Project

Extended Human Senses; Atmosphere; Responsive Environments; Embodied Experience; Biofeedback Technologies; Internet of Things; Affect

Lead
Die jüngsten Entwicklungen digitaler Technologien reagieren direkt auf menschliche Handlungen oder handeln sogar völlig eigenständig. Sie zielen dabei in erster Linie auf eine rein funktionale Verbesserung des Alltagskomforts und der Sicherheit ab. Das Projekt geht jedoch davon aus, dass diese Veränderungen entscheidende Auswirkungen auf das affektive, gesamtleibliche Erleben der Menschen haben und untersucht daher die atmosphärischen Qualitäten intelligenter Umgebungen.
Lay summary
Die Beziehung des Menschen zu den digitalen Technologien war bisher durch künstliche Schnittstellen geprägt. Doch in Konzepten wie dem „Smart Home“ verschwinden deren Funktionen in unseren Alltagsgegenständen und regulieren eigenständig unsere Lebenswelt. Technische Entwicklungen wie das ‚Internet of Things‘ und die Biosensorik integrieren den Menschen in technische Kreisläufe und verändern entscheidend die Atmosphäre, in der wir uns bewegen. Atmosphären geben dabei als teils unbewusst erlebte Empfindungen Aufschluss über den Charakter unserer Umgebung mit all ihren Akteuren. Von dieser affektiven und impliziten Eindrücklichkeit ausgehend wird eine künstlerisch gestaltete Umgebung geschaffen, in der die eingesetzten Technologien enge Rückkoppe­lungsbeziehungen zwischen Mensch und Raum aufbauen. Ziel des Projekts ist es, mittels verschiedener Methoden die atmosphärischen Qualitäten dieses responsiven Verhältnisses und dessen Konsequenzen für das menschliche Erleben zu erkunden. Gesellschaftlicher und wissenschaftlicher Kontext Das Projekt untersucht die neuen Technologien nicht aus einer analytisch-reflexiven Perspektive, sondern stellt deren affektives Potential in den Mittelpunkt. Im Zentrum des Interesses stehen die Auswirkungen ‚interfaceloser‘ Technologien auf unser Selbstverständnis als Mensch und die Gestaltung der Machtverhältnisse zwischen menschlichen und nicht-menschlichen Akteuren. Insofern bewegt sich das Projekt in einem gesellschaftlich hochrelevanten Feld, das die Konsequenzen neuer Technologien kritisch ausloten will.

Direct link to Lay Summary

Last update: 27.01.2015

Active participation

Active participation

Number	Title	Start	Funding scheme

The primary objective of the project - conceived as an artistic research project - is to investigate the nature of medial atmospheres that emerge through the creation of an environment with the help of new digital technologies. On the one hand, we aim to identify the relevant criteria for the creation of such environments and to explore in which way these shape the specific experience of a given individual and her/his interaction with the environment. On the other hand, we aim to examine the nature of these experiences that involve the entire body, comprising psycho-physical, affective and partially pre- and subconscious processes, which are mostly perceived as “immediate” and “natural”, i.e. as unmediated and “first hand“. In turn, these processes also shape the way people behave or act in a specific situation.Our assumption is that these two questions are inextricably linked and merely represent different perspectives: If the definition of perception is extended to such a degree as to encompass experience, it cannot be understood as detached from the environment it refers to, and vice versa. It is precisely this interplay between experience and action in a given space or environment that has given rise to the term atmosphere, which is marked by the inseparability of subject and object and presupposes a fundamental immediacy of experience in psychophysical perception. Against this background, the project focuses on the following question: What exactly characterizes this experience - perceived as immediate - in high-tech environments with interfaces that can no longer be recognized as such? The focus is on biofeedback technologies, which are able to register and measure minimal somatic changes of the body - i.e. changes in heartbeat, skin conductance and respiration - as well as on ubiquitous computing technologies that make it possible to create responsive environments by means of intelligent artefacts. We aim to examine the implications of human-machine interaction in an artistically and experimentally designed physical setting, with regard to the following points: On the one hand, we will question the test-persons regarding changes in their individual experience, behaviour and actions in environments with pervasive and responsive technologies. On the other hand, we will examine the dimensions of consciously designed artistic-technical environments and their ability to control perception, i.e. the implicit manipulative potential of technologies that are (allegedly) geared entirely towards human needs.Investigating atmospheres is a fundamentally paradoxical process, which is why the project is to be regarded as a basic research project in the field of humanities: Firstly, atmosphere is a phenomenon that emerges from the experience of the individuals present in a certain place as well as from their interaction with the respective surrounding (be it medial, social or both). Secondly, the evaluation of subconscious dimensions of experience constitutes a major challenge for researchers applying classical sociological and ethnographical methods, because they usually depend on the subconscious being brought to the surface. Furthermore, the quantitative measuring of biofeedback involves a great deal of interpretation - thus we will also need to establish how and to which extent the data needs to be contextualized. Thirdly, the atmospheres in question are created by the research team and geared towards achieving certain reactions: The creative, technological and aesthetic process of designing spaces and possibilities of interaction will therefore have to be taken into consideration from the outset.