Leveraging Performing Arts Practices in Cyborg Transitioning

Session 1: Design-Process Oriented C&C ’19 June 23–26, 2019, San Diego, CA, USA Mutation: Leveraging Performing Arts Practices in Cyborg Transitioning Nour Hammad1, Elaheh Sanoubari2, Patrick Finn3, Sowmya Somanath4, James E. Young2, Ehud Sharlin1 1;2Department of Computer Science,3Computational Media Design,4Faculty of Design 1;2University of Calgary, Calgary, 2University of Manitoba, Winnipeg,3OCAD University, Toronto, Canada 1;3fnour.hammad,pfinn,[email protected], 2felaheh.sanoubari,[email protected], [email protected] ABSTRACT We present Mutation: performing arts based approach that can help decrease the cognitive load associated with cyborg transitioning. Cyborgs are human-machine hybrids with organic and mechatronic body parts that can be implanted or worn. The transition into and out of experiencing additional body parts is not fully understood. Our goal is to draw from performing arts techniques in order to help decrease the cognitive load associated with becoming and unbecoming a cyborg. Actors constantly shift between states, whether from one character to another, or from pre- to post- perfor- mance. We contribute a straightforward adaptation of classic Figure 1. Mutation: actors performing in cyborg state, while “wearing” performing art practices to cyborg transitioning, and a study Baxter humanoid supernumerary arms (A1 and A2, right to left) where actors used these protocols in order to enter a cyborg state, perform as a cyborg, and then exit the cyborg state. Our work on Mutation suggests that classic performing art practices can be useful in cyborg transitioning, as well as in other themselves in the vehicle’s environment by acts such as wear- technology augmented experiences. ing a seat belt, adjusting the seat and mirrors. The same person also transitions out of that state by leaving the car, thus detaching from their driver selves. Generally, these integra- Author Keywords tion’s with objects are made seamless by learned routines over Cyborgs; performing art techniques; interaction design; user a period of time and a deep understanding of the transition experience actions. But with the advent of new technology augmented experiences such as virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) CCS Concepts and wearables, the experiences of seamless integration and •Human-centered computing ! Interaction design; detachment are yet to be perfected [8]. We are interested in physical embodiment’s of technologi- INTRODUCTION cal transformations, namely cyborgs. Cyborgs are human- Humans transition in and out of states throughout their daily machine hybrids with organic and mechatronic body parts lives. These transitions and experiences dictate the way in that can be implanted or worn (e.g. [15]). The transition into which we integrate with and detach from non-human objects. and out of experiencing additional body parts is not fully un- For example, a person integrates with their vehicle when they derstood. Transition experiences can be challenging because transition into a “driver” state by entering and immersing not only does the person have to adapt to certain physiologi- cal transformations (e.g., wearing additional limbs in the case of cyborgs), they also need to transform cognitively and over- Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or come fear, build trust, and feel in control so as to effectively classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full cita- perform with their machine counterpart. Consider a factory tion on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than worker who is asked to wear robotic arms, i.e. become a ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or re- publish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission cyborg, to help them complete their tasks with less cogni- and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]. tive load and effort. This factory worker will need to become C&C ’19, June 23–26, 2019, San Diego, CA, USA and unbecome a cyborg repeatedly and stay as a cyborg for c 2019 ACM. ISBN 978-1-4503-5917-7/19/06. $15.00 long periods. How can a person become and unbecome a DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3325480.3325508 53 Session 1: Design-Process Oriented C&C ’19 June 23–26, 2019, San Diego, CA, USA cyborg in a healthy and maintainable way? As humans, we new ways of transitioning into and out of cyborg states, stop- engage in actions and routines to help us with changing states ping short of discussions related to the deep social and ethical and completing tasks, but how do we support such exercises questions and challenges involved in this exploration. when technology is involved, and the transition impacted is immense? This overarching question is the focus of our work. Practical cyborg examples have been discussed and proto- In this paper, we present Mutation (Figure 1) an exploration typed by the HCI community (e.g. [3, 12, 15, 20, 21]). of the use of classic performing art techniques in the transi- Projects such as MetaArms [15] examine the use of supernu- tioning into and out of supernumerary arms cyborg state. merary wearable arms. These arms are worn like a backpack and give the user additional limbs allowing them to extend the We draw from performance art methodologies to help us bet- range of available skills and manipulation possibilities. Other ter understand how we might facilitate people to enter and cyborg projects discuss potential uses cases for the technol- exit technology augmented experiences. Actors constantly ogy such as lifting load [12], communication, navigation, [20] shift between states. Whether from one character to another, and video-logging [21], and are closely aligned with the prac- or from pre- to post- performance, actors are versed in shift- tical context we set for Mutation. ing between psychological states [1, 4, 10, 17, 18]. Their work is measured by their effectiveness in the integrated state, Concerns regarding cognitive overload due to prolonged en- gagement in cyborg state were raised before, using examples and by their ability to move in and out of states quickly and relating to using exoskeletons in construction sites [22], and efficiently over time. The requirements of their work have by Knibbe et al.’s exploration of the experience of exiting resulted in the development of a methodical process, warm- VR [8]. Knibbe et al.’s work delves into what they call the up and cool-down, for shifting states and returning to neutral. These methods include various exercises that support deliber- moment of exit, and reveals five components related to the ate shifting of physical, psychological and emotional states. exit of VR: space, control, sociality, time and sensory adap- Motivated by the established strengths of these techniques, tation. Upon the exit of the VR state, users described how our work provides a reflection on how professional perform- they exit, whether it be physically first and mentally second ers can use traditional warm-up and cool-down techniques to or vice versa. help them in becoming and unbecoming their cyborg selves. Our efforts are inspired by these past efforts, and attempt to The current Mutation prototype uses a Rethink Robotics Bax- explore how people may experience both entering and exiting Mutation ter humanoid robot to simulate wearable supernumerary cy- physical technology augmented experiences. adds borg arms. Padding and a system of comfortable straps were to the growing body of literature by stepping back and explor- added to the robot, allowing the actor to “wear” Baxter’s ing the experience of becoming and unbecoming a cyborg. two arms (see Figure 1 and Video Figure). Over five design While past research has proposed prototypes to aid people phases, we collaboratively worked with professional actors to to become cyborgs by wearing additional limbs, how people transition into and out of that experience is not fully under- craft the warm-up and cool-down Mutation cyborg protocols, stood. Mutation turns to classic acting techniques, with their leading to the actors preparing and performing a monologue demonstrated success in helping performers become and un- as cyborgs. We present the effect of these protocols on the ac- become characters, and proposes mapping these techniques tor’s integration and acceptance of having become a cyborg. to ease the cognitive load while transitioning into and out of Overall, our work suggests that performance methods can be cyborg states. used for becoming and unbecoming a cyborg, and have potential in reducing cognitive load and making these transitions OBSERVATIONAL STUDY more effective. This paper is limited in its scope: stopping Artistic research has well established methodologies that short of scaling our proposed approach to the general popula- blend practical technique with various forms of data gathering tion or to wider cyborg experiences. Mutation’s primary con- and analysis. Given the nature of our project we have focused tribution is in it being, to the best of our knowledge, the first on performance-based research and practice as research mod- to detail, propose, and provide a preliminary implementation els [7, 11], in conjunction with participatory design meth- of traditional performance arts techniques to cyborg transi- ods [2, 9] used in HCI to capture, analyze and disseminate tioning. results. The methodology for Mutation consisted of collaboratively working with two professional actors (A1 and A2, Figure 1) RELATED WORK who are very familiar with the performing techniques tradi- Cyborg science is an extensively researched and loaded do- tionally used for becoming and unbecoming a character. Over main. The topic ranges from Haraway’s seminal work a period of two weeks we conducted seven sessions with the (e.g.

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