Embedded interaction in a water fountain for motivating behavior change in public space

Authors:
Ernesto Arroyo;Leonardo Bonanni;Nina Valkanova
Affiliations:
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain;Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States;Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Venue:
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Year:
2012

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Abstract

This paper presents an interactive installation for a public space aimed at motivating new behaviors by augmenting the space with subtle and playful audiovisual interaction aesthetically integrated in a shared environment. Designed to complement an existing water fountain with projected light and sound, the embedded installation encouraged people to take a drink, increasing the proportion of people who used the water fountain by 42% to 57% approximately for nine months. Sensors evaluated the impact of multiple interaction modalities on actual water usage. We found that subtle interaction can improve the experience of a space, in particular for those that use it frequently, and lead to sustained behavior change, especially when its modalities are responsive to the level of activity in the space.