Design for Tangible, Embedded and Networked Technologies

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harnessing the Digital Records of Everyday Things 

Dimitrios Darzentas, Adrian Hazzard, Michael Brown, Martin Flintham, Steve Benford

University of Nottingham (5)

Dimitrios.Darzentas@nottingham.ac.uk

Keywords: Internet of Things, Objects, Records, Footprints

Abstract

We address how, framed by the Internet of Things, digitally-enabled physical objects may acquire rich digital records throughout their lifetimes, and how these might enhance their value, meaning and utility. We reflect on emerging findings from two case studies, one focusing on wargaming miniatures and the other on an augmented guitar, that engage communities of practice in capturing and utilising rich digital records of things. We articulate an agenda for future research in terms of four key themes: How can the digital records of everyday things be captured using both manual and automated approaches? How can these records enhance the embodied use of things in suitably discrete ways? How can people generate diverse stories and accounts from these records? How can we revisit current notions of ownership to reflect a more fluid sense of custodianship? The findings of the studies reveal common emergent themes and preferences of the practicing communities that surround these objects and the above questions, while ongoing participatory and probe studies continue to reveal nuances and evaluate possible approaches.

This paper is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence.

download the paper (PDF)

Cite this paper: Darzentas, D., Hazzard, A., Brown, M., Flintham, M,. Benford, S. (2016). Harnessing the Digital Records of Everyday Things . Proceedings of DRS 2016, Design Research Society 50th Anniversary Conference. Brighton, UK, 27–30 June 2016.

This paper will be presented at DRS2016, find it in the conference programme


Take part in the discussion: Your comments