Author: ma-admin

The Interactive Technologies Institute wants to allow young students to experience the field of Human-Computer Interaction, contributing to their academic excellence from an early stage. Therefore, we invite highly-motivated students to apply for a research assistant position running this Summer. We offer 12 Summer Internships (BIIC) starting on June 1, 2023, with a fixed duration of 3 months.

The Summer Internships program is open to all undergraduate or master’s students. It offers them opportunities to engage in scholarly research with accomplished scholars and peers and ample opportunity for interaction among students and faculty.

Students are advised to read the projects carefully and contact the responsible supervisor for additional information. For more information and application guidelines, please visit https://ist-id.pt/concursos/bolsas/  and check the call BL142-IST-ID. Below we list the different research summer internships available.

1. Frontend for energy communities simulator

The PROCSIM system was developed in Python 3 and allows the simulation of energy communities. An energy community is made up of several consumers who may also have some source of renewable energy. The PROCSIM system is open-source and can be found in the following repository. Please check the additional documentation and usage examples.

This internship aims to develop a frontend for this simulator. The frontend should allow implementation of all existing features to generate communities and allow viewing of the results of the generated communities. The system should be developed in Python 3 to be fully compatible with the existing platform. The programming language to use will be Python, using PySide6.

Interns will carry out the work at the Interactive Technologies Institute, in Funchal, under the supervision of Dr. Lucas Pereira and Research Assistant Nuno Velosa.

Student profile: The students must have a solid software engineering background and excellent programming skills, preferably using Python3. The candidate should also be an eager learner and a very proactive person.

2. Frontend for machine-learning toolkit for remote soil monitoring

The TerraSenseTK (TSTK) toolkit was developed to facilitate the execution of machine-learning experiments for remote soil monitoring. This system works from remote images, in this case, satellite, and offers a clear separation between data, machine-learning algorithms and performance evaluation. The experience component allows you to develop a machine-learning pipeline with minimal programming knowledge. TSTK was developed using Python3 and is open-source, and can be found in the following repository. Please check additional documentation and some usage examples.

This project aims to develop a frontend for this system that can be executed locally. This system should allow the use of all currently existing functionalities from a user interface, thus further limiting the need to know how to program to use the toolkit. Interns should use Python3 to develop the system.

A similar example of what is intended is WEKA, a generic machine-learning toolkit implemented in Java. The programming language to use will be Python, using PySide6.

Interns will carry out the work at the Interactive Technologies Institute, in Funchal, under the supervision of Dr. Lucas Pereira and Research Assistant Manuel Pereira.

Student profile: The students must have a solid software engineering background and excellent programming skills, preferably using Python3. The candidate should also be an eager learner and a very proactive person.

3. Implementing a discrete interaction technique for augmented reality

Supervisor: Prof. Augusto Esteves

In this internship, you will implement a discrete interaction technique for augmented reality (AR) that combines subtle input on a smartwatch and output on AR smart glasses. The objective is to allow users to interact with AR smartglasses in mobile and public settings (e.g., while on the bus) without drawing too much attention to themselves and being too cumbersome. That is, an interaction technique that does not rely on mid-air gestures, controllers, or speech. You will start by adapting the technique for smartphones you see here: https://youtu.be/ZQg70bXqh8M and you will be using an Android smartwatch and the Meta Quest Pro AR device.

Student profile: The candidate should be proficient in one programming language (C#, Java, etc.) and be willing to learn how to develop in a game engine such as Unity, Godot, or the Unreal Engine.

4. Exploring the Use of ChatGPT for Non-Human Voice Generation in Zoops

Supervisor: Nuno Jardim Nunes

Zoop.earth is a novel organisation model that contributes to ecological regeneration by including the interests of other-than-human life in collective deliberation adopted in projects like the Bauhaus of the Seas (bauhaus-seas.eu). We seek a highly motivated student interested in exploring the potential of advanced AI technologies like ChatGPT to generate non-human voices in our quest for an ecologically regenerative and inclusive Zoönomy. This project will help bridge the communication gap between humans and other-than-human life, contributing to more sustainable solutions for our living space.

The work plan includes: i) Investigate the application of ChatGPT and other AI technologies in generating the voice of non-human entities, such as plants, animals, and ecosystems, to represent their interests in organisational decision-making processes; ii) Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams of technologists, designers, and ecologists to design and implement novel AI systems that effectively communicate the needs and perspectives of other-than-human life in the context of the Bauhaus of the Seas; iii) Evaluate the success and impact of the AI-generated non-human voices on organisational decision-making, and provide recommendations for improvements and further research.

Student Profile: undergrad or master’s computer science and engineering student interested in AI and HCI, including using chatGPT and other LLMs.

5. Supporting User Research in the Wild

Supervisor: Valentina Nisi

We seek a dedicated and enthusiastic research intern to join our team, focusing on “User Research in the Wild.” This internship offers an excellent opportunity for undergraduate or graduate students interested in user research, human-computer interaction, and design to support ongoing PhD research projects. As a research intern, you will gain hands-on experience conducting user studies and analysing data to inform the design and development of innovative technologies.

The work plan includes: i) Assist PhD students in planning, designing, and conducting user studies in real-world settings, such as public spaces and other relevant environments; ii) Collect and analyse qualitative and quantitative data from user research activities, such as interviews, observations, surveys, and usability testing;  iii) Help prepare research findings for presentations, reports, and publications.

Student Profile: Undergrad or master’s student in psychology or social sciences with experience in conducting user research.

6. Virtual Reality Numpads

Supervisor(s): Prof. Daniel Simões Lopes

This internship addresses the redesign of conventional numpads to better support 2D/3D content creation in Virtual Reality (VR), in particular, precision modelling tasks (i.e., to define the precise location, orientation and shape parameter(s) of an object). Well-known spatial design VR apps such as Gravity Sketch, Arkio, and ShapesXR have simply translated the desktop metaphor of a numpad, making numerical input a tiresome and error-prone task since now the user needs to gesticulate their entire upper limb to insert a few characters. We will consider several spatial designs. Interns will develop on Unity (the famous game engine) using the VRTK 4 toolkit, which follows a no-coding approach.

Student profile: Know-how on Virtual Reality and Unity are welcome but not mandatory.

7. Knowledge Maps as Educational Tools to Learn Anatomy

Supervisor(s): Prof. Daniel Simões Lopes

This project aims at designing simple educational tools to learn anatomical landmarks through knowledge maps. When represented as node-edge graphs, knowledge maps are an interesting visual encoding capable of portraying, very distinctively, the topological relationships between dozens of landmarks that populate an anatomical structure. We will explore different interactive media: (i) physical knowledge maps built with affordable and accessible materials (e.g., paper and cardboard); and (ii) digital knowledge maps rendered in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment through a Meta Quest headset, while knowledge maps rendered in Augmented Reality (AR) will be displayed on a mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, laptop). Interns will rely on (the famous game engine) to develop VR and on Lens Studio (SnapChat’s creative lens tool) to develop AR.

Student profile: Candidate must have a background in biomedical engineering plus object-oriented programming skills. Know-how on Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Data Physicalization, C#, JavaScript, Unity and Lens Studio (SnapChat) is welcome but not mandatory.

8. Bridging the Digital Divide: A Community-led Digital Platform for People at Risk of Social Exclusion

Supervisor: Prof. Hugo Nicolau

People of low socio-economic status may have lower digital literacy skills due to various factors, including technological access, educational opportunities, language barriers, and lack of training. Addressing these factors and providing opportunities to improve digital literacy can help to bridge the digital divide, providing equal access to the opportunities provided by digital technology. For instance, access to e-government platforms offers vital services such as healthcare, education, job opportunities, and social welfare programs that help people rise above poverty and improve their standard of living. The inability to use these services is a strong vehicle of social exclusion.

This project aims to empower communities and individuals at risk of social exclusion to leverage the full potential of e-government platforms. We will support a social initiative led by the Intercultural European Club (https://clubeinterculturaleuropeu.wordpress.com/) and Aga Khan Foundation (https://akfportugal.org/), “Balcão do Bairro”. “Balcão do Bairro” is a network of in-person walk-in service desks managed and targeted at vulnerable communities in Lisbon. We will design and develop a digital platform to support community workers and citizens accessing e-government services. We will follow a co-design process with these communities to understand their needs, motivation, and assets.

Student profile: Background and interest in Human-Computer Interaction, participatory design methods, and frontend development.

9. ComPartilhar: Supporting Social Inclusion of Refugees through Community Sponsoring

Supervisor: Prof. Hugo Nicolau

According to the United Nations, over 103 million people are forcibly displaced in what is now the most significant humanitarian emergency since WWII. Refugees face the Triple Trauma Paradigm: persecution, exile, and resettlement. Resettlement is the most traumatic phase of the three, as adapting to a new country and culture can be difficult, resulting in social isolation and marginalisation. Current resettlement approaches fail to support most refugees due to a lack of support services and cultural differences.

This project aims to support an innovative social programme, the Community Sponsorship of Refugees, led by the Portuguese Refugee Council, which pairs Portuguese families with refugees to make them active citizens of society. Families can provide refugees with a safe home, financial support, language and cultural learning, and access to education and employment. In this project, we will create a digital platform to support the inclusion of refugees in local communities through the Community Sponsorship program. The intern will co-design the platform with multiple stakeholders to support all facets of the social programme. The project will collaborate closely with the Portuguese Refugee Council (https://cpr.pt/).

Student profile: Background and interest in Human-Computer Interaction, participatory design methods, and frontend development.

11. Bettery: a browser extension for environmental awareness acquisition.

Supervisors: Sónia Rafael

Digital consumption, understood as our reliance on always-on, Internet connected devices and services, plays a central role in our modern way of life. Our current research looks at this consumption through the lens of environmental sustainability, and the urgency to shape our digital consumption habits to better account for it.
To achieve this goal, we are currently developing a digital tool that monitors users’ online behavior. The tool takes into consideration the availability of ecological resources and attempts to promote an understanding of the factors that may motivate their use, thus enabling more informed decision-making.
Our tool, Bettery, is a browser extension that keeps the user informed about the ecological footprint caused by their digital routine and raises awareness on the environmental impact associated with the use of the Internet. Additionally, it enables modulating the interaction design of a Web site according to the availability of energy resources, thus adapting the users’ digital carbon footprint to their objectives, without compromising user experience and agency.
Currently we have completed the UI/UX prototyping for this tool and are seeking a student researcher to work on its implementation. The functional prototype is openly accessible and available in this link.

Student Profile: We are looking for a student with a computer science and engineering background, or similar. The student should be fluent in the fundamental Web technology standards (HTML, CSS and Javascript), and ideally should be familiar with implementing rich user interfaces and interactive data visualizations. Knowledge of the Web Extensions API and of reactive UI libraries is a plus.

12. Game Art and Gender Equity (GAGE)

Supervisor: Dr. Luciana Lima (luciana.lima@tecnico.ulisboa.pt)
https://www.gameartandgenderequity.com/

The Game Art and Gender Equity (GAGE) project is a research proposal based on Arts and Participatory Design to map the evolution of female participation in the Portuguese digital games industry and contribute to inclusive practices that stimulate the participation and integration of the female audience in this field. We intend to give visibility to the narratives of the women we interviewed in the empirical phase of the project and disseminate the data collected in the scope of GAGE through animations and digital games.

Student profile: Students should be familiar with digital animation methods, audiovisual storytelling and interaction design and be curious about using creative qualitative research methods. Theoretical knowledge of techno-feminism and gender studies in STEAM fields will be an asset to this application.

Note: You can apply to more than one project.

The latest edition of the ITI Talks held this April was dedicated to sharing work to be presented during CHI2023. This is the most relevant conference in the HCI field, which we are attending with a significant number of participants!

Three authors presented their research papers to the institute. The PhD students Francisco Calisto and Filipa Rocha shared their CHI2023 work in Lisbon. On the other hand, Paulo Bala, a postdoctoral researcher, joined the ITI Talks CHI2023 special from Funchal.

Francisco Maria Calisto

Firstly, Francisco Maria Calisto focuses on the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medical imaging. In fact, his recent research has demonstrated that personalization and customization of AI communication to clinicians based on their professional experience can improve medical decision-making and improve patient outcomes. His approach combines the power of humans and AI, and he has shown that assertiveness plays a vital role in how this communication is perceived.

Paulo Bala

Second, Paulo Bala investigates the union of Human-Computer Interaction with entertainment media. His PhD project focused on developing support tools for optimising, interacting, and evaluating Virtual Reality content. However, his current research is focused on critical heritage and analyzing discomfort through collaborative autoethnography. By focusing on the differences in how people experience heritage sites, he aims to shine a critical lens on current societal issues and transform people’s understanding of history.

Filipa Rocha

Lastly, Filipa Rocha focuses on improving technology accessibility for children with visual impairments. Her work mainly focuses on developing coding environments that promote collaborative work between children with mixed-visual abilities while training computational thinking skills. Moreover, her recent research investigated the tradeoffs between remote and co-located collaboration through a tangible coding kit, contributing insights on six dimensions related to communication, workspace awareness, and computational thinking training. In sum, she discusses design opportunities of tangibles, audio, roles, and tasks to create inclusive learning activities in remote and co-located settings.

Here is a list of our participation in CHI2023 between April 23 and 28 in Hamburg, including those presented during the latest ITI Talks.

Assertiveness-based Agent Communication for a Personalised Medicine on Medical Imaging Diagnosis: Assertiveness-based BreastScreening-AI

Authors: Francisco Maria Galamba Ferrari Calisto, João Fernandes, Margarida Morais, Carlos Santiago, João Maria Veigas Abrantes, Nuno Jardim Nunes and Jacinto Nascimento.

Coding Together: On Co-located and Remote Collaboration between Children with Mixed-Visual Abilities.

Authors: Filipa Rocha, Filipa Correia, Isabel Neto, Ana Cristina Pires, João Guerreiro, Tiago Guerreiro and Hugo Nicolau.

Comparing Dwell time, Pursuits and Gaze Gestures for Gaze Interaction on Handheld Mobile Devices.

Authors: Omar Namnakani, Yasmeen Abdrabou, Jonathan Grizou, Augusto Esteves and Mohamed Khamis

Towards Critical Heritage in the Wild: Analysing Discomfort through Collaborative Autoethnography. 

Authors: Paulo Bala, Pedro Sanches, Vanessa Cesário, Sarah Leão, Catarina Alexandra Rebelo Rodrigues, Nuno Jardim Nunes and Valentina Nisi.

Workshop: HCI for Climate Change: Imagining Sustainable Futures.

Authors: Eleonora Mencarini, Christina Bremer, Chiara Leonardi, Jen Liu, Valentina Nisi, Nuno Jardim Nunes and Robert Soden.

Workshop: Data as a Material for Design: Alternative Narratives, Divergent Pathways, and Future Directions. 

Authors: Matthew Lee-Smith, Audrey Desjardins, William Odom, James Pierce, Doenja Oogjes, Mathias Funk, Young-Woo Park, Pedro Sanches, Vasiliki Tsaknaki, Jesse Josua Benjamin.

Journal Publication: Touching Our Breathing through Shape-Change: Monster, Organic Other, or Twisted Mirror. 

Authors: Pavel Karpashevich, Pedro Sanches, Rachael Garrett, Yoav Luft, Kelsey Cotton, Vasiliki Tsaknaki, Kristina Höök.

AltCHI: The Problem With Gender-Blind Design and How We Might Begin to Address It: A Model for Intersectional Feminist Ethical Deliberation. 

Authors: Ana O. Henriques, Sónia Rafael, Victor M Almeida and José Gomes Pinto.

A new accessibility-focused robot under development will allow children of mixed visual abilities to have balanced conversations. The goal is to promote moments where everyone participates equally.

Researchers at the Interactive Technologies Institute have recently released a study on using a robot to mediate group discussions between children with mixed-visual abilities. The team presented the study during the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction held this March in Stockholm.

The research team identified the problem of children with disabilities participating less in group discussions. They believe it’s due to the lack of technologies that fit the needs of children with and without visual impairment. “Most accessible technologies are developed to be used only by children with disabilities, which excludes them from many classroom activities. Additionally, children with visual impairment have more challenges perceiving conversation and related non-verbal cues”, explains Isabel Neto, the leading researcher and PhD candidate at Instituto Superior Técnico.

Developing a conversation-moderating robot

To solve this issue, the researchers adapted a commercially-available robotic toy – Dash – that mediates group discussions between mixed-visual abilities children. The robot moves between the children and stays in front of the currently speaking child as a listening buddy while using microphones to understand how much each child has talked. The robot changes its position and goes to the child that spoke less in the group to encourage her to intervene. Dash uses bright, colourful LEDs and verbal utterances to communicate conversation engagement or encourage participation. “We created the robot’s behaviours through software development, specifically designed to be used by mixed-abilities children. Any child perceives its behaviours, regardless of their visual acuity”, clarifies the researcher.

The study performed with groups of children aimed to test if the robot intervention would promote equal participation of children with and without visual impairment in group conversations. “We were interested in assessing how balanced the group participation would be. We considered a group balanced whenever children spoke fairly for the same amount of time. On the other hand, we considered unbalanced the groups in which at least one child spoke significantly more or less than the others”, clarifies Isabel Nspeaking

Dash encourages children with visual impairment to speak more

The study showed that the robot reduced the discrepancy between how much children with and without visual impairment participated. The team reached these results by using what they called a directive strategy. In this case, the robot moves near the least participating child, encouraging them to talk. “Although it did not fully eliminate discrepancies, the robot did reduce this unevenness. This is a small yet promising step towards fairer participation of all children in classroom activities”, concludes the researcher.

This research highlights the benefits of creating inclusive technologies that anyone can use, promoting fair and equitable experiences. In the future, the research team will perfect the directive strategy to make it feel more organic and natural. “We also want to expand our audiences and explore how we could use a robot on other mixed-ability groups, such as children in the autism spectrum,” she reveals. The researchers hope their findings will positively influence group dynamics in classrooms, workplaces, and homes.

The Institute for Systems and Robotics and the Interactive Technologies Institute are participating in the upcoming AMADEE-24 mission to Mars. The Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) is the mission organiser. It aims to advance the development of space exploration through international collaboration and scientific research.

Previous experience on Mars

As one of the scientific partners of the OeWF, LARSyS has contributed to the analogue missions to Mars since 2019. The upcoming mission will take place in 2024. It will simulate the living conditions on Mars, with six analogue astronauts living in isolation for a month in Armenia. During this time, the LARSyS team will conduct an experiment called MEROP (Towards a More Effective Remote Operation of Planetary ground robots using multimodal interfaces). MEROP aims to improve the teleoperation of remote rovers and provide astronauts with a toolkit for troubleshooting.

“We are excited to be part of this major international collaborative effort for the development of space exploration,” said researcher Rute Luz. “Our experiment will use a teleoperation interface with several levels of autonomy. We will use image argumentation to improve teleoperation and compensate for operational challenges like situation awareness or rough terrains.”

Researchers have already conducted experiments to evaluate the proposed interfaces in a realistic virtual environment where frequent traction losses occur. In fact, the results suggest that adding human cognitive skills to planetary exploration through remote teleoperation can lead to more valuable scientific data acquisition.

The AMADEE-24 mission science definition workshop was held in February. Then, the official location and crew for the mission were announced.

The Interactive Technologies Institute hosted the ITI Talks event held this month. It was a great success, with two speakers presenting their latest research. The event occurred in a hybrid format, with physical locations in Lisbon and Funchal. During the event, the team discussed research on rehabilitating injuries with VR help and climate change communication.

The talks

Cristiano França presented his study on “Virtual Reality Gaming in Rehabilitation after Musculoskeletal Injury – User Experience Pilot Study.” He described a new technological solution for rehabilitating musculoskeletal injuries using virtual reality (VR) gaming. The study analysed the variation in rated perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate (HR) of participants undergoing rehabilitation based on different VR gaming. The study’s results indicated a statistically significant difference in RPE scale and HR across the five VR games throughout a complete rehabilitation session. Moreover, the results showed high perceived usability of the system. Additionally, there was a greater intrinsic motivation to perform the rehabilitation exercises, a high level of immersion, and a good experience in the VR gaming environment. The study has important implications for rehabilitating athletes recovering from musculoskeletal injuries.

Afterwards, the second speaker, Marta Ferreira, presented her research on “Reconnecting Audiences with Climate Change: Towards Relatable and Action-focused Data Interactions.” She discussed the design and testing of Finding Arcadia, an interactive data story that uses data humanism to shift the dialogue from crisis-focused to action-focused. The study focused on the communication potential of different media and their intersection with sustainability. In particular, she aims to develop engaging and action-focused climate change data interactions. The study had two pilot tests, one in Pavilhão do Conhecimento and the other in a local traditional market. The study’s results showed the effectiveness of the data visualisation approach in engaging and inspiring audiences towards climate action.

The speakers

Cristiano França is a researcher at ITI/LARSyS who has focused on virtual reality technology for the past three years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and a master’s in Interactive Media Design. In the meantime, he has developed a new technological solution for rehabilitating musculoskeletal injuries based on virtual reality gaming.

Marta Ferreira is a design researcher with a degree in Communication Design and a Master’s degree in Typographic and Editorial Practices from FBAUL. Presently, she is pursuing a PhD in Digital Media from FCT/Técnico and is focused on applying her research interests in interaction projects related to sustainability. Marta’s research explores the intersection between different media and their communication potential.

Overall, the ITI Talks event held in March 2023 was an excellent opportunity for researchers to share their latest findings on essential topics. The presentations were informative and engaging, sparking exciting discussions during the lunch break. We are excited to see the next ITI Talks event in April.

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Researchers at the Interactive Technologies Institute developed an educational game that uses augmented reality to teach chemistry to young students. They recently revealed their research findings on the game’s potential to teach chemistry and improve children’s perception of the subject.

The study aimed to address the problem of children’s perception of chemistry as a challenging and complex subject. Subsequently, this can lead to poorer academic performance and a reduced interest in pursuing careers in STEM subjects. The game “Periodic Fable Discovery” presents children with scientific content about chemistry supported by an exploratory activity. It takes advantage of manipulable physical cubes and augmented reality. The game intends to entertain children while engaging them with compelling storytelling about the basics of chemistry and the Periodic Table. “Children use smartphones to acquire information about a specific chemical element. All they need to do is point the smartphone camera to the cubes’ surface. Each face reveals text, audio, or animations about specific chemical element properties,” explains Sandra Câmara Olim, leading researcher.

Changing children’s perceptions towards chemistry

These results were presented in February at the ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction in Warsaw. Sandra Câmara Olim, a researcher at the Interactive Technologies Institute, leads the project supervised by Valentina Nisi, Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico. The study’s quantitative and qualitative results showed significant positive results in the participants’ learning outcomes and engagement. “Children retained more information about Chemistry and the Periodic Table, leading to better performance in knowledge tests. Additionally, students shifted their perception of chemistry from a difficult and tedious subject to an interesting and useful one”, says the researcher.

The study encourages researchers to continue evaluating this design system as a tool to promote STEM education. The research provides insights into the design and development of AR game-based experiences. The key is to use an interdisciplinary approach between learning content, human factors, and technologies to promote children’s interest in chemistry. “Combining our technological know-how with teachers’ pedagogical skills allowed us to develop a fun interactive game. Additionally, it uses storytelling to create an emotional connection with children, thus improving their interest in the topic”, says Sandra.

The game mechanics of “Periodic Fable” are designed to engage children in learning about chemistry through storytelling, physical interaction with manipulable cubes, and augmented reality. The game has an interactive, entertaining, and memorable learning experience for children. As a result, children should have better retention of knowledge and increased interest in the subject.

How does the game work?

By using physical cubes, the game provides a tactile experience that allows children to explore the elements of the Periodic Table in a hands-on way. Augmented reality further enhances the experience by adding a digital layer that overlays information and animations onto the physical cubes. As a result, it makes the learning experience more engaging and immersive. The researchers plan to continue evaluating the game’s design and effectiveness by conducting further studies with more participants. Moreover, they will explore the potential long-term impact of AR-based games on students’ perseverance in science education.

The “Periodic Fable” project is part of Sandra Câmara Olim’s doctoral research. The set of AR-based educational games is aimed at children aged 9 to 13 years, with different pedagogical approaches to facilitate the assimilation of academic concepts in a fun and playful way.

The researchers believe this study will have a long-term impact on society by providing insights into the design and development of AR-based games to promote STEM education.

The Interactive Technologies Institute has recently conducted research on the preferences of teenagers when it comes to using visiting interactive technology in museums. The research was carried out in collaboration with the Natural History Museum of Funchal, and was led by Vanessa Cesário.

The research aimed to find out how museums can better engage with their younger audiences and found that technology was the key to attracting teenagers. For that reason, the team conducted participatory design sessions with 155 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 to understand what kind of experience they would like to have in a museum. The sessions revealed that while teenagers did not consider museums attractive, they were excited about the prospect of having interactive technology guide them through exhibitions.

Then, the feedback from the teenagers was categorized into two themes – game mechanics and narratives. Most participants preferred gamification experiences in museums, while a few preferred narrative-based experiences. The researchers also reached out to Cultural Management students, who will become the future curators of museums. They found that while they believed storytelling and narrative were the keys to attracting young people, teenagers preferred game-based experiences.

Games vs narratives

Afterwards, and based on this feedback, we developed two different prototypes – a location-based game and a narrative-based experience. Furthermore, the team studied the impact of these experiences on the engagement levels of teenagers and found that those who were motivated by competition preferred game-based approaches. In contrast, those who were intrigued by the plot preferred narrative-based approaches. To sum up, most teenagers preferred stories except for the most competitive ones, who engaged more with game-based methods.

In conclusion, the research conducted by the Interactive Technologies Institute highlights the importance of considering the preferences of teenagers when it comes to designing museum experiences. In fact, by incorporating technology, museums can create engaging and meaningful experiences that cater to the needs and desires of their younger audiences.

References

Cesário, V., & Nisi, V. (2022). Designing with teenagers: A teenage perspective on enhancing mobile museum experiences. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 33, 100454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2022.100454

Cesário, V., Olim, S., Nisi, V. (2020). A Natural History Museum Experience: Memories of Carvalhal’s Palace – Turning Point. In: Bosser, AG., Millard, D.E., Hargood, C. (eds) Interactive Storytelling. ICIDS 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12497. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62516-0_31

Cesário, V., Petrelli, D., & Nisi, V. (2020). Teenage Visitor Experience: Classification of Behavioral Dynamics in Museums. Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–13. Presented at the Honolulu, HI, USA. https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376334

Cesário, V., Trindade, R., Olim, S., Nisi, V. (2019). Memories of Carvalhal’s Palace: Haunted Encounters, a Museum Experience to Engage Teenagers. In: Lamas, D., Loizides, F., Nacke, L., Petrie, H., Winckler, M., Zaphiris, P. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2019. INTERACT 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11749. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29390-1_36

Nisi, V., Cesario, V., Nunes, N. (2019). Augmented Reality Museum’s Gaming for Digital Natives: Haunted Encounters in the Carvalhal’s Palace. In: van der Spek, E., Göbel, S., Do, EL., Clua, E., Baalsrud Hauge, J. (eds) Entertainment Computing and Serious Games. ICEC-JCSG 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11863. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34644-7_3

Cesário, V. (2019). Guidelines for Combining Storytelling and Gamification: Which Features Would Teenagers Desire to Have a More Enjoyable Museum Experience? Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–6. Presented at the Glasgow, Scotland Uk. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290607.3308462

The Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI) researcher Hugo Nicolau recently presented an upcoming project known as DCitizens during the ITI Talks event.  Led by the ITI, the project focuses on Digital Civics, examining the relationship between digital technologies and civic engagement. Additionally, DCitizens aims to understand how digital technologies can promote civic participation, democratic governance, and social justice. It wants to design technologies and practices that support citizens’ goals.

According to Hugo Nicolau, the coordinator, one of the specific goals of the DCitizens project is to enhance the ITI research and innovation competence in the field of Digital Civics. “We want citizens to be more involved in local decision-making, enabling them to have a say about what is important in their lives”, he said.

Citizens as part of the research

The project aims to shift the research paradigm by inverting the direction of the research flow. Typically, universities and research centres unilaterally develop products and services to provide them to users later. However, the DCitizens project aims to create a participatory platform in which researchers and citizens foster a long-term co-creation process.

The ITI has partnered with several institutions to achieve the project’s goals. They are the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italy), Universität Siegen (Germany), and Northumbria University (United Kingdom). They will run the DCitizens project for three years, with an expected completion date of November 2025.

Kick-off meeting in January

To kick off the project, the ITI is hosting the DCitizens kick-off meeting at Factory HCB between January 23-25. Consortium and local partners interested in Inclusive Education, Social Cohesion, and Sustainable Living will discuss the project’s goals and objectives during this event. Moreover, the DCitizens project will make significant contributions to the field of Digital Civics. Partners will achieve it by promoting research excellence through networking and training activities. These will foster a long-term co-creation process between researchers and citizens.

The Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI) held elections for a new leadership team. The Institute elected Nuno Jardim Nunes, Hugo Nicolau, Élvio Gouveia, and Pedro Campos as President and three Vice-Presidents, respectively. They will run their mandates for two years. This leadership team will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Institute.

Election results

The Board announced the election results during the annual plenary meeting of 2023 held this week. Additionally, the group welcomed the recent staff hires and discussed the Institute’s budget and financial strategy for the upcoming years. The Institute is committed to maintaining a solid financial position. This way, we can continue to support the work of its researchers and attract new talent to its ranks.

Upcoming research projects

Several researchers have also presented new projects that recently began or that are starting in 2023. Nuno Nunes briefly presented the Bauhaus of the Sea Sails. The project aims to demonstrate and archive solutions for climate neutrality, focusing on coastal cities as an interface to healthy seas, oceans and water bodies. Hugo Nicolau introduced DCitizens, a project that aims to foster Digital Civics research and innovation in Lisbon. Valentina Nisi, Diogo Cabral, Nuno Correia, and Pedro Campos will coordinate or run the upcoming projects Logaculture, SYNTECS, MODINA, and eGames Lab, respectively. These projects are diverse and have different objectives, but they all share a common goal: to use interactive technologies to improve people’s lives.

President Nuno Nunes highlights that the Interactive Technologies Institute is going through an excellent phase with numerous projects. Moreover, ITI researchers coordinate some of these projects. They are the result of our members’ dedication and innovative scientific research. The Institute is proud of its research. Furthermore, ITI is committed to supporting researchers as they continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with interactive technologies.