Mouth CTRLer is a MOUTHY commission that challenges current modes of human computer interaction driven by finger-tapping movements, exploring human enhancement technologies and sensory augmentation trends. As part of the project development, designers Francesca Perona and Luca Alessandrini and Dr. Michelle Korda have been running a series of workshops to discuss the functional, emotional and cultural implications of the mouth.

Image courtesy of Francesca Perona, Luca Alessandrini and Michelle Korda

The aim of these sessions was to think ‘outside the box’, explore the future of the mouth and co-design mouth controlled digital interfaces and applications.

Mouth controllers that are currently available on the market tend to be focused on enabling people with severe disabilities and reduced mobility to interact with digital interfaces (computers, video game devices) or facilitating navigation of physical spaces.

We challenged participants to think creatively about ways of integrating mouth controlled devices into daily activities such as eating, moving, playing, communicating and working/studying.

Although disability-related applications were central to our discussions, ideas spanning sensory augmentation, personalised health-care, enhanced learning, personal safety, training and long-distance communication were also explored.

The workshops highlighted contrasting aspects of the mouth, such as its simultaneously private, intimate and concealing and its performative dimensions. Participants imagined devices hidden in the oral cavity and being able to capture, play and send ‘secret messages’ to friends and family in uncomfortable or boring situations. We also saw explored the possibility of enhancing the performative qualities of the mouth, with devices able to integrate musical instrument functionalities, to produce and loop sounds when triggered by tongue motion or auto-tune.

A number of discussions engaged with food, both as a cultural ritual and the necessary consumption of nutrients. Could we enhance the flavour of our meals, generate haptic feedback (the use of touch in user interface design to provide information to another person) based on the texture of our food, or control our daily doses of calories, sugars, fats and salts via a mouth controller?

Participants also highlighted research carried out by cross-modalist scientists (working to integrate information acquired through separate senses), which demonstrated that the taste of our food can be ‘crafted’ by particular sounds. This insight inspired human-computer interaction researchers to integrate taste experiences into gaming, with the aim of using a controlled release of certain flavours to influence the level of attention and pleasure/discomfort of gamers.

Image from 'Temporal, Affective and Embodied Characteristics of taste experiences: A Framework for Design', authors: Marianna Obrist, Rob Comber, Sriram Subramanian, Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, Carlos Velasco, Charles Spence

Now in the final stage of the project, we are developing two interactive experiences that touch upon different aspects of the mouth. Challenging existing interaction devices, we are creating a collective gaming experience that will require participants to actively engage with each other by controlling custom-made mouth prosthetics towards a common goal.

Images courtesy of Francesca Perona, Luca Alessandrini and Michelle Korda

We were so curious about the literature on ‘cross-modalism’, that we are working on the connection between the sense of taste and hearing, cooking-up a music composition that will change your perception of flavours, vibrating tunes directly through your jaw bones through an edible technological device.

In our opinion the future of the mouth will be extraordinarily multi-sensory, tasty, textured, fun and interactive. Be part of this exciting project, RESERVE A SPACE at the Mouth CTRLer event on 15 November.

Luca Alessandrini
Francesca Perona
Michelle Korda

October 25, 2016

Mouth CTRLer: The end of texting thumb?