Vertiefungsmodul Interdisziplinär VIAD – The Computer of the Mouth 

The course aims to provoke a radical reinterpretation of Human-Machine Interfaces through multisensory experiments and the design of prototypical technologies. The Computer of the Mouth
Nummer und TypBDE-VIAD-V-I-5555.07.22H.001 / Moduldurchführung
ModulVertiefungsmodul Interdisziplinär VIAD – The Computer of the Mouth 
VeranstalterDepartement Design
LeitungLuke Franzke
ZeitDi 25. Oktober 2022 bis Fr 11. November 2022 / 8:30–17 Uhr
Anzahl Teilnehmende8 - 18
ECTS4 Credits
VoraussetzungenNone
LehrformDesign Studio
ZielgruppenWahlpflichtmodul für Bachelor Design, 5. Semester
Lernziele / Kompetenzen• Concept development in an interdisciplinary team
• Design research through sensory experiments
• Conceiving and building Experience Prototypes

• The application of Multisensory Design principles
• Communicating results through presentation and exhibition
InhalteWhy can’t we taste emojis or chew our way through a social media feed?

We experience digital systems predominantly through modalities that were established in the 1960s: the mouse, keyboard and touchscreen. These rely almost exclusively on vision and haptics. The dominance of these modalities is partly due to the appropriation of existing devices such as the typewriter, but also to a body of research which suggested the exploitation of our natural capabilities for intuitive machine interfaces.

We are visually astute and we use our hands as an extension of our mind to act on the world. We see this in the Cortical Homunculus, a distorted human figure with massive eyes, mouth and hands corresponding to a neurological map of our senses and motor control. In a neurological sense, we are mostly made of hands, eyeballs, mouths and tongues. Yet, the mouth and tongue have been completely neglected in the design of human-machine interfaces.

In this module, we will re-discover the “oral phase” of development from our infancy, when we explored our environment using the mouth to both taste and experience complex textures. We will investigate and experiment with psychological phenomena caused by sensory integration, where for example audio might change what we taste. The outcomes of these experiments will result in prototypes for new experience-driven devices through both technological and analogue means. These results will be shared through an exhibition format presenting prototypes and media that convey the nature of these new experiences.
Bibliographie / LiteraturMueller, Kathy. "The Senses: Design beyond Vision: Hudson, New York: Princeton Architectural Press in Association with New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2018
Shepherd, Gordon M. Neurogastronomy: how the brain creates flavor and why it matters. Columbia University Press, 2011.
Piqueras-Fiszman, Betina, and Charles Spence, eds. Multisensory flavor perception: From fundamental neuroscience through to the marketplace. Woodhead Publishing, 2016.
Dourish, Paul. Where the action is: the foundations of embodied interaction. MIT press, 2004.
Leistungsnachweis / TestatanforderungActive and regular attendance (min. 80%); reading; practical course work; presentations; exhibition.
Termine25. Oktober 2022 - 11. November 2022 (ohne Montage)
Dauer3 Wochen
BewertungsformNoten von A - F
BemerkungThe seminar will be in English and German
Termine (10)