Tech companies explore how to redesign human perception of the body
Researchers are mapping methods to use sensors, wearables, and immersive interfaces to deliberately alter how people experience their own bodies. The work signals a shift toward what companies could deploy in health, fitness, and wellness markets—but raises urgent questions about consent, measurement, and unintended psychological effects.
Originaltitel: Body Transformation Experiences: A workshop on How to Elicit, Assess and Support them through Multisensory Technology
Over the last 30 years researchers in HCI, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Interaction Design have shown a growing interest in experiences that engage the moving and sensual body to alter one’s body perception. The way one’s body is perceived is highly plastic and can be altered through multisensory signals and feedback related to the body. The emerging developments in multisensory interfaces open opportunities to enrich, augment and transform body experiences in the real-world through the senses. This workshop focuses on the theories, approaches, methods, and tools to design multisensory technology that elicit and support Body Transformation Experiences, and on how to best design these for and from a first-person, lived experience. We will explore how to elicit and assess multisensory Body Transformation Experiences, and showcase concrete examples of supporting them with technology. Through technology presentations, panel sessions with experts, and multidisciplinary discussions, this workshop aims to: (i) bring together researchers creating Body Transformation through sensory technology with those studying experiential effects of sensory-body interactions; (ii) map current methods, opportunities, and challenges in designing Body Transformation Experiences; and (iii) envision a road map for this field with future directions by fostering a multidisciplinary community, building collaborations, and inspiring innovative directions for design and research.