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-Tactics and Concepts for Highly Mobile People

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it possible to move the magnet <strong>and</strong> there<strong>for</strong>e the ball around the entire area of the bowl’s<br />

top surface. The movement of the ball causes a shift in the bowl’s center of gravity, which<br />

tilts the bowl.<br />

BiaB communicates wirelessly with a PC, which is connected to ML. Software on the PC<br />

h<strong>and</strong>les status changes <strong>and</strong> controls the movements of the magnet in the bowl <strong>and</strong><br />

indication of remote status. 24 LEDs on the edge of the plat<strong>for</strong>m indicates the sharing<br />

status of the remote place by illuminating up to three sections along the edge of the top<br />

surface.<br />

These apparently magic movements of BiaB makes it an artifact that appears to be alive,<br />

although it is not anthropomorphic but it somehow comes to life when an action is taking<br />

place in the remote end of the system.<br />

The ball is placed on the icon of the current status. Offline is in the center <strong>and</strong> then<br />

invisible, visible <strong>and</strong> sharing is placed around the edge of the bowl. The ball rolls along the<br />

edge when moving from one level to another. If the remote location is on a higher level<br />

then that is the same as an indication <strong>for</strong> being invited to move up. The ball then rolls up<br />

to that level, where it stays <strong>for</strong> 15 seconds while tilting back <strong>and</strong> fourth to draw attention<br />

to the bowl, be<strong>for</strong>e moving down again <strong>for</strong> five minutes.<br />

6.3.7. Evaluation of BiaB<br />

We have made an artifact that comes to life when calling <strong>for</strong> attention. The prototype did<br />

not make it to a technologically stable level in order to explore it in domestic settings.<br />

Ball in a Bowl is originally thought as a negotiation tool, where you could feel the remote<br />

place when trying to move the ball. We have not been able to establish input however, in<br />

relation to making it have this character. This made it more a display rather than a<br />

mediator <strong>for</strong> negotiating the desired status of ML. The negotiation was inspired by<br />

collective interaction <strong>and</strong> we there<strong>for</strong>e looked <strong>for</strong> the option of feeling the remote person<br />

pulling the ball in the desired direction of the scale.<br />

We would like to try it with users to see how the impact is in regards of the connection.<br />

Perhaps it could act as a despondence to the DJ in the other end, who needed to know if<br />

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