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Flexibility

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Tangible Interactive Systems

Part of the book series: Human–Computer Interaction Series ((HCIS))

Abstract

The concept of flexibility can be interpreted in various ways. First, flexibility can be synonymous to autonomy. We can say that an individual is autonomous, and then flexible, when he or she is able to act without external guidance. Second, flexibility can be related to openness. When an individual has an open mind, he or she can think and use several possible solutions without preconceived constraints. Third, flexibility can be intimately related to change. An individual who is able to easily change his or her way of living is said to be flexible. This chapter will uncover the need for flexibility in design and development, subsequent use, and evolutionary redesign of tangible interactive systems (TISs). Anytime an artifact is developed, it introduces some kind of rigidity because it fixes some life activities that were only handled by people before, but it also creates new possibilities that are discovered incrementally. Once these possibilities become useful and are effectively used, they are transformed into artificial necessities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    NextGen purpose is to redesign the US air traffic system entirely as a socio-technical system, using new technologies of both aircraft and air traffic control, as well as changing the role of each actor.

  2. 2.

    Using iBlocks representing procedures is highly recommended to figure out and improve their situated logic (Boy 1998b).

  3. 3.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_%28platform%29

  4. 4.

    ACROSS: Advanced Cockpit for Reduction Of Stress Consortium.

  5. 5.

    FAA Order 8900.2, General Aviation Airman Designee Handbook, (retrieved on June 13, 2015), http://fsims.faa.gov/wdocs/orders/8900_2.htm

  6. 6.

    http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/aerospace/uas/index_en.htm

  7. 7.

    http://buzzaldrin.com/space-vision/rocket_science/orbital-rendezvous/

  8. 8.

    SysML was adopted in 2006. The Object Management Group (OMG) of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) sponsored its development with broad industry and vendor participation. It is a Systems Modeling Language that supports specification, analysis, design, and verification of complex systems. SysML enables modeling of requirements, functions (behavior), structures, and parameters.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Human-Centered Design, Innovation and Art, Florida Institute of Technology, Florida, USA

    Guy André Boy

  2. NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA

    Guy André Boy

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Boy, G.A. (2016). Flexibility. In: Tangible Interactive Systems. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30270-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30270-6_6

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