Prof. Steve Benford
Computer Science at the Mixed Reality Laboratory at the University of Nottingham
Bio:
Steve Benford is the Dunford professor of Computer Science at the Mixed Reality Laboratory at the University of Nottingham where he directs the Horizon ‘My Life in Data’ Centre for Doctoral Training and the ’Smart Products’ beacon. He previously held an EPSRC Dream Fellowship, has been a Visiting Professor at the BBC and was elected to the CHI Academy in 2012. He has collaborated with many artists over the past thirty years to create, tour and study interactive performances and installations with a view to gaining new insights into how humans can experience computers.
Title: Designing Hybrid Products
Digital technologies are transforming the nature of products, blending traditional goods, services and experiences into new forms. They are also transforming how such products are made through new data-driven approaches to co-creation between manufacturers, distributers and consumers. I will draw on provocative examples of hybrid products from my recent research – a digitally augmented guitar, virtual reality swing rides and a gifting experience for museums – to reflect on the opportunities of physical-digital hybridity for future products.