University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2017 Haplos: Towards Technologies for and Applications of Somaesthetics Maranan, Diego Silang http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10170 University of Plymouth All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author's prior consent. 2 Haplós: Towards Technologies for and Applications of Somaesthetics by DIEGO S. MARANAN A thesis submitted to Plymouth University in partial fulfillment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Art, Design and Architecture May 2017 3 4 Acknowledgements While a single name is attached to this work, this research would not have been possible without the support of many individuals. I owe a debt of gratitude first to my committee. Profound thanks go particularly to Jane Grant and John Matthias, whose unwavering support and depth of insight have both broadened and sharpened this work immeasurably, as have the critical insights provided by Mike Phillips and Matt Wade. Sue Denham, without you, none of this would have been possible at all; thank you from the bottom of my heart. Annique-Elise rescued both my writing and my sanity through her razor-sharp intellect, proofreading abilities, and document preparation skills, as well as through her unwavering friendship. I can only hope to return the favour someday. My sincerest thanks go to Garet Newell for accepting me in the Sussex IX training programme, and for delivering the clearest, most enlightening exposition of the Feldenkrais Method that I could have hoped for. And to the designers at Kin: thank you for an incredible eight months at the studio. Thanks are due to Tom Harding, Luke Thompson, and Phil McNeill in particular for their advice on physical prototyping and for their designerly insights. Maraming salamat, Pamela Cajilig and Birdie Salva, for providing space at Curiosity for the workshop that really kickstarted the creation process. 5 I thank the members of the Bisensorial team (I still can’t believe what we pulled off): Kim Jansen, Ricardo Mutuberria, and—particularly—Agi Haines, Sean Clarke, and Jack Fletcher (who provided some of the deepest and richest insights into my own research, and who reminded me that feeling good is feeling here). Your talent inspires me and your company enlivens me. Raluca Briazu and David Bridges contributed to the prototyping process and to my general wellbeing; thank you for being in the prototyping lab and in my life. Kathryn Francis inspires me to no end at CogNovo, and I look forward to nurturing my friendship with you and Leigh Cooper. My deepest gratitude goes to Sally Dean, whose work transformed not only my somatic experience that one afternoon in Coventry, but my research approach. Albert Hwang, you always send me spinning in the right direction; as always, thank you. I would not have a research to speak of, in all seriousness, without Frank Loesche’s unwavering support; thank you for making Off the Lip 2016 the success that it was. I thank the UP Open University and my colleagues there for allowing me to pursue this PhD in the first place; I cannot wait to work with you again. My thanks go to the members of SEADS, and to Angelo Vermeulen and Pieter Steyaert in particular. You know why, and I look forward to working with you again, and then yet again. Thank you, Jackie Andrade, for being curious about Haplós, and for opening the doors of the Cravings Lab to me; Kirsten Woodman and Despina Djama, thanks for being absolute rock stars. This thesis is dedicated to all my teachers, past and present, by which I mean anyone who has ever taught me something of significance. I count my family—my first and most inspirational of teachers—among these. I pay special tribute the faculty at Simon Fraser University: Thecla Schiphorst, for introducing me to somaesthetics 6 in technology design, and to the entire dance faculty at the School for the Contemporary Arts, for introducing me to my body. And Tim: this is, still, for you. 7 Author’s declaration and word counts At no time during the registration for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has the author been registered for any other University award without prior agreement of the Graduate Sub-Committee. Work submitted for this research degree at the Plymouth University has not formed part of any other degree either at Plymouth University or at another establishment. Portions of chapters 2 and 4 have been previously published in the journal article, Speculative Somatics (Maranan, 2015). This thesis expands on the material presented in the publication. This study was financed with the Marie Curie Initial Training Network, FP7 -PEOPLE-2013- ITN, grant number 604764 and carried out in collaboration with Kin (UK). A programme of advanced study was undertaken, which included taught modules taken, others as relevant. Relevant research seminars and conferences were regularly attended at which work was often presented; external institutions were visited for consultation purposes and several papers prepared for publication. Related publications: Maranan, D. S., Grant, J., Matthias, J., Phillips, M., & Denham, S. (Under review). Haplós: Vibrotactile Wearable Technology For Body Awareness. Leonardo. Maranan, D. S. (2015). Speculative somatics. Technoetic Arts, 13(3), 291–300. https://doi.org/10.1386/tear.13.3.291_1 Maranan, D. S., Loesche, F., & Denham, S. L. (2015). CogNovo: Cognitive Innovation for Technological, Artistic, and Social Domains. In Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Electronic Art. Vancouver, Canada. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/5076 Related presentations: Maranan, Diego S. (2017, September). Haplós: Transdisciplinary Research In Art + Humanities + Science + Technology For Well-Being and Play. Talk presented at the (RE)PRODUCING THE SELF: Body, Text, Memory and Technology, University of the Philippines Diliman. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1039708 Maranan, D. S. (2017). Sensing yourself by sensing the ground: getting intimate with the environment through vibrotactile stimulation. Poster presented at the Expo’ 17: Ecologies Annual Event, Plymouth University, UK. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1039377 Loesche, F., Torre, I., Maranan, D. S., & Denham, S. (2017, May). CogNovo – A Case Study for Cognitive Innovation. Poster presented at the Psychology of Creativity: Building Impact, Skills, & Collaborations, Edinburgh Napier University, UK. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/9600 Maranan, D. S., Haines, A., & Clarke, S. (2017). RE/ME. Pitch to be presented at the Art, Science, and Technology Collaborations in Europe Symposium, BOZAR, Brussels. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.893626 8 Maranan, D. S., Haines, A., Fletcher, J., & Clarke, S. (2016, July). Bisensorial: A brain-computer interface hack using tactile and auditory stimuli. Exhibit presented at the Cognition Institute Conference 2016, Plymouth University, UK. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/5085 Maranan, D. S. (2016, July). Haplós: Designing Technologies for Exploring Somaesthetic Experiences. Poster presented at the Cognition Institute Conference 2016, Plymouth University, UK. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/5086 Maranan, D. S. (2015, July). From Within to Between. Talk presented at the The Undivided Mind, Plymouth University, UK. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/3661 Maranan, D. S. (2014, June). Expressing technological metaphors in urban dance. Poster presented at the MINDFIELD: 6th Annual Plymouth University School of Psychology Conference, Plymouth, UK. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/3607 Related public engagement events: Maranan, D. S. (2016b, September). Why I’m Making Vibrating Underwear. Talk presented at Interesting 2016, Conway Hall, London, UK. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/5458 Maranan, D. S., Haines, A., Fletcher, J., Clarke, S., Jansen, K., Mutuberria, R. (2016, October). HAPLÓS/Bisensorial EXHIBIT: A Speculative, Adaptive, and Wearable Technology for Inducing Mental States Using Touch. Exhibit/public engagement event presented at the Bizarre Bazaar, Plymouth University, UK. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/8345 Maranan, D. S., & Malina, R. (2015 October 2). Cognitive Innovation through Embodied Cognition and Somatics; Fascia as a Sense Organ. New Leonardos podcast episode. Related awards: Maranan, D. S., Haines, A., Fletcher, J., Clarke, S., Jansen, K., & Mutuberria, R. (2016). First Place, Hack the Brain Hackathon 2016 (Amsterdam, the Netherlands). http://www.cognovo.eu/news/htb2016.php Maranan, D. S., Haines, A., Clarke, S., & Fletcher, J. (2017). DART17 Residency Award (Value: EUR 10,000) (Brussels/San Francisco). https://cognovo.eu/news/re-me-dart17.php Word count of main body of thesis: 56,204 Signed: _________________________________ Date: _________________________________ 9 Abstract How can vibrotactile stimuli be used to create a technology-mediated somatic learning experience? This question motivates this practice-based research, which explores how the Feldenkrais Method and cognate