Looking for tangibility

pp. 19-35

in: Guy A. Boy, Tangible interactive systems, Berlin, Springer, 2016

Abstract

Something is tangible when it is graspable in the physical sense, but also believable in the figurative sense. In the case of drones, they will become operationally tangible when they will be usable and useful for tasks, such as package delivery, image capture for news purposes (e.g., television), and disaster management support, for example. In addition, new technology brings new properties that need to be explored. For example, drones become birds that can see what people cannot see. They create new supports to situation awareness and other functions that were impossible before. They become effectively tangible when they can be used safely, efficiently, and comfortably. In addition to regulatory framework (the safety issue), important concerns that need to be taken into account such as privacy (the ethical issue), unfair competition (the economic development penalization issue), and the toy effect (the use-for-fun issue). Our society is shifting from mechanical engineering to information technology. For example, mechanical and aerospace engineers created and developed aircraft the way they are today; information technology specialists, who do not have professional aviation training, already started to be the designers and developers of a new generation of drones (e.g., for 3D movie making). Making tangible software-based things becomes the prominent issue over the previous automation issue brought by twentieth century engineering practice.