A Quiet World: Exploring Technology to Reduce Sensory Overload Through Speculative Design

Topic Description

Sensory overload is a common experience of neurodivergent people (e.g., Autistic persons or persons with ADHD), with environmental audiovisual and olfactory stimuli (e.g., in traffic or crowded spaces) being overwhelming. Here, technology that reduces environmental stimuli is commonly leveraged: For example, noise canceling headphones can reduce the burden of using often crowded public transport, and sunglasses are a means of dealing with light sensitivity.
However, such technologies are often addressing sensory stimuli on a broad level: If a person wears noise canceling headphones, general auditory perception is reduced, which may not be desirable in public spaces, where certain cues remain relevant (e.g., announcement of the next stop on a train). With the rise of intelligent signal processing technology, there also is an opportunity to approach technology to reduce sensory overload with more nuance.
Yet, little is known about neurodivergent people’s perspectives and preferences on future technologies in this area. Thus, the goal of this thesis is to engage in speculative design workshops with neurodivergent people to identify desirable future technologies and application settings for technology to reduce sensory overload, contributing design goals for future development efforts.

Task Summary

The thesis includes the following:

1. Related Work: Explore how neurodivergent people currently use technology and other tools to manage sensory overload.
2. Design Workshops: Carry out speculative design workshops that creatively explore future technologies to manage sensory overload with neurodivergent people.
3. Design Goals: Qualitatively analyze data and formulate design goals for future technologies.

Skills

Required: Human-Computer Interaction, Accessibility

Beneficial: Participatory Design

Contact

Kathrin Gerling