Human-Computer Integration (Dagstuhl Seminar 18322)

Abstract

The rise of technology that supports a partnership between user and computer highlights an opportunity for a new era of "human-computer integration", contrasting the previously dominant paradigm of computers functioning as tools. However, most work around these technologies only focused on the instrumental perspective to achieve extrinsic performance objectives. However, phenomenology emphasizes that it is also important to support the experiential perspective, which indicates that technology should also help people pay attention to their lived experiences and personal growth in order to deepen their understanding of their own bodies.

This seminar focuses on embodied integration, where a computer tightly integrates with the person's body. Although an increasing number of systems are emerging, a thorough understanding of how to design such systems is notably absent. The reason for this is the limited knowledge about how such embodied partnerships unfold, and what underlying theory could guide such developments. This seminar brought together leading experts from industry and academia, including those who are central to the development of products and ideas such as wearables, on-body robotics, and exertion systems. The goal was to address key questions around the design of embodied integration and to jump-start collaborations to pioneer new approaches for a human-computer integrated future.