Proceedings of the 4th European Tangible Interaction Studio (ETIS) 2020
                        Dimitra Anastasiou, Valérie Maquil
                  Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology,
          5, avenue des Hauts Fourneaux L-4362 Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg
                     {dimitra.anastasiou, valerie.maquil}@list.lu


The fourth version of the European Tangible Interaction Studio Tangible interaction was
hosted by the University of Siena (Italy) and took place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic
situation. In total, there were 20 participants attending the ETIS conference from 6 countries:
Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Luxembourg.
Tangible Interaction is a research field addressing areas at the border of the physical and
the digital. Nowadays many researchers, designers, developers and artists work in this area
and a vast range of products and applications are designed and produced accordingly.
Besides, many research projects are funded through research funds at a European and
international level.


AIM OF THE STUDIO
The aim of this meeting is to gather young European researchers in our field, to get them in
touch with internationally renowned researchers and to establish networks for their future. This
studio was a follow-up of the previous editions held in Bidart (2013), Fribourg (2016) and
Luxembourg (2017) and was a unique opportunity to train in the field of tangible interaction
and to discuss your research with professors and other young researchers.
Researchers with different backgrounds from both academic and applied/industrial research
participated in ETIS 2020. The studio included voices from enterprises and private research
institutions working in the field of tangible interaction. It aimed to provide participants with
insights for applied research possibilities, in order to bring tangible interaction principles out of
the lab, in the everyday use.
Senior researchers from the industry and internationally known professors introduced different
topics related to tangible interaction from their different points of view.


KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
During ETIS 2020, there were 4 keynote speakers: Stéphanie Fleck (University of Lorraine),
Marianna Obrist (University College London), Tanja Döring (University of Bremen), and
Hiroshi Ishii (MIT Media Lab); the order is according they were presented during the Studio.
The abstracts of the keynotes are presented below:
    1. Stéphanie Fleck, Associate Professor at the University of Lorraine – PERSEUS lab

Title: Tangible learning: Design and evaluation of hybrid environments for human learning
and fulfilment

Abstract: Learning requires the construction or questioning of personal knowledge, skills
and/or attitudes. This often requires the learner to go beyond appearances, to grasp abstract
notions. Unfortunately, sometimes these are only obvious to those who already know. In her
presentation Stéphanie Fleck, explained her works around the design and evaluation of hybrid
devices targeted to promote and better understand the development of knowledge, skills and
of a positive learning experience.

   2. Marianna Obrist, Professor of Multisensory Interfaces at UCL (University College
      London)
Title: Multisensory Experiences: Beyond Audio-Visual Interfaces

Abstract: Marianna Obrist presented the concept of Multisensory experiences, that is,
experiences that involve more than one of our senses. While we have built tools, experiences
and computing systems that have played to the human advantages of hearing and sight (e.g.,
signage, modes of communication, visual and musical arts, theatre, cinema and media), we
have long neglected the opportunities around touch, taste, or smell as interface/interaction
modalities. Within this talk, Marianna Obrist shared her vision for the future of computing and
what role touch, taste, and smell can play in it.

   3. Tanja Döring, Senior Researcher in the Digital Media Lab at the University of Bremen.

Title: Tangible Interaction and Materiality

Abstract: Among the potentials of tangible user interfaces is their rich materiality that can
shape sensory and meaningful experiences as well as offer novel functionalities. In her talk,
Tanja Döring gave an overview on evolving themes that focus on materiality and interaction
and present examples for tangible interaction, including prototypes with advanced, everyday
and ephemeral materials.

   4. Hiroshii Ishii, Jerome B. Wiesner Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT
      Media Laboratory

Title: Making Digital Tangible: The Battle Against the Pixel Empire

Abstract: Hiroshi Ishii presented the trajectory of our vision-driven design research from
Tangible Bits towards Radical Atoms, illustrated through a variety of interaction design projects
that have been presented and exhibited in Media Arts, Design, and Science communities.
These projects emphasized that the design for engaging and inspiring tangible interactions
requires the rigor of both scientific and artistic review, encapsulated by my motto, “Be Artistic
and Analytic. Be Poetic and Pragmatic.”

   5. Domenico Prattichizzo, Professor of Robotics at the University of Siena and Senior
      Scientist at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genova

Title: Highly wearable haptic interfaces for novel interaction between humans and machines

Abstract: Wearable haptics and wearable sensorimotor interfaces are emerging research
trends that will enable novel forms of communication and cooperation between humans and
robots. In this keynote, Domenico Prattichizzo introduced design guidelines for wearable
haptics and reviewed our research in this field.
PAPER SESSIONS
Moreover, there were 5 paper sessions, which were thematically categorized. We present
them here in the order that they were presented during the conference:

Pierre Mahieux, Sébastien Kubicki, Sylvain Laubé and Ronan Querrec: "Time Navigation in
a Virtual Environment using Tangible Interactions: application to the domain of History of
Science and Technology"

Alexis Olry de Rancourt, Julien Veytizou, David Bertolo, Robin Vivian, J. M. Christian Bastien,
Stéphanie Fleck: "PrisMe: a Tangible User Interface for Work Group Regulation. Preliminary
User Experience Study"

Stephanie Rey, Anke M. Brock, Christophe Bortolaso, Mustapha Derras and Nadine Couture:
"Guiding visitors in museums with calm interactions"

Anke Reinschluessel, Tanja Döring, Rainer Malaka: "Improving User Interfaces for
Physicians through New Materials, Tangible Interaction, and Tactile Feedback"

Laura Cipriani, Andrea Ascani, Carla Sedini, Massimo Bianchini and Stefano Maffei: "The
BODYSOUND case. A tangible prototype for co-designing "intangible" healthcare solutions"

Mira El Kamali, Leonardo Angelini, Omar Abou Khaled and Elena Mugellini: "NESTORE: An
Embodied Tangible Conversational Agent for Older Adults"

Sujay Shalawadi, Eva Hornecker and Florian Echtler: "Dynamic Representation of Physical
Exercises on Inflatable Membranes: Making Walking Fun Again!"

Tom Giraud, Ines Di Loreto and Matthieu Tixier: "Tangible Interaction as a resource for
Relational HCI"

Federica Caruso and Venanzio Arquilla: " Yogo: A Hybrid Toy System for Kids with DCD"

Marine Capallera, Leonardo Angelini, Omar Abou Khaled and Elena Mugellini: "Human
Vehicle Interaction Model for Supervision in Conditionally Automated Driving Cars"

Serpil Erdonmez and Venanzio Arquilla: " Designing Tangible Tasks for Autism People:
NADI"



PANELS
There were also 4 panels, where all participants were asked to discuss on specific current and
future ideas. The four panels were the following:

   1. A Workshop on Embodied Vocal Tangible Conversational Agents: a Human
      Computer Interaction Approach (Mira El Kamali, Marine Capallera, Leonardo
      Angelini, Omar Abou Khaled, Elena Mugellini)

This panel dealt with the combination of vocal interaction with tangible interaction. The idea
was to explore different embodied vocal conversational agents with tangible aspects and see
the different tangible designs and challenges of a vocal conversational agent.
During the panel, the participants engaged in practical application. They brainstormed in
groups about the concept of having a vocal conversational agent embedded in a physical
device with tangible capabilities. The panel consisted in designing the form of the physical
device, the tangibility aspect and properties of the vocal assistant and the kind of interactions
users can have with this embodied conversational agent.

   2. Exploring Opportunities of Tabletop Interfaces for Promoting and Analysing
      Collaboration (Hoorieh Afkari, Valérie Maquil, Dimitra Anastasiou)

Shared interfaces such as multi-touch tables and tangible tabletop interfaces were found to
mediate and support collaboration. During this panel, an interactive tabletop mediated
environment called Orbitia was presented, which induces participants’ face-to-face
collaboration in the context of a joint problem solving activity. We discussed how interactive
tabletops can elicit users in applying and progressively refining their collaboration
strategies. Participants, after knowing about the fundamental aspects of collaboration in such
context, developed and reflected their ideas through a shared brainstorming tool.

   3. Tangible interactions in Virtual Reality environments (Matteo Sirizzotti, Simone
      Guercio, Flavio Lampus, Patrizia Marti, Luca Lusuardi, Alessandro Innocenti)

Virtual Reality (VR) provides opportunity for immersive experiences in several fields of
application, in particular in training and entertainment. Integrating tangible interaction with
virtual environments that mimic real world situations can provide a tremendous enrichment to
the user experience. This panel aimed to engage a reflection on possible ways to integrate
tangible interactions in virtual reality scenarios. Specifically, the panel included a bodystorming
session and rapid prototyping to ideate new concepts of controllers and tangible objects to be
used in VR applications to enhance and enrich the interaction possibilities.

   4. Crafting Tangible Interactions. Can thinking through craftsmanship values
      enrich the design process of TI? (Erica Vannucci)

This panel suggested that looking closely to craftsmanship practices and unpacking the values
craft practitioners have over materiality, techniques and processes, could enrich our
knowledge on human-values providing useful nuances that could be used when designing
future tangible interactions. During the panel, participants collectively reflected and discussed
on how craftsmanship characteristics and sensitivities could be valued and included more in
the design of future tangible interactions.


ORGANIZATION
Here we present the local organization committee, the steering committee of ETIS, as well the
program committee, which peer-reviewed the ETIS submissions and thus guaranteed the high
quality of the contributions.
Organisation Committee

   •   General Chair: Patrizia Marti (University of Siena)
   •   Program Chair: Annamaria Recupero (University of Siena)
   •   Scientific Editors: Valérie Maquil (LIST, Luxembourg), Dimitra Anastasiou (LIST,
       Luxembourg)
   •   Local organization: Giuliana Pasquini (University of Siena)
   •    Technical support & Logistics: Matteo Sirizzotti, Flavio Lampus, Simone Guercio
        (University of Siena)
   •    Webmaster: Simone Guercio (University of Siena)

Steering Committee

   •    Nadine Couture (ESTIA Recherche, LaBRI)
   •    Elena Mugellini (HES-SO, HumanTech)

Scientific Commitee

    •   Leonardo Angelini (HEIA-FR, HumanTech, Switzerland)
    •   Venanzio Arquilla (Politecnico di Milano, Italy)
    •   Nadine Couture (ESTIA Institute of Technology, France)
    •   Johann Habakuk Israel (HTW Berlin, Germany)
    •   Martin Hachet (INRIA, France)
    •   Sophie Lepreux (LAMIH, Valenciennes, France)
    •   Valérie Maquil (LIST, Luxembourg)
    •   Patrizia Marti (University of Siena, Italy)
    •   Elena Mugellini (HES-SO, HumanTech, Switzerland)
    •   Oronzo Parlangeli (University of Siena, Italy)
    •   Annamaria Recupero (University of Siena, Italy)
    •   Guillaume Rivière (ESTIA Institute of Technology, France)
    •   Jürgen Steimle (Saarland University, Germany)



BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EDITORS

Dimitra Anastasiou is an R&T associate at LIST in the Human Dynamics in Cognitive
Environment Unit of the IT for Innovative Services Department. She is working on user
behaviour and collaboration on Tangible User Interfaces. From 2015-2018, she was awarded
with a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship project (ranked 9 out of 1335 proposals) with the title
“Gestures In Tangible User Interfaces“(GETUI): http://www.list.lu/en/project/getui/. From 2014
to 2015 she worked at the DFG project SOCIAL at the University of Oldenburg, Germany. She
finished her Phd in 2010 at the Saarland University, Germany in the domain of “machine
translation”. After that she worked as a post-doc on the project “Centre for Next Generation
Localisation” at the University of Limerick, Ireland. From 2011-2012 she worked on the project
“SFB/TR8 Spatial Cognition” at the university of Bremen, Germany. She has 7 years teaching
experience and have organized 6 workshops at international conferences. She is a member
of the working group “Be-greifbare interaktion” since January 2016. am Technical National
Anchor Point for Luxembourg for the European Language Resource Coordination, which
manages, maintains and coordinates the relevant language resources in all official languages
of the EU.

Valérie Maquil is a Senior R&T Associate at LIST in the research group Multi-User Natural
Interaction of the IT for Innovative Services Department. She holds a PhD in Computer
Science from Vienna University of Technology, Austria (completed in 2010). Her research
focus is the design and evaluation of tangible and tabletop interaction in group contexts. She
worked on and lead many EU (FP6, Interreg, Erasmus+, H2020) and national (FNR PSP, FNR
JUMP, FNR POC, RDI) projects, involving the design, implementation, and evaluation of
tangible and tabletop interaction in the context of collaborative problem solving, collaborative
design, or collaborative decision making. She is currently the LIST PI in the FNR CORE project
Overcoming breakdowns in Teams on Interactive Tabletops (ORBIT). She is active in many
scientific communities related to tangible interaction. She is member of the steering committee
of the Fachgruppe “Be-Greifbare Interaction” and serves as committee member and reviewer
for many international scientific communities (TEI, ISS, IHM, Mensch und Computer, …). She
is co-creator of Kniwwelino®, the technology-rich, creative environment for learning coding
and electronics and owns three patents.

ORGANIZATION

We thank all the following sponsors which financially and scientifically supported ETIS
2020: