What is the project about?

Between Bodies is an application designed for children between 10 and 12 years old. Its goal is to offer a collaborative drawing experience that can serve as a starting point to guide discussion and reflection on group dynamics and cooperation. For its design, we followed an iterative process based on different stages of development. After gathering requirements from experts and children, we developed a prototype of the application to be tested with two interfaces: a Floor Projection and a Vertical Screen.

Which goals does it have within this research?

For its evaluation, we focused on comparing the affordances offered by the two interfaces. In this study, we explored a methodological approach derived from multimodal analysis and aimed at providing concepts and techniques to collect, analyze, merge and interpret the wide range of embodied and spatial resources employed by people to construct meaning during in situ interaction with a system (i.e. gestures, gaze, movements, verbal interactions, etc.).

Results from the analysis pointed out that the Floor Projection offered affordances that are more appropriate to support collaboration. At the same time, it highlighted that the physical affordances of the two interfaces, by eliciting specific kinds of embodied interactions, determined different ways of making sense of the experience and shaped social relationships.

Related Publications:

Laura Malinverni, Marie-Monique Schaper, and Narcis Pares (2018). Multimodal methodological approach for participatory design of Full-Body Interaction Learning Environments. Qualitative Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794118773299