Kitchen kinesics
Bjørn Nansen, Hilary E. Davis, Frank Vetere, Mikael B. Skov, Jeni Paay, Jesper Kjeldskov · 2014
HCI research and practice have moved into the kitchen, and alongside screen-based technologies, a number of tangible interaction designs are emerging to support home cooking. However, we note that the designs of tangible technologies for kitchens have, to date, emphasized the work of cooking rather than the social significance or context in which it occurs. Building on this growing interest in cooking and the kitchen, we report on ethnographic research with intergenerational family members cooking together in their homes. We analyze the social, material and embodied contexts of kitchen kinesics -- the non-verbal gestural communication observed in family cooking interactions. Based upon these social, embodied, and material contexts of gestural interaction in the kitchen, we identify a number of contextual concerns for approaching the design and understanding of the role of gesture in familial cooking. Ultimately we highlight the significance of collocated gestural interaction and gestured interaction over a distance to understand the opportunities and limitations afforded by the design of new technologies in the kitchen.