Find Your Match - Collaboratively Carrying A Pair of Horizontal Screens Towards Convivial Interactions

Moving in synchrony, full-bodied involvement, eye contact, a common goal, and a shared sense of achievement are all widely argued as important qualities for fostering social connection and team building. Yet it is surprising how few interactive products, devices or environments combine all of these possible shortcuts or catalysts for fostering interpersonal bonds. To help address this, we present a novel installation offering multiple participants the shared control of a walk-up-and-use interface, simultaneously engaging both with digital media content and being co-present with other users. Central to this was a pair of fabric projection screens that offered or required multiple people to lift them in order for projected animations to be in focus. Half of each projection was controlled by an accelerometer rolling on the surface of the screen, whereas the other half of the display was controlled by a second accelerometer rolling on the surface of another screen. Thus providing a puzzle-like activity for participants who physically manipulated their screens and discovered a composite image comprising two matching halves. Based upon observations conducted at an informal exhibition this approach shows promise for fostering conviviality but seems to offer too complex an interaction for casual users.