Emerging Sites of HCI Innovation: Hackerspaces, Hardware Startups
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Emerging Sites of HCI Innovation: Hackerspaces, Hardware Startups & Incubators Silvia Lindtner1,2, Garnet Hertz2, Paul Dourish2 1School of Computer Science 2Department of Informatics Fudan University University of California, Irvine Shanghai 201203, China Irvine, CA 92767-3440 USA {lindtner, hertz, jpd}@ics.uci.edu ABSTRACT Amongst them, we might count Alan Kay’s writings on the In this paper, we discuss how a flourishing scene of DIY Dynabook [19], Apple’s “Knowledge Navigator” video, makers is turning visions of tangible and ubiquitous Sun’s “Starfire” envisionment, Weiser’s Scientific computing into products. Drawing on long-term multi-sited American article on ubiquitous computing [42], and Ishii ethnographic research and active participation in DIY and Ullmer’s CHI paper on “tangible bits” [17]. making, we provide insights into the social, material, and economic processes that undergird this transition from These visions largely arose during a period when prototypes to products. The contribution of this paper is interaction design and the user interface were somewhat three-fold. First, we show how DIY maker practice is neglected topics in system design. Indeed, HCI as a illustrative of a broader “return to” and interest in physical discipline and a professional field developed not only a materials. This has implications for HCI research that systematic body of knowledge around user interface design investigates questions of materiality. Second, we shed light and evaluation, but also advocated for the importance of the on how hackerspaces and hardware start-ups are user within the design process [8]. Today, HCI conceptions experimenting with new models of manufacturing and of user experience and interaction design are at the heart of entrepreneurship. We argue that we have to take seriously product development and the technology transfer process. these maker practices, not just as hobbyist or leisure HCI, then, has been remarkably successful in shaping practice, but as a professionalizing field functioning in technological innovation. However, because of this greater parallel to research and industry labs. Finally, we end with prominence of interaction design and user experience in the reflections on the role of HCI researchers and designers as technology industry and popular consciousness, HCI is no DIY making emerges as a site of HCI innovation. We argue longer the only place where new interactional visions arise. that HCI is positioned to provide critical reflection, paired Take, for instance, Weiser’s vision of a world of seamless, with a sensibility for materials, tools and design methods. embodied experience of digital devices embedded into the Author Keywords fabric of everyday life. While this vision originally might Make; making cultures; DIY, hackerspace; materiality; have been devised in the corridors and meeting rooms of critical making; China; manufacturing; IoT. Xerox PARC several decades ago, it is a vision that is being extended and developed not just by other companies, but by ACM Classification Keywords tinkerers, hackers, and hobbyists. In particular, a flourishing H.5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): DIY (do-it-yourself) or “maker” community is expanding Miscellaneous. HCI visions and methods into commercial products. A INTRODUCTION quick glance at the crowd-sourced funding website Throughout its history, HCI has employed radical Kickstarter makes this clear: it shows products like the envisionment of future technologies as part of its research Spark Core, an Arduino-compatible Wifi-enabled program. Many of the resulting visions have become prototyping platform that raised over 500,000 USD in landmarks in both research and industry, and have set crowd-sourced funding on Kickstarter earlier this year. directions for major research and industry programs [11]. What the Spark Core does is seemingly simple: it turns a standard household appliance into a “smart” one. Once Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are embedded, it brings to life what has long been the vision of not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies ubiquitous computing: the coffee machine that brews the bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for morning coffee when your alarm clock on your mobile components of this work owned by others than the authors must be rings, the refrigerator that emails you the missing ingredient honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers, or to redistribute to lists, requires prior for dinner right when you leave the office, and the lamp that specific permission and/or fee. Request permission from welcomes you with a warmly-lit living room when you [email protected]. arrive at home after a long day of work. Efforts like the CHI 2014, April 26 - May 1 2014, Toronto, ON, Canada Copyright is held by Owner/Authors. Publication rights licensed to ACM. ACM 978-1-4503-2473-1/14/04$15.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1145.2556288.2557132 1 Spark Core mark an important shift in the way that a DIY through the lenses of amateur expertise, critical making, maker ethos and new interactive products are connected. and materiality. DIY making is no longer just a hobbyist movement driven RELATED WORK: DIY MAKING & HACKING by a loose collective of computer enthusiasts, artists, Over the last half decade, there has been a growing interest designers, and developers. Central to this development is in DIY making and hacking cultures within HCI. This prior the confluence of crowd-funding websites, the proliferation work has explored DIY making as site of 1) novel forms of of hackerspaces 1 on a global scale, open hardware engagement with diverse materials including electronics as platforms such as the Arduino2 and publications such as much as fabrics, wood, plastic, paper, etc. [5, 32, 35, 36 Make magazine. The combination of new funding models, 38], 2) community formation around lay expertise and open physical spaces, new platforms, tools, and publications is sharing [24, 31, 35, 41], and 3) in terms of its impact for crucial here. For instance, while Make helps spread an research, design and teaching [15, 16, 22, 23, 24, 36, 40]. understanding of making as a form of “tech-influenced Taken together, these works show that DIY making is a DIY3,” innovation and popular engagement with science productive site for HCI research, design, and teaching. and technology, hackerspaces provide the physical space Hartman et al. [16], for instance, illustrate that practices and tools to bring people together in implementing these such as mashing, hacking, and gluing can be understood as ideas. These developments suggest taking DIY making “opportunistic design.” By this, they refer to a practice of seriously as a site of technology innovation that emerges design that integrates existing artifacts and site-specific alongside professional fields and disciplines like HCI. tools to target a particular user or community. The authors In this paper, we examine open hardware products like the suggest that this development approach changes the Spark Core as emerging sites of HCI innovation. Our relationship between prototyping and product design, particular interest is in the ways in which DIY making has accompanied by an increase in a sense of fulfillment for the extended beyond hobbyist practice and become a site of designer. DIY maker practice has also been explored as a industrial innovation. Drawing from long-term productive site for teaching and learning. Kolko et al. ethnographic research and participation in DIY maker demonstrate that DIY hacking is useful in teaching communities, we examine the role hackerspaces, hardware especially non-STEM students science and engineering incubators, and hardware startups play in this transition. skills, because of its hands-on and interdisciplinary engagements [23]. Across these works, DIY making is The Spark Core is illustrative of a whole series of hardware often understood as taking place mostly outside of startups committed to embedding into products aspects of professional design and development. Tanenbaum et al. the 1960/70s hacker ethos, i.e. the commitment to designing [36], for instance, show that HCI researchers tend to portray technologies that are modifiable by others, the open sharing DIY making as a recreational or hobbyist practice, e.g. [41]. of knowledge, and peer production. When DIY makers turn ideas into products, do they still practice “DIY” technology In this paper, we are extending from these works by production? What concessions have to be made in regards focusing on ongoing efforts from within making cultures to the openness of a product that is aimed at reaching a toward entrepreneurialism and professionalization. DIY mass market? We analyze in this paper both the making is more than just a novel form of material opportunities and tensions that lie in this transplantation of engagement. It is an emerging site, where technological the hacker ethos into a commercial endeavor. visions are crafted into tangible products and alternate models for industrial development and design. In our The rest of the paper is structured as follows: first, we fieldwork, makers did not just utilize 3D printers and laser discuss related HCI literature on making cultures. After cutters in hackerspaces; they started up businesses and describing our methods, we delve into discussing the collaborated with manufacturers to scale up prototypes and findings from our research, with a particular focus on the reach mass markets. They worked with governments to set role of hackerspaces, hardware startups and hardware up educational programs, and partnered with venture incubators in contemporary DIY maker practice. In the capitalists to develop models of R&D. These developments discussion, we examine, in light of our empirical cases, the call upon us to take into account how DIY making is changing relationship between DIY making and HCI extending into product design and industrial development.