Designing Smart Objects in Everyday Life: Intelligences, Agencies, Ecologies

The integration of digital technologies into physical products is transforming everyday objects into smart objects that can interact with humans in meaningful ways. This book explores the potential of smart objects to form complex human-nonhuman ecologies and proposes a transdisciplinary research agenda to define, envision, and inspire future collaborative design practices.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 12 August 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The rapid advancement of digital technologies and their seamless integration into physical products is revolutionizing the way we interact with everyday objects. Our household appliances, furniture, clothing, and even everyday items are becoming increasingly intelligent, capable of engaging with humans in meaningful and purposeful ways. This collection of essays, empirical work descriptions, and design case studies brings together perspectives from interaction design, the humanities, science and technology studies, and engineering to explore and interrogate the potential of our relationships with these smart objects. By offering a critical assessment of the growing presence of smart technology in our everyday environments, this book outlines a transdisciplinary research agenda for the future of "smartness." It aims to help define, envision, and inspire future collaborative design practices that embrace the hybrid nature of smart objects as shifting and blending tools, agents, machines, or even "creatures."

Authors in this book argue that smart objects have the potential to enter into diverse relationships with humans, forming complex human-nonhuman ecologies that are both meaningful and empowering in our daily lives. They explore the various ways in which smart objects can enhance our experiences, from providing personalized assistance to enhancing our productivity and well-being. Furthermore, the book sheds light on the hidden infrastructures behind the functioning of smart objects, engaging in thought-provoking debates that address questions of technology, human values, and the economic and ecological impact of these technologies.

Whether you are a design scholar, practitioner, or activist, this book offers valuable insights, design concepts, and practical ways to engage with this research agenda for future smartness. It provides theoretical foundations, case studies, and practical examples that will inspire and guide you in exploring the possibilities of smart objects and their impact on our lives. By embracing the transformative power of digital technologies and their integration into physical products, we can envision a future where our relationships with everyday objects are expanded, re-imagined, and enriched.

Weight: 530g
Dimension: 241 x 162 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350160125