Actuated desktop devices
Living Desktop is a project developed by Gilles Bailly. I was in charge of developing a Version 2 of Living desktop, including a robust connection between Unity and Arduino as well as hardware improvements and new applications and uses cases.
Living desktop investigates the potential benefits of actuated devices for the desktop workstation which remains the most used environment for daily office works. A formative study reveals that the desktop workstation is not a fixed environment because users manually change the position and the orientation of their devices. Based on these findings, we present the LivingDesktop, an augmented desktop workstation with devices (mouse, keyboard, a monitor) capable of moving autonomously. We describe interaction techniques and applications illustrating how actuated desktop workstations can improve ergonomics, foster collaboration, leverage context and reinforce physicality. Finally, the findings of a scenario evaluation are (1) the perceived usefulness of ergonomics and collaboration applications; (2) how the LivingDesktop inspired our participants to elaborate novel accessibility and social applications; (3) the location and user practices should be considered when designed actuated desktop devices.