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The Warmth of the Other – Designing for More-than-Human Interactions by Expressing Organism Well-being Through Thermal Feedback
Method: focus group/workshop, expert interview, Research-through-Design
Researchers in HCI are exploring technologies to enhance the care of other beings by suggesting novel ways of interacting with organisms. In this Research-through-Design study, we explore the potential of thermal feedback to express the conditions of organisms used in bio-design, such as fungi, bacteria, and algae. We interviewed bio-design researchers, collected sensor data reflecting the wellbeing of a microbial culture, and developed a prototype that expresses this biodata through thermal feedback. Bio-design researchers then experienced and discussed three scenarios of using this prototype. We present three tensions that designers should negotiate when expressing biodata through thermal feedback (I) explicitness of data representation (II) temporality of thermal feedback, and (III) human versus organism perspectives. Moreover, we outline six thermal parameters to navigate these tensions. We contribute to Bio-HCI and more-than-human design by exploring thermal experiences to communicate biodata and discussing opportunities and challenges of such approaches to data expression.