Remote Furniture: Interactive Art Installation for Public Space as an

example of ubiquitous computing for the future

Noriyuki Fujimura Takuichi Nishimura Yoshiyuki Nakamura

Real World Based Interaction Group, Information Technology Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced
Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) JAPAN

mailto: noriyuki@ni.aist.go.jp

Keywords

Ubiquitous computing technology in social/urban context, Tangible interface, Interaction design

Overview

In this position paper, we would like to discuss about the potential issues that arise in developing a
ubiquitous computing project from two different viewpoints:

1) Creating the project in a social and urban context;

2) Developing the project as a group consisting of artist, scientist and researcher

Firstly, to discuss about 1), we simply introduce the artist’s ongoing art project “Remote Furniture” as an
example of artwork which has an aspect of ubiquitous computing. This art project clearly shows the potential
of ubiquitous computing technology when it is placed into urban/public space and when it has an interface of
an everyday-life object.

Secondly, to discuss about 2), we will introduce how we see the future of this kind of art project as a part of
a scientific research project. Since the artist joined to such a scientific research project six months ago, will
introduce the vision of the project team - how we conceive of the value of the artist and artworks as a part of
the research team and research itself - and possible future ideas for artworks.

Background of the art project

The artist, one of the authors, spent his college days in the 90’s in Tokyo. Like we see in some of the
photographer Nobuyoshi Araki’s Tokyo photos [1], there were some scars in urban areas due to economic and
policy changes. While he had been studying architecture and urban design in Tokyo University of Fine Arts
and Music in those days, he felt a mismatch of the surface: the design of physical things such as buildings and
public spaces and content: invisible things like people’s life and activities through the scars of urban areas. At
the same time, information technology such as mobile phones and the Internet rises in everyday life. It seems
people are going to use these invisible technologies rather than using public spaces like plazas in order to form
and maintain their community. And it seems this tendency will not change. However, the artist had been
taught how to design public spaces using physical materials for communities. After working in architecture, he
went to study media art. This art project, Remote Furniture was originally his master thesis work and
continues as available technology advances. When he started the project back in 1999, the issues were already
clear: using new technology to bring the role of physical design back to community forming in public spaces
[2] Hence the project suggests a unique way of interaction design as a fusion of technology and physical
design using kinetics as a bond between them. As an artwork, it invites passersby in public spaces into
unexpected encounters between them. Since this kinetics forms the communication in tactile ways, the
audience will feel a sense of touch over a distance in a public space. This unusual manner of interaction
between people may enhance the experience between them. The artist believes communication is vital and the
smallest factor of forming a community.

Art Project “Remote Furniture”

In this interactive public art project, two computer-controlled rocking chairs are installed on the floor
facing each other. When two people sit in the chairs and rock, the chairs create an experience of
communication in direct and tactile touch. Remote Furniture was designed to create unexpected encounters
between passersby in public spaces. Unlike Western cultures, people in Japan do not usually talk to people
they meet in public spaces such as plazas or major streets. Although there are many public spaces in Japan,
many built in postwar styles, Japanese do not have a tradition of actively using these spaces. We are still trying
to adapt traditional attitudes toward space to those ”imported” from other cultures

Fig. 1. Remote furniture in Yokohama Queens mall (1999,left) , the form of everyday thing invites passersby to be active
audience (exhibition at Ginza, Tokyo, 1999, center and right)

Interactive Artwork in Public Space

This work has been modified several times since 1999. The concept has remained the same: How can we
connect people in public spaces using interactive art and digital interfaces? But based on this concept, the
work has evolved as technology advances. This kind of interactive, haptic interface is easy to discuss from an
engineering viewpoint. [3] But how such technology can affect everyday life has not been well examined.
Remote Furniture focuses attention on this area.

Technical Aspect

The two chairs have a tilt sensor and a linear motor, and are connected to a PC running control software.
When someone rocks one of the chairs, the tilt sensor detects the inclination and transmits the data to the other
chair through the PC. The motor in the other chair then causes it to rock. Usually, this kind of remote
interaction is designed with a master-slave (one-way) method. But in Remote Furniture, full duplex (two-way)
interaction is realized, because it feels more natural.

Fig. 2. diagram of user (audience's) experience through the artwork

Tangibility and interaction design come into play

It was interesting to see what happened when Remote Furniture was installed in some Japanese public
spaces, such as an underground passage or an indoor shopping mall. Because the objects were chairs,
passersby became curious about them and eventually started sitting on them, rocking them, and playing with
them. And when people realized what was going on between the chairs, they began communicating with each
other in funny and tactile ways. More conservative means of communication, such as talking and gesturing,
became more available in public because the chairs allowed them to face each as they do in familiar situations
(for example, when they talk over a coffee table in a cafe or a kitchen table at home). Some people even tried
to develop ways of playing through this means of communication. Remote Furniture seemed to help remove
shyness in public spaces. It reveals the unseen potential of public spaces and provides an experience of
communicating to people who has not experienced it before. This can be the potential of interactive art in
public space.

Future potentials and plan

For the current version, modified rocking chairs were enhanced with a sensor and an embedded motor. The
next step will be to connect more than two chairs to create shared experience (in this way, the experience will
be turned into more than a dialogue) and to connect two or three chairs through the Internet, so that
participants in different locations can interact with each other over long distances. The artwork has been
shown at SIGGRAPH emerging technology (2004) as well as Ars Electronica Center Exhibition at the cafe
space of the museum (2004~5) and the “TouchMe” exhibition at Victoria and Albert Museum of London
(2005) as an example of touch in the future. Throughout the exhibitions, the artist received comments from the
audience about other usages of the artwork. For example, using this device for mentally disabled people to
overcome the difficulty to talk face to face could be another interesting use. However, the main issue that this
artwork has - to reclaim the role of physical objects in public spaces for the digital age - still remains.
Artist in research setting

Elegance and Transparency of Ubiquitous Computing Technology

To make ubiquitous computing technology transparent in everyday life, we propose a practice of research
in the research field. We have formed the RWIG (Real World based Interaction) research group, which
consists of researchers of artificial intelligence, ubiquitous computing devices, sociologists and artists. Our
vision is to make ubiquitous computing technology into art in everyday life. We think this kind of “Ubiquitous
art” will make the technology elegant, like the difference between a piece of food and dish of meal. While
ubiquitous technology and computing is going to realize Mark Weiser’s vision - to make computer technology
transparent -, we may contribute to the vision from the viewpoint of elegance. Like a function which has
cultural context and feeling. Since the basic mission of contemporary art is to stimulate our recognition of the
world, our ubiquitous art may not vanish in the environment but the issue of the artwork will ask its audience
how we embrace newer technology in order to make our culture richer. The author now works as a member of
the research group to research the future of interactive art by means of community art using communication
technologies in real space.

A suggestion for future research in this area

Although we did not quote any public art in this paper, ongoing and past examples from either public art
and media arts in urban space will be a rich resource when researchers of ubiquitous technology start to think
of the applications of ubiquitous technology. Researcher Mirjam Struppek [4] opened the website ”interaction
field” with examples from these fields from all over the world. We think these crossing fields will stimulate
each other and will grow side by side.

This research has been supported by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development
Organization) as the project ID of 04A11502a.

References

[1]Photographer Nobuyoshi Araki published several photo books of Tokyo in 90’s. There, reader of the book will find
abandoned empty lots next to newly built buildings, unused reclaimed land..

[2]Artist Christian Moeller is one of the pioneers of using digital technologies to enhance the experience in urban spaces.
http://www.christian-moeller.com/

[3]”Intouch” of Hiroshi Ishii and Tangible Media Group, MIT Media Lab is a milestone of interaction design in tactile
ways from the viewpoint of engineering.

[4]Interaction Field http://culturebase.org/home/struppek/HomepageEnglisch/Anfang.htm

For more information about the art project “Remote Furniture”:

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/noriyuki/artworks/remotefurniture/index.html

For more information about research team of Real World based Interaction Group
http://unit.aist.go.jp/itri/itri-rwig/