Leaky Cups: Tinkering with Hydrofeminist Temporalities for HCI

Research Background and Issues

• Problem Identification:
  This article explores how rethinking temporality within the framework of technological science can redefine "More-Than-Human Design" (MTH) and design practices in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). The author questions the time logic oriented toward linear progress in mainstream technological design, arguing that this logic may overlook diverse ethical complexities and the subjectivities of more-than-human entities (e.g., non-human and natural entities).

• Significance of the Research:
  Modern technological frameworks often perceive time as a linear, unidirectional, and human-centered process. This understanding underpins many resource utilization methods and design concepts, potentially leading to the neglect or destruction of ecological relationships. Rethinking temporality is crucial for MTH design, as it can more profoundly reveal the interconnectedness between humans and the natural world.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:
  The motivation for this study lies in challenging the normative assumptions of "progressive futurism" to enable design practices that focus more on complex symbiotic relationships and non-linear ethics. The research connects ecological feminism, ethics, and HCI frameworks of "temporality" and "more-than-human," particularly integrating Astrida Neimanis's Hydrofeminism theory, which emphasizes the relational ethics of water as an active subject.

Solution

• Proposed Methods and Solutions:
  To achieve the goal of rethinking temporality, the author developed a set of data-driven artifacts called "Leaky Cups." These cups, working in collaboration with local water resource data, vibrate and "leak" based on water flow data, embedding and expressing complex ethical temporal relationships through physical behavior.

• Innovative Aspects of the Solution:

  1. Non-classical View of Time: This study introduces the concept of "Patchy Temporality," breaking away from linear and unidirectional understandings of time.
  2. Integration with Hydrofeminism: Using the Hydrofeminism framework, the study examines the fluid and viscous porosity relationships between more-than-human entities, which better reflect non-linear ethical practices compared to concepts of mere openness or ambiguity.
  3. Material and Non-human Agency: Leaky Cups are not only design tools but are also treated as agents capable of resisting, collaborating, and redefining temporality.

• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:

  1. Physical Design: Ceramic cups were created, incorporating technological hardware (e.g., sensors and microprocessors) to enable interaction with environmental data.
  2. Environmental Data Integration: The cups connect via Wi-Fi to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) real-time hydrological database, while also incorporating historical data to simulate temporal characteristics of water flow through vibration patterns.
  3. Deployment and User Research: The cups were distributed to research participants, with interviews and diary entries documenting their interactions with the cups and local water bodies.
  4. Analytical Methods: Feminist diffractive reading was employed, aiming not to uncover a singular truth but to explore the differences and complexities within the data.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Findings:

  1. Leaky Cups reveal the tension between the temporality of water flow and the daily temporal structures of human life, challenging the applicability of linear time logic in design.
  2. User research demonstrated how the cups provoke new ethical interactions, such as encouraging users to rethink their relationships with water resources or their home environments.
  3. The concept of "Patch Time" was proposed and validated—time is not linear but is generated through patchy interactions among multiple agents.

• Advantages Over Existing Solutions:
  Compared to traditional design tools that promote user behavior through linear logic (e.g., providing feedback to encourage "more sustainable" choices), Leaky Cups, through their protest and generative qualities, grant more agency to non-human entities, allowing them to directly participate in and influence ethical relationships and design practices.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  Participants' experiences revealed multiple new ways of understanding temporality and interacting with water bodies:

  1. Users perceived the intentionality of water (e.g., when the cups leaked or broke).
  2. Direct comparisons with historical data allowed users to experience a sense of "being present in the moment."
  3. The study directly challenged the restrictive perspective of open design centered solely on human interpretation.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  1. Limitations: The study was primarily based on a small number of users and unique physical artifacts (e.g., cups), posing challenges for large-scale application. Additionally, reliance on historical data from the USGS database may not fully transcend Western knowledge frameworks.
  2. Future Directions:
     • Explore context-specific hydrological sensor data for autonomous design.
     • Further investigate the potential insights Hydrofeminism can offer for design and research in other domains.
     • Apply the "Patch Time" framework to the development of other multi-agent design projects, such as smart cities or ecological IoT systems.

Through the "Leaky Cups" project, the author successfully demonstrates how temporality in technological design can be redefined to accommodate more complex and diverse ethical needs. This study, rooted in the Hydrofeminism perspective, not only enriches MTH design theory but also provides new practical pathways for HCI.