Body in Transit

Years: 2022-2023 Location: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

In collaboration with: i_mBODY Lab, UCL Interaction Centre

Neuroscience of body perception has shown that our body perception is highly plastic, and can be altered through sensory stimuli that relates to the body. I explored this insight from a design perspective in my postdoc in Body in Transit, a project funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant (P.I. Ana Tajadura-Jiménez).

I led the interaction design research efforts within the project. My focus was on designing and evaluating various audio and haptic stimuli wearables to induce meaningful perceptual transformations in different groups (e.g. physically active and inactive individuals, professional dancers). For example, we explored how metaphorical movement sonifications and haptic vibrational patterns transformed the perceived materiality of the body, the perceived body capabilities, and the own body appearance. We also engaged in co-design work with different groups to explore interesting sensory stimuli and their potential to affect body sensations, as a way to ideate future technologies.

Throughout the project, I articulated design knowledge (methods and experiential qualities) to aid in the design and evaluation of interactive experiences that transform body perception. I also led collective speculation work within our multidisciplinary team to reflect on the potential personal and societal impacts of our designs in a fictitious, near future.

PUBLICATIONS:

Laia Turmo Vidal, José Vega-Cebrián, María Gastelum, Elena Márquez Segura, Judith Ley-Flores, Joaquín Díaz Durán, and Ana Tajadura-Jiménez. 2024. Body Sensations as Design Material: An Approach to Design Sensory Technology for Altering Body Perception. In Proc. ACM DIS, 2024.

Amar D’Adamo, Marte Roel Lesur, Laia Turmo Vidal, Mohammad Mahdi Dehshibi, Daniel De La Prida, Joaquín R. Diaz-Durán, Luis Antonio Azpicueta-Ruiz, Aleksander Väljamäe, and Ana Tajadura-Jiménez. 2024. SoniWeight Shoes: Investigating Effects and Personalization of a Wearable Sound Device for Altering Body Perception and Behavior. In Proc. ACM CHI, 2024.

Judith Ley-Flores, Laia Turmo Vidal, Elena Márquez Segura, Aneesha Singh, Frederic Bevilacqua, Francisco Cuadrado, Joaquín Roberto Díaz Durán, Omar Valdiviezo-Hernández, Milagrosa Sánchez-Martin, and Ana Tajadura-Jiménez. 2024. Co-Designing Sensory Feedback for Wearables to Support Physical Activity through Body Sensations. In Proc. ACM IMWUT, 2024.

Laia Turmo Vidal, Ana Tajadura-Jiménez, José Manuel Vega-Cebrián, Judith Ley-Flores, Joaquin R. Díaz-Durán, and Elena Márquez Segura. 2024. Body Transformation: An Experiential Quality of Sensory Feedback Wearables for Altering Body Perception. In Proc. ACM TEI, 2024.

Laia Turmo Vidal, José Manuel Vega-Cebrián, Amar D’Adamo, Marte Roel Lesur, Mohammad Mahdi Dehshibi, Joaquín Díaz Durán, and Ana Tajadura-Jiménez. 2023. On Futuring Body Perception Transformation Technologies: Roles, Goals and Values In Proc. Mindtrek, 2023.

Joaquín Roberto Díaz Durán, Laia Turmo Vidal, and Ana Tajadura Jiménez. 2023. Joakinator: An Interface for Transforming Body Movement and Perception through Machine Learning and Sonification of Muscle-Tone and Force. In Proc. NIME (2023).

Bruna Beatriz Petreca, Ana Tajadura-Jiménez, Laia Turmo Vidal, Ricardo O Nascimento, Hasti Seifi, Judith Ley-Flores, Aneesha Singh, Nadia Berthouze, Marianna Obrist, and Sharon Baurley. 2023. Body x Materials: A workshop exploring the role of material-enabled body-based multisensory experiences. In EA. ACM CHI, 2023.

Judith Ley-Flores, Laia Turmo Vidal, Nadia Berthouze, Aneesha Singh, Frédéric Bevilacqua, and Ana Tajadura-Jiménez. 2021. SoniBand: Understanding the Effects of Metaphorical Movement Sonifications on Body Perception and Physical Activity. In Proc. ACM CHI, 2021.