Blended Interactions is a user experience (UX) design studio at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Rochester, NY. We specialize in applied research and development for the design of innovative technologies that merge digital and physical spaces via mobile services. Our student researchers, designers and developers are funding by New York Council on the Arts, RIT and VisitRochester.
web site: http://blendedinteractions.com
BACKGROUND
The Blended Interaction design studio is inspired by the close integration of physical and digital spaces in room environments and collaborative spaces [1, 2, 3]. The Masters Human Computer Interaction program at RIT, created courses to research and teach user experience design in the blended interactions and digital tourism domains [4, 5]. Our goal is to design novel, location-based interactions, with special emphasis on context, location, history, and personalization of the UX before, during and after visits [6, 7]. Our research explores how we:
- implement novel augmentations to supplement educational components of digital storytelling,
- design interactions from geo-fences or location-based events for blended interactions, and
- create personalized souvenirs that represent the user’s unique visit.
Our UX design studio is affiliated with other research organizations:
Edinburgh Napier University, UK – Future Interactions Network (http://www.futureinteractions.net).
University of Konstanz, Germany – Human-Computer Interaction Group, Designing Collaborative Interactive Spaces (http://hci.uni-konstanz.de/dcis/)