ When cooking we negotiate between instructions in recipes and personal preferences to make in-the-moment creative decisions. This process represents moments of creativity that utilise and reveal our embodied knowledge. This paper focuses on the capture of expressions of embodied knowledge by digitally-networked utensils. We present a design process investigating the design of tangible interfaces to capture and communicate embodied knowledge as a proposition for recipe authoring tools for open innovation in food. We reflect upon this process to discuss lessons about the individual nature of embodied knowledge and its expression, and the context of capturing it to make design recommendations. ◀
Digital Bodies, 2017
Super technology is going to ask for super tactility' (Lidewii Edelkoort). Exploring this stateme... more Super technology is going to ask for super tactility' (Lidewii Edelkoort). Exploring this statement, this chapter reflects on the disconnection between digital fashion tools that lack sensory feedback and the critical role of designers' embodied experience for their practice. In order to support this discussion, additional literature is brought in, which shows that in dance bodily engagement is crucial for supporting and enhancing the creative process. This is done to explore aspects of mediation and embodiment further, and to propose a research agenda for the investigation of textile experience.
Textile selection involves aspects of objective function and subjective experience. While technic... more Textile selection involves aspects of objective function and subjective experience. While technical assessments of textiles are extensively supported by standards and machinery that provide the industry with rigorous specifications, the more subjective characteristics remain heavily reliant on designers' tacit knowledge, experience and intuition. In this paper, we present a study that investigated designers' textile sourcing activities and if and how digital tools could provide support. The study was conducted in a textile fair with an expert audience in the mind-set of sourcing. An existing digital tool that allows textiles manipulation was introduced to familiarise participants with the digital context and enable conversations on the future of textiles sourcing. We also look at the implications of adopting digital tools for their activities including a transition to more sustainable practices. The results raise awareness of designers' use of experiential information to support textiles sourcing, besides highlighting requirements for designing future digital tools.
Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
This workshop aims to generate an interdisciplinary research agenda for digital touch communicati... more This workshop aims to generate an interdisciplinary research agenda for digital touch communication that effectively integrates technological progress with robust investigations of the social nature and significance of digital touch. State-of-the-art touch-based technologies have the potential to supplement, extend or reconfigure how people communicate through reshaping existing touch practices and generating new capacities. Their possible impact on interpersonal intimacy, wellbeing, cultural norms, ways of knowing and power relations is far-reaching and under-researched. Few emerging devices and applications are embedded into everyday touch practices, limiting empirical exploration of the implications of digital touch technologies in everyday communication. There is, thus, a real need for methodological innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration to critically examine digital touch communication across social contexts and technological domains, to better understand the social consequences of how touch is digitally remediated. This agendasetting workshop will bring together HCI researchers and designers with colleagues from sociology, media & communications, arts & design to address key research challenges and build the foundations for future collaborations.
2013 Humaine Association Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction, 2013
ABSTRACT Handling textiles is not only a semantic experience, but also an emotional one. Whilst h... more ABSTRACT Handling textiles is not only a semantic experience, but also an emotional one. Whilst handling a textile is crucial for its appreciation and understanding, this channel is still little explored in the digital realm, where focus has been given to the haptic feedback aspect of handling. In this paper, we discuss the importance of touch behaviour in interactive digital handling to allow people to explore, emotionally engage with and understand textile properties. We build on our findings from previous studies, where we investigated how people handle fabrics in real-life situations and more generally how their touch behaviour may affect the experience, relating it to literature from textile, HCI, embodied cognition and embodied affect to discuss how current technology should develop to provide a more realistic touch experience. Additionally, we consider how crowd sourcing of the textile experience could be extended by taking into account non-verbal expressions of textile-handling experience. We show that further knowledge is needed to design interactive technology that supports active and unconstrained touch, as well as the affective aspects of experience.
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '13, 2013
ABSTRACT Current interactive media presentations of textiles provide an impoverished communicatio... more ABSTRACT Current interactive media presentations of textiles provide an impoverished communication of their 'textile hand', that is their weight, drape, how they feel to touch. These are complex properties experienced through the visual, tactile, auditory and proprioceptive senses and are currently lost when textile materials are presented in interactive video. This paper offers a new perspective from which the production of multi-touch interactive video representations of the tactile qualities of materials is considered. Through an understanding of hand properties of textiles and how people inherently touch and handle them, we are able to develop methods to animate and bring these properties alive using design methods. Observational studies were conducted, noting gestures consumers used to evaluate textile hand. Replicating the appropriate textile deformations for these gestures in interactive video was explored as a design problem. The resulting digital textile swatches and their interactive behavior were then evaluated for their ability to communicate tactile qualities similar to those of the real textiles.
2015 International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII), 2015
J. of Design Research, 2016
Proceedings of the Sigchi Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Apr 27, 2013
ABSTRACT Current interactive media presentations of textiles provide an impoverished communicatio... more ABSTRACT Current interactive media presentations of textiles provide an impoverished communication of their 'textile hand', that is their weight, drape, how they feel to touch. These are complex properties experienced through the visual, tactile, auditory and proprioceptive senses and are currently lost when textile materials are presented in interactive video. This paper offers a new perspective from which the production of multi-touch interactive video representations of the tactile qualities of materials is considered. Through an understanding of hand properties of textiles and how people inherently touch and handle them, we are able to develop methods to animate and bring these properties alive using design methods. Observational studies were conducted, noting gestures consumers used to evaluate textile hand. Replicating the appropriate textile deformations for these gestures in interactive video was explored as a design problem. The resulting digital textile swatches and their interactive behavior were then evaluated for their ability to communicate tactile qualities similar to those of the real textiles.
ABSTRACT Current interactive media presentations of textiles provide an impoverished communicatio... more ABSTRACT Current interactive media presentations of textiles provide an impoverished communication of their 'textile hand', that is their weight, drape, how they feel to touch. These are complex properties experienced through the visual, tactile, auditory and proprioceptive senses and are currently lost when textile materials are presented in interactive video. This paper offers a new perspective from which the production of multi-touch interactive video representations of the tactile qualities of materials is considered. Through an understanding of hand properties of textiles and how people inherently touch and handle them, we are able to develop methods to animate and bring these properties alive using design methods. Observational studies were conducted, noting gestures consumers used to evaluate textile hand. Replicating the appropriate textile deformations for these gestures in interactive video was explored as a design problem. The resulting digital textile swatches and their interactive behavior were then evaluated for their ability to communicate tactile qualities similar to those of the real textiles.
Proceedings of the 2016 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing Adjunct - UbiComp '16, 2016
J. of Design Research, 2016
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Papers by Bruna B Petreca