HeartSway: Exploring Biodata as Poetic Traces in Public Space
Zeyu Huang, Zhifan Guo, Xingyu Li, Xiaojuan Ma, Noura Howell
TLDR
HeartSway is an interactive hammock that uses biodata to create poetic, embodied traces for asynchronous connection between strangers in public spaces.
Key contributions
- Introduces HeartSway, an interactive hammock capturing and replaying user biodata.
- Captures heart rate and micro-movements, replaying them as embodied experiences for next visitors.
- Qualitative study (N=10) shows it evokes connection, curiosity, and appreciation for shared vitality.
- Offers design considerations for intimate asynchronous encounters and reimagining public amenities.
Why it matters
This paper introduces a novel way to use biodata to create shared, intimate experiences in public spaces. It offers insights into designing urban amenities that foster human connection and re-imagines how we interact with anonymous traces.
Original Abstract
Human traces scattered across urban landscapes can signify our everyday lives and societal vibrancy in subtle and poetic forms. In this paper, we explore how designed technology can engage biodata as evocative traces. To this end, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of HeartSway, an interactive hammock that captures a user's heart rate and micro-movements as traces and replays them as an embodied experience for the next visitor. Through a qualitative field study (N=10), we find that HeartSway evokes feelings of connection, curiosity about prior users, and appreciation for shared human vitality. Our work contributes to understanding anonymous archival biodata as a design material for experiential urban traces. We offer design considerations for intimate asynchronous encounters between strangers in public spaces and for reimagining public amenities.
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