Azalea: Co-experiencing Embodied Information in Remote Communication

Paper in proceeding, 2020

We wish to demonstrate Azalea: a smartphone-based design to enrich remote communication by making space for co-experience of embodied information. Azalea comprises a tactile cushion which envelops a smartphone, and a bespoke app. A pair of Azaleas are used by remote interlocutors to enrich the communication with a shared, synchronized motion-driven soundscape and audio-driven light. Our approach differs from most current strategies for enriching remote communication; since it is focused on diminishing distractions and creating a cryptic channel for co-experience, rather than augmenting and increasing the fidelity of communication channels. To achieve this, we have adopted the design tactics and intellectual foundation somaesthetic interaction design, and we also contribute to this field: while most current somaesthetic interaction design focuses on introspection, we have used the same foundation to enrich remote communication.