Tangible Embedded, Embodied Interaction (ACM SIGCHI)

We are pleased to announce that the 5th edition of the successful Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI) Conference series will be held in between 23rd and 26th January 2011. We invite submissions of prototypes and daring ideas, tools and technologies, methods and models, as well as interactive art, interaction design, and user experience that contribute new understandings to the broad area of tangible computing, embodied interaction, interactive surfaces, and embedded interactive systems. Papers will be published in the ACM digital library.

In recent years, computing has progressively moved beyond the desktop into new physical and social contexts. As physical artifacts gain new computational behaviors, they become reprogrammable, customizable, repurposable, and interoperable in rich ecologies and diverse contexts. They also become more complex, and require intense design effort in order to be functional, usable, and enjoyable. Designing such systems demands interdisciplinary thinking. Their creation must encompass not only software, electronics, and mechanics, but also the system's physical form and behavior, its social and physical milieu, and beyond.

Research on tangible and embedded interaction has gained substantial visibility and activity over the past decade and it has worn many names, including tangible interfaces, graspable interfaces, physical computing, tangible interaction, IT product design, appliance design, interactive spaces. It has also been associated with larger research areas, including mixed, virtual, and augmented reality and ubiquitous and pervasive computing. TEI brings together this emerging field, providing a meeting ground for the diverse communities of research and practice - from computing, hardware, and sensor technology, to HCI, interaction design, and CSCW, to product and industrial design and interactive arts. We invite submissions from all these perspectives, be they theoretical, conceptual, technical, applied, or artistic. The conference is designed to provide appropriate presentation forms for different types of contributions including talks, interactive exhibits, demos or performances, and posters. Accepted submissions of all types will be included in the Proceedings as papers and will be integrated within the single-track conference. Interdisciplinary submissions are particularly welcome.

Topics for Submission

Authors are invited to submit high-quality work detailing original research that contributes to advancing the field. Appropriate topics include but are not limited to:

Case studies and evaluations of working deployments
Analysis of key challenges, proposals of research agenda
Relation of tangible and embedded interaction to other paradigms
Programming paradigms and tools, toolkits, software architectures
Novel interactive uses of sensors+actuators, electronics+mechatronics
Design guidelines, methods, and processes
Novel application areas, innovative solutions/systems and industrial applications
Theoretical foundations, frameworks, and concepts
Philosophical, ethical & social implications
Interfaces specific in form and context to particular cultures
Usability and enjoyment
Advantages, weakness, affordances of tangible, embedded and embodied interaction
Learning from the role of physicality in everyday environments
Embodied interaction, movement, and choreography of interaction
Role of physicality for human perception, cognition and experience
Teaching experiences, lessons learned, and best practices
Standardization, production, and business applications
Papers

Papers must present original material and will be reviewed rigorously by at least three reviewers in a double-blind process. Papers in all areas will be assessed on their contribution to the field. Papers are due 1st August 2010.

Papers may be 8, 4, or 2 pages long in ACM SIGCHI format. All papers will undergo the same review process and be published in the same way. Length must match the contribution, and the same general criteria hold for all papers. Regardless of length, a paper may be presented as a talk, poster, exhibit or demo. For example, a novel design might be presented as an interactive exhibit and published as an 8 page paper, while a novel sensor technique might be presented as a talk and published as a 2 page paper - or vice versa. Authors may propose the presentation format that they feel best suits their contribution, which may include multiple presentation forms (e.g. talk and demo). TEI 2011 remains committed to the principle followed in previous TEI conferences - that TEI values all submissions equally.

One author of each accepted submission must register for the conference before the early registration deadline (10th December 2010) in order for the final paper version to be published in the conference proceedings.

Proposals for studios

TEI 2011 invites proposals for one-day or half-day studios to be held in multiple tracks on Sunday, 23rd January 2011. Studios are hands-on events that offer novel practical experiences to conference attendees with diverse skills and technical backgrounds. Studio proposals can range from the exploration of new development toolkits, to prototype design techniques, and the creative application of emerging or traditional materials. Emphasis is on making, building, creating and hacking. Each studio should aim to host between 10 and 15 participants. Arrangements will be made to present the results on subsequent single-track days of the conference. Studio proposals are due 1st August 2010.

Proposals for workshops

TEI 2011 invites proposals for full-day workshops to be held in multiple tracks on Sunday, 23rd January 2011. Workshops are traditional mini-symposia on specialized topics that complement the main program. These might address basic or applied research issues, tackle a particular interdisciplinary topic, consider a new methodology or examine an emerging application area. While they may involve a practical component, the emphasis is on the collation, curation and dissemination of workshop papers. Organisers are encouraged to arrange for later publication of extended versions of these submissions in a journal special issue.

Workshop proposals are due 1st August 2010, workshop papers are due 31st October 2010 and review results should be returned to authors by 28th November 2010. All accepted workshop participants must register for the main conference before the early registration date of 10th December 2010.

Explorations

The TEI 2011 Explorations comprise several submission formats intended to embrace and nurture contributions from a wide range of communities - such as artists, designers and graduate students - as well as support the publication of cutting edge research. TEI Explorations include the Graduate Student Consortium and Art tracks (both successfully inaugurated at TEI'10) as well as a new Tangible Interaction Design Challenge. The submission deadline for these tracks is 17th October; full details will be confirmed in subsequent CfPs.