Design, Technology, and Society Lab

Artifacts, Designers, Users

communIT

How can an interactive, cyber-physical artifact support marginal groups to co-generate media and make this media visible and “heard” in the larger community?

How might a multi-sensory system support groups in sharing their sentiments and aspirations and cultivates affective bonding during quarantine?

How Can Inclusive Augmented Toys Enhance Social and Cognitive Skills in Children with Autism?

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How can a suite of interactive furnishing help elders to age in place more independently?

CoDAS - Co-design at Scale

The Design, Technology, and Society Lab draws on the Science and Technology Studies, Philosophy, and Theory of Design perspectives to investigate the interactions between humans and artifacts. We use an interdisciplinary approach to inform the development of technological artifacts for social and cultural change, while also promoting a critical engagement with material culture to understand their implications within society. Our research practices combine empirical investigation with critical reflection to:

Develop and test emerging technologies manifested as environments, objects, and spaces that enhance human-agent-materials relations. This also involves probing how futures are conceived and sustained, and discerning inclusivity and exclusivity in these futures.
Analyze the role of emerging technologies in shaping tangible futures, understanding their impact and consequences on emergent behaviors, interactions, and societal structures. Concurrently, investigate the processes and forces that go into the production and appropriation of these emerging technological artifacts