Azalea: Co-experience in Remote Dialog through Diminished Reality and Somaesthetic Interaction Design

Title of the Paper

Azalea: Co-experience in Remote Dialog through Diminished Reality and Somaesthetic Interaction Design

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Human-Computer Interaction, Remote Communication Design, Somaesthetics
• Keywords: Somaesthetics, Remote Communication, Embodiment, Information Embodiment, Smartphone Sacrifice, Diminished Reality, Interaction Design, Attention, Environmental Design, User Experience

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Issues or Challenges:

  • The lack of subtle embodied information, such as gestures and non-verbal cues, in remote communication. These "embodied information" elements are typically conveyed in face-to-face interactions but are either absent or lose digital fidelity in remote environments.
  • Existing technologies often focus on enhancing remote communication through increased dimensions or fidelity but overlook the potential of simplifying the environment.
  • Different geographic environments create distractions that affect the communication experience of remote participants.

• Significance:

  • Current remote communication technologies fail to provide sufficient expressive capabilities and emotional resonance, especially in scenarios requiring emotional expression or sensitive discussions (e.g., ending a romantic relationship).

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  • Most current HCI design research focuses on enhancing technological fidelity, such as recreating face-to-face experiences through holographic projection.
  • Somaesthetics, an interdisciplinary field focusing on bodily perception and experience, is often applied to enhance personal introspection, but its potential for expression and communication has been underexplored.

Solution

• Proposed Method or Solution:

  • Azalea: A remote communication design integrating somaesthetics. Azalea is a tactile pillow device that envelops a smartphone. Using sensors and lights, Azalea translates users' movements into shared auditory landscapes and visual effects to create an abstract "co-experience."
  • Introduces the design approach of "Diminished Reality," which removes attention from environmental distractions to refocus on the communication itself.

• Innovative Points:

  • Adopts the novel design concept of "Diminished Reality": enhancing the communication experience by reducing rather than increasing information dimensions.
  • Expands the application of somaesthetics in HCI from introspection to expression and communication.
  • Emphasizes simplicity in device functionality, moving away from the complexity of traditional digital technologies.

• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:

  1. Design Process:
     • Initiated by interviewing somaesthetic experts (e.g., yoga instructors, visually impaired individuals) and experimenting with different materials to select the optimal solution.
     • Inspired by the comforting and shared experience of gathering around a campfire, combined with natural scenes.
  2. Device Description:
     • Azalea is a physical device combining tactile materials with smartphone applications.
     • Utilizes smartphone hardware elements such as accelerometers, proximity sensors, and flash sensors. User movements trigger immersive sound and light feedback.
  3. Application:
     • Developed an Android application integrated with Firebase for network data synchronization and TarsosDSP for audio processing.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:

  • Proposed and developed the Azalea prototype, testing a novel medium for remote communication.
  • The product reduces environmental distractions, enhances user focus, and simulates a shared background, creating a co-experience for remote conversations through light and sound feedback.

• Experiment and Evaluation Results:

  • Experiments showed that Azalea significantly reduced participant distractions and fostered deeper communication.
  • Demonstrated better empathy, spatial sharing, and deep interaction compared to traditional phone calls.
  • Identified 12 experiential characteristics, organized into 5 design themes: environment, ritual, medium, interactive engagement, and ambiguity.
    • For example, "ritual transitions" transform the process of using Azalea into a ceremonial act with symbolic beginnings and endings.

• Comparison with Existing Solutions:

  • Unlike traditional remote design methods that enhance dimensions or fidelity, Azalea focuses on "reducing" external distractions, offering a natural communication experience without relying on complex technological devices.
  • Provides an organic, non-electronic device that encourages users to focus on shared experiences.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • Limitations:
    • The participant group primarily consisted of young adults and individuals related to the research team, lacking social and cultural diversity in the sample.
    • Short testing duration, preventing observation of long-term effects.
  • Future Directions:
    • Expand experiments to a broader participant base and more diverse social relationships.
    • Deploy Azalea devices over the long term to study their adaptability and performance in real-world scenarios.
    • Explore new application domains, such as enhancing face-to-face communication or other forms of interactive games.

Conclusion

Azalea redefines the possibilities of remote communication by reducing distractions and evoking somaesthetic experiences. It successfully demonstrates the concept of "Diminished Reality," introduces a novel approach to exploring somaesthetics, and provides valuable insights for future interaction design.