Research My field is interaction design, however, I did my Ph.D. in the field of computer supported collaborative learning. A brief description of the project can be found here and a summary of the Ph.D. here. Currently my main research interests revolve around mobile and ubiquitous computing, regarding use as well as design issues. I am particularly thrilled by the challenges posed by increased dynamics in use that comes with ubiquity and mobility. Below is a brief chronological description of research projects I have been involved in.
Space & virtuality studio, Interactive institute I am employed at Arts & Communication, Malmö university, but between August 1998 and December 2003 I was also affiliated with the Space & Virtuality studio of the Interactive institute in Malmö, Sweden. The studio was located at Arts & Communication and the research highly integrated with the teaching at Arts & Communication. This was a multi-disciplinary research group where people from e.g. design, art, architecture, engineering, informatics and computer science formed around a common interest in the spatial aspects of the design and use of information technology. My Ph.D.-project that finished in 2000 was however in another field: computer support for collaborative learning in work settings. The project explored new roles for computer support in developing and maintaining work knowledge in a local community of practice.
In the Space & Virtuality studio my research has revolved around the challenge in design approaches posed by a changing landscape for IT design. Information and communication technologies are moving into what Mark Weiser termed ubiquitous computing, with ubiquitous access to digital information through a wide range of mobile and embedded technologies connected through wireless global networks. Research in ubiquitous computing, and the related fields of tangible interaction and augmented reality, have arguably redirected the agenda for designing mobile IT. The main issue addressed has been the accommodation of a higher density of technology by letting interaction with information and communication devices blend in with our everyday ways of “being in the world” (e.g. research into issues like context awareness; speech, gesture and handwriting recognition; etc). From a user perspective, there are a number of consequences resulting from this development. The number of personal devices typically carried by the mobile user is increasing and the role of each device is becoming more dynamic as the connection to other devices may increase the number of available functions. Finally, the technological development not only increases technology density and connectivity but, perhaps more important, increases mobility and continuity in IT use.
Beyond the control room In the project »Beyond the control room« we started out to explore these issues in a field characterized by high complexity and technology density – process industry. A concept for mobile process control – the »Pucketizer« system (personal »bucket« organizer) – was developed in close collaboration with process operators at a local waste water plant. The »pucketizer« is a mobile unit that allows process operators to establish temporary connections to machine components while being out in the process environment in order to support distributed process control work. For a full description of the design case and the concept, see Nilsson et al (2000). In a follow-up project with the title »Process visions« we continued to investigate new technology for process control, but in other process industries than waste water treatment and with a time perspective of 5-10 years into the future. In summary, adapting forms of interaction and access to information, i.e. configuring the interaction for the situation at hand, is in our view an important aspect of usability in the field of ubiquitous computing. Arguments grounded in our field studies and examples are presented in Binder & Messeter (2001).
The Experimental Office During the fall of 2001 I took part in The Experimental Office project - a cooperation between the Interactive institute and four industry partners: Vasakronan, Telia Research AB, Kinnarps and IBM. The main purpose was to investigate the design of new office spaces and technology for project oriented organizations. An office space for experimenting with new work settings was conceptually designed in cooperation with the oranizations mentioned above and three user organizations during fall 2001. We wanted to continue to explore the concept of configurability – i.e. the adaptation of interaction forms and information access to a particular use situation – in different contexts. The ideas from earlier projects were brought into the Experimental Office project to see if our approaches could be applied outside industrial contexts. The result of the Experimental Office project is described in Johansson M, Fröst P, Brandt E, Binder T, Messeter J: Partner Engaged Design: New Challenges For Workplace Design.
Contextualization of mobile IT An important consequence of being continuously connected is that as we move through different social contexts in our everyday life, we find ourselves omni-present in multiple social contexts, each with its own activities and roles. From a designer perspective, addressing the accommodation and coordination of multiple devices and services in situated use across different contexts is therefore becoming an increasingly important challenge. In »Beyond the control room« a device was designed to support process control operators at a waste water treatment plant in temporarily configuring their access to process information. In the COMIT project (Contextualization of Mobile IT) the aim was to further pursue the notion of user controlled contextualization, and in particular to investigate these ideas in a wider range of contexts, both work related and private. The project was conducted in collaboration with three industrial partners: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (mobile services and terminals); Anoto AB (digital pen technology) and Decuma AB (handwriting recognition software). Throughout the project, three people has participated as mobile users. The aim has been to develop concepts addressing their individual needs, but at the same time being sensitive to issues that may apply to a broader range of users and use experience issues. A complete description of the project can be found in Messeter (2003).
Creative Environments Since January 2004 I am affiliated with the Creative Environments studio at Arts & Communication, Malmö university where I am currently involved in the Palpable Computing project.