Perceptual engineering explores how technology can be designed to investigate and alter our perception, how we experience and interpret the world. The keynote speaker at the fika-to-fika event was researcher Jas Brooks from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), who presented his research in perceptual engineering and how his team has designed technical systems that directly affect the body’s sensory mechanisms (such as taste, smell, temperature, and touch) in a controlled way. He contrasted traditional interfaces like screens and audio with direct sensory stimulation to create or modify sensory experiences. One example involved influencing the sense of smell and the trigeminal nerve in the nose to create a sensation of warmth in participants through capsaicin, the compound found in chili peppers. The various examples of perceptual engineering discussed have several potential application areas, ranging from VR and AR to medical interventions for people who have lost their sense of smell or taste.
Other invited external speakers at the event were David Kadish from Malmö University and Morten Fjeld from the University of Bergen and Chalmers University of Technology. David Kadish presented work on electronic noses, i.e., sensors for digitizing smells and odors. Morten Fjeld argued for a paradigm shift in human–computer interaction design: instead of treating technology as static, it should interact with our attention and environment in a way that reduces cognitive load.
The external speakers concluded the day with a panel discussion together with the workshop participants.
All speakers from the day and abstracts of their presentations can be found here: Calendar post for the workshop.
