Escaping Chair: furniture shaped device art

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the artwork about the device which has a furniture appearance and physical input and output functions. Since the chairs has most direct and frequent interaction “sitting” with the users in their daily life, we decided to shape a new interaction between them by making the furniture-shaped device “Escaping Chair”, which has a box stool appearance and interacts with the bystanders by trying to move away from nearby people. By doing this, the device tries to make a person unable to sit on it, stimulating their perception toward their sitting action, while also making the person consider the Chair’s “personality.” We exhibited the chair and collected feedback via conversation and observation. During exhibition, it succeeded in making subjects perceive their own movements and to feel a semblance of will in the chair during their interactions, as we planned, and even making them think alive. Also, they found its playfulness, which indicates a new capability of the device. Exhibition also raised further challenges to explore user interaction.