More Aware and More Curious to Understand": Emotionally Challenging Experiences in Psychological Horror GamesEmotionally challenging experiences are central to player experience in games, and psychological horror provides particularly intense and thought-provoking moments. However, HCI research has largely overlooked how these experiences might influence reflection and mental health awareness. To address this gap, we interviewed two groups of eight players who experienced recent psychological horror games such as Alan Wake 2 and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Our analysis suggests that player reflection and a broader perspective on mental health are more likely to emerge when a game’s mechanics and narrative allow players to experience the characters’ mental states through gameplay. These findings highlight the potential of psychological horror games to encourage reflection on real-world experiences and offer ethical and future design considerations in crafting narratives centered around mental health.2026FTFilipe Pinheiro Tomé et al.ITI/LARSyS, Interactive Technology InstituteGame UX & Player BehaviorSerious & Functional GamesMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesCHI
EcoAssist: Embedding Sustainability into AI-Assisted Frontend DevelopmentFrontend code, replicated across millions of page views, consumes significant energy and contributes directly to digital emissions. Yet current AI coding assistants, such as GitHub Copilot and Amazon CodeWhisperer, emphasize developer speed and convenience, with energy impact not yet a primary focus. At the same time, existing energy-focused guidelines and metrics have seen limited adoption among practitioners, leaving a gap between research and everyday coding practice. To address this gap, we introduce EcoAssist, an energy-aware assistant integrated into an IDE that analyzes AI-generated frontend code, estimates its energy footprint, and proposes targeted optimizations. We evaluated EcoAssist through benchmarks of 500 websites and a controlled study with 20 developers. Results show that EcoAssist reduced per-website energy by 13–16% on average, increased developers’ awareness of energy use, and maintained developer productivity. This work demonstrates how energy considerations can be embedded directly into AI-assisted coding workflows, supporting developers as they engage with energy implications through actionable feedback.2026ABAndré Barrocas et al.ITI/LARSYSGenerative AI (Text, Image, Music, Video)Sustainable HCIEnergy Conservation Behavior & InterfacesCHI
Speculating Migrant Possible Worlds through Magic MachinesMigration and technology studies increasingly recognize the importance of incorporating migrant perspectives in design processes. Speculative design methods have emerged as powerful tools for imagining alternative futures, particularly when working with marginalized communities. However, there remains a gap in understanding how to effectively engage long-term settled migrants in participatory design processes that honor their experiences and imaginative capacities. Here we show how integrating feminist care principles with speculative design methods can create more inclusive and empathetic approaches to technology design with migrant communities. Through workshops applying the "magic machines" methodology, we demonstrate how participatory speculation enables migrants to articulate their experiences, anxieties, and hopes for technological futures. Our findings reveal the importance of considering diasporic minds and cross-border connectivity in future technologies. This work provides immediate opportunities for researchers and designers to develop more inclusive approaches to speculative design while challenging dominant narratives about technological futures in migrant communities.2025VNValentina Nisi et al.Technology's Impact on (Im)migrationCSCW
Making Sense of Our Data: Exploring Well-Being Self-Tracking Through Creative CollaborationMental health and well-being research increasingly recognizes the potential of data to support preventative care and foster meaningful sensemaking. However, traditional health data visualizations often overlook emotional depth, contextual relevance, and lived experiences. In response, four HCI researchers conducted a 35-day field study, examining their well-being data as participants and co-designers to reimagine their relationship with self-tracking technologies and health data representations. Grounded in participatory and soma-inspired design principles, this study encouraged participants to move beyond passive data consumption through creative experimentation, embedding personal experiences and collaborative exploration to challenge conventional representations and reimagine well-being through design. The findings demonstrate how collaborative sensemaking can reframe well-being interventions as creative processes that empower individuals’ lived experiences. By foregrounding reflection and shared interpretation, this work contributes to the discourse on how creative explorations with biodata redefine our relationship with wearable technology, highlighting the role of trust in understanding personal sensitive data collaboratively.2025BSBeatriz Severes et al.Mental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesCreative Collaboration & Feedback SystemsBiosensors & Physiological MonitoringC&C
A tidalectic reading of landscapes: Multispecies peripatetic ethnography as a method for knowing landscapes.This study explores multispecies interactions and human-nonhuman synergies in intertidal zones through a novel autoethnographic approach. Multispecies ethnography and posthumanist thinking challenge human-centered perspectives, highlighting the need to embrace diverse temporalities and ways of knowing in ecological research. However, current methods often fail to adequately capture these complex interrelations and the lived experiences within such environments. Shifting rhythmically between land and water, we use the intertidal contact zone to unveil the delicate synergy between humans and animals that populate the salt marsh of the Tagus delta. Our findings underscore the potential of field-based, participatory methods to model multispecies interactions and experimental drawing methods with a spatiotemporal structure that allows thinking beyond the traditional representational techniques of landscape architecture - what we call tidalectic portraits. While our work does not offer immediate solutions to ecological crises, it emphasizes the importance of slowing down and engaging with landscape rhythms to cultivate embodied, situated knowledge.2025KIKaterina Christina Inglezaki et al.Field StudiesHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)DIS
Designing Biotopia: A Transmedia Experience for Natureculture Heritage and More-than-Human EntanglementsIn recent years, HCI research around post-anthropocene design has been gaining traction. Caring and inclusive stances towards more-than-humans, multispecies dialogues, and decentering the human in design are imbuing HCI and other disciplines. Similarly, critical heritage scholars have pointed to the need to re-frame heritage in light of the challenges of the Anthropocene. As part of a heritage-focused EU-funded project, we extend these efforts, thinking through collaborative research-through-design to design "Biotopia" – a transmedia experience that aims to connect museum and nature walk visitors with entangled natureculture and more-than-human heritage. We propose three Design Constructs from our exploratory phase and detail how they have informed the design of the critical heritage experience, contributing with the transmedia experience design and proposing ways of applying emerging posthuman concepts in practice. By reflecting on our process, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of designing for more-than-human heritage in a posthuman world, working towards decentered practices in HCI.2025MFMarta Ferreira et al.Sustainable HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)Museum & Cultural Heritage DigitizationDIS
Towards Neuroqueer Spatial Justice: A Critical Literature Review of Public Space Technologies for Neurodivergent PopulationsAccess to public spaces is of the utmost importance for social cohesion, inclusion, and civic engagement. Nevertheless, a large majority of public spaces remain incredibly uncomfortable environments for neurodivergent individuals due to, for instance, the unpredictability of such spaces and the sensory stimuli within them. Smart City technologies present an exciting opportunity to improve the accessibility and enjoyment of the spaces where they are deployed by, for instance, offering users the ability to customise a space to their specific sensory needs. However, the research topic of public space technologies for neurodivergent individuals remains scattered and sparsely documented. This critical review analyses the existing domains of inquiry, contributing a theoretical framework based on Spatial Justice and Neuroqueer Technoscience and suggests future research avenues informed by this framework. We advocate for the participatory co-creation of a neurodivergent-affirming landscape of public space technologies that both support neurodivergent needs and promote neurodivergent joy.2025PPPatricia Piedade et al.University of Lisbon, Interactive Technologies Institute, LARSySCognitive Impairment & Neurodiversity (Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia)Community Engagement & Civic TechnologyTechnology Ethics & Critical HCICHI
Digital Technologies for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: a Systematic Review, Critical Reflections, and Future Research DirectionsDigital technologies in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) have the potential to support the development and well-being of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children. Yet, there has yet to be a systematic review of the field. A shared understanding of current research is needed to develop a future vision. In this review, we analyzed 42 papers from the ACM Digital Library and the top 20 HCI Conferences and Journals, spanning the past 24 years, to investigate the trends, methods, and the level of inclusion of DHH children. Our review reveals that sign language learning platforms dominate the current technological effort. Moreover, children are not yet fully involved in the design process of these technologies and are mostly considered users and testers. We also capture a gap in integrating Deaf culture and child development in prior research. We conclude by critically examining literature gaps and offering guidance for future research.2025JZJing Zhao et al.Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, ITI / LARSySDeaf & Hard-of-Hearing Support (Captions, Sign Language, Vibration)Special Education TechnologyInclusive DesignCHI
Diving into the Abyss: Exploring Deep Sea Connection and Curiosity through Virtual Reality This paper presents an investigation of the potential of virtual reality (VR) to bridge the gap between humans and the largely unexplored deep sea, using the immersive, playful experience of "Echo of the Abyss" (EotA). Built around the structure of a deep-sea dive experience, EotA aims to enhance users' sense of interconnectedness with underwater environments and stimulate curiosity about marine life. The qualitative analysis reveals a heightened empathy, respect for aquatic life, and a newfound interest in real-world diving experiences. Quantitative results indicate a marginal increase in positive perceptions towards the sea. From these findings, we discuss VR as an effective transformational tool to foster a deeper ecological consciousness. Our contributions can benefit HCI researchers and game designers interested in designing ocean sustainability-driven experiences and games.2025BMBeatrice Maggipinto et al.Carnegie Mellon University, HCII; University of Lisbon, ITI/LARSyS, ISTImmersion & Presence ResearchHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
A Feminist Care Ethics Toolkit for Community-Based Design: Bridging Theory and PracticeExisting ethics frameworks for participatory engagement in HCI often overlook the nuanced ethical challenges of dynamic community-based contexts given the latter’s relational nature. We hope to bridge this gap by grounding feminist care ethics in actionable tools for community-based projects to enhance ethical engagement in these settings. Prior research advocates for adaptable, context-sensitive ethics in participatory research, informed by feminist care ethics. To address this need, we developed and iteratively refined a toolkit embodying the underlying principles of feminist care ethics through workshops with participants working in academic and non-academic community-based settings. Our findings suggest that the toolkit fosters ethical reflection aligned with the feminist care ethics ethos while facilitating meaningful experiences for participants. This work contributes to the field by offering a practical design artefact that not only embodies feminist care ethics but also supports researchers and communities in navigating complex ethical landscapes in participatory engagements, together or independently.2025AHAna O Henriques et al.University of Lisbon, Interactive Technologies InstituteTechnology Ethics & Critical HCIParticipatory DesignCHI
The Effects of Observing Robotic Ostracism on Children's Prosociality and Basic NeedsResearch on robotic ostracism is still scarce and has only explored its effects on adult populations. Although the results revealed important carryover effects of robotic exclusion, there is no evidence yet that those results occur in child-robot interactions. This paper provides the first exploration of robotic ostracism with children. We conducted a study using the Robotic Cyberball Paradigm in a third-person perspective with a sample of 52 children aged between five to ten years old. The experimental study had two conditions: Exclusion and Inclusion. In the Exclusion condition, children observed a peer being excluded by two robots; while in the Inclusion condition, the observed peer interacted equally with the robots. Notably, even 5-year-old children could discern when robots excluded another child. Children who observed exclusion reported lower levels of belonging and control, and exhibited higher prosocial behaviour than those witnessing inclusion. However, no differences were found in children's meaningful existence, self-esteem, and physical proximity across conditions. Our user study provides important methodological considerations for applying the Robotic Cyberball Paradigm with children. The results extend previous literature on both robotic ostracism with adults and interpersonal ostracism with children. We finish discussing the broader implications of children observing ostracism in human-robot interactions.2024FCFilipa Correia et al.Social Robot InteractionEmpowerment of Marginalized GroupsHRI
Towards Critical Heritage in the wild: Analysing Discomfort through Collaborative AutoethnographyAs we engaged in designing digital interventions for intercultural dialogues around public cultural heritage sites, we saw an opportunity to surface multiple interpretations and points of view of history and shine a critical lens on current societal issues. To do so, we present the results of a collaborative auto-ethnography of alternative tours accompanied by intercultural guides, to explore sensory and embodied engagements with cultural heritage sites in a southern European capital. By focusing on the differences in how we experienced the heritage sites, we analyse the duality of discomfort, a common concept in HCI, in that it can both be deployed as a resource for designing systems that can transform people’s understanding of history or it can be a hindrance for engagement, having an unequal effect on individuals.2023PBPaulo Bala et al.ITI/LARSYSMuseum & Cultural Heritage DigitizationCHI
Hitting the Triple Bottom Line: Widening the HCI Approach to SustainabilitySustainable Development (SD) in its dimensions – environment, economy, and society – is a growing area of concern within the HCI community. This paper advances a systematic literature review on sustainability across the Sustainable Human-Computer Interaction (SHCI) body of work. The papers were classified according to the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework to understand how the pillars of SD play into the HCI discourse on sustainability. The economic angle was identified as a gap in SHCI literature. To meet the TBL of SD, however, a balance needs to be sought across all ‘lines’. In this paper, we propose that HCI can advance the discussion and the understanding of the economic concepts around sustainability through taking a sociology perspective on the economic angle of the TBL. We sustain this claim by discussing economic concepts and the role that digital can play in redefining the established foundations of our economic system.2022SSSabrina Scuri et al.ITI / LARSySSustainable HCIEcological Design & Green ComputingCHI
Making New Worlds - Transformative Becomings with Soma DesignSoma design is intended to increase our ability to appreciate through all our senses and lead to more meaningful interactions with the world. We contribute a longer-term study of soma design that shows evidence of this promise. Using storytelling approaches we draw on qualitative data from a three-month study of the soma mat and breathing light in four households. We tell stories of people's becomings in the world as they learn of new possibilities for their somas; and as their somas transform. We show how people drew on their somaesthetic experiences with the prototypes to find their way through troubled times; and how through continued engagement some felt compelled to make transformations in how they live their lives. We discuss the implications for the overarching soma design program, focusing on what is required to design for ways of leading a better life.2022ASAnna Ståhl et al.RISE, Research Institutes of SwedenShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Diffraction-in-action: Designerly Explorations of Agential Realism Through Lived DataRecent design research has shown an interest in diffraction and agential realism, which promise to offer generative alternatives when designing with data that resist treating data as objective or neutral. We explore engaging diffractively with `lived data' to surface felt and prospective aspects of data as it is entangled in everyday lives of designers. This paper presents five biodata-based case studies demonstrating how design researchers can create knowledge about human bodies and behaviors via strategies that allow them to engage data diffractively. These studies suggest that designers can find insights for designing with data as it is lived by working with it in a slow, open-ended fashion that leaves room for messiness and time for discovering difference. Finally, we discuss the role of ambiguous, open-ended data interpretations to help surface different meaning and entanglements of data in everyday lives.2022PSPedro Sanches et al.ITI/Larsys, Umeå UniversityUniversal & Inclusive DesignMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesTechnology Ethics & Critical HCICHI
Dynamic Field of View Restriction in 360º Video: Aligning Optical Flow and Visual SLAM to Mitigate VIMSHead-Mounted Display based Virtual Reality is proliferating. However, Visually Induced Motion Sickness (VIMS), which prevents many from using VR without discomfort, bars widespread adoption. Prior work has shown that limiting the Field of View (FoV) can reduce VIMS at a cost of also reducing presence. Systems that dynamically adjust a user's FoV may be able to balance these concerns. To explore this idea, we present a technique for standard 360º video that shrinks FoVs only during VIMS inducing scenes. It uses Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping and peripheral optical flow to compute camera movements and reduces FoV during rapid motion or optical flow. A user study (N=23) comparing 360º video with unrestricted-FoVs (90º), reduced fixed-FoVs (40º) and dynamic-FoVs (40º-90º) revealed that dynamic-FoVs mitigate VIMS while maintaining presence. We close by discussing the user experience of dynamic-FoVs and recommendations for how they can help make VR comfortable and immersive for all.2021PBPaulo Bala et al.Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Instituto Superior Técnico - U. de LisboaMotion Sickness & Passenger ExperienceImmersion & Presence ResearchCHI
The Nudge Deck: A Design Support Tool for Technology-Mediated NudgingThe idea of nudging - that subtle changes in the ’choice architecture’ can alter people’s behaviors in predictable ways - was eagerly adopted by HCI researchers and practitioners over the past decade. Yet, the design of effective nudging interventions is far from trivial, with theoretical knowledge being unstructured, with over a hundred cognitive biases found online, and inaccessible to practitioners during design meetings. We present the design and evaluation of the Nudge Deck, a card-based, design support tool that provides actionable knowledge for the design of technology-mediated nudges. The tool was evaluated through two case studies where 58 participants were asked to design nudging interventions, in the contexts of physical activity promotion and misinformation mitigation, with and without the cards. We report on how the cards enhanced designers’ self-efficacy, and led to more theoretically grounded, creative and appropriate for the context, ideas.2020ACAna Caraban et al.Gamification DesignPrototyping & User TestingDIS
"Human, All Too Human": NOAA Weather Radio and the Emotional Impact of Synthetic VoicesThe integration of text-to-speech into an open technology stack for low-power FM community radio stations is an opportunity to automate laborious processes and increase accessibility to information in remote communities. However, there are open questions as to the perceived contrast of synthetic voices with the local and intimate format of community radio. This paper presents an exploratory focus group on the topic, followed by a thematic analysis of public comments on YouTube videos of the synthetic voices used for broadcasting by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio. We find that despite observed reservations about the suitability of TTS for radio, there is significant evidence of anthropomorphism, nostalgia and emotional connection in relation to these voices. Additionally, introduction of a more "human sounding" synthetic voice elicited significant negative feedback. We identify pronunciation, speed, suitability to content and acknowledgment of limitations as more relevant factors in listeners' stated sense of connection.2020KSKristen M. Scott et al.Madeira Interactive Technologies InstituteIntelligent Voice Assistants (Alexa, Siri, etc.)Agent Personality & AnthropomorphismCHI
Teenage Visitor Experience: Classification of Behavioral Dynamics in MuseumsTeenagers' engagement in museums is much talked about but little research has been done to understand their behavior and inform design. Findings from co-design sessions with teenagers suggested they value games and stories when thinking about enjoyable museum tours. Informed by these findings and working with a natural history museum, we designed: a story-based tour (Turning Point) and a game-based tour (Haunted Encounters), informed by similar content. The two strategies were evaluated with 78 teenagers (15-19 years old) visiting the museum as part of an educational school trip. We assessed teenagers' personality in class; qualitative and quantitative data on their engagement, experience, and usability of the apps were collected at the museum. The triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data show personality traits mapping into different behaviors. We offer implications for the design of museum apps targeted to teenagers, a group known as difficult to reach.2020VCVanessa Cesário et al.Interactive Technologies Institute/LARSyS & University of PortoCollaborative Learning & Peer TeachingMuseum & Cultural Heritage DigitizationInteractive Narrative & Immersive StorytellingCHI
23 Ways to Nudge: A Review of Technology-Mediated Nudging in Human-Computer InteractionTen years ago, Thaler and Sunstein introduced the notion of nudging to talk about how subtle changes in the 'choice architecture' can alter people's behaviors in predictable ways. This idea was eagerly adopted in HCI and applied in multiple contexts, including health, sustainability and privacy. Despite this, we still lack an understanding of how to design effective technology-mediated nudges. In this paper we present a systematic review of the use of nudging in HCI research with the goal of laying out the design space of technology-mediated nudging – the why (i.e., which cognitive biases do nudges combat) and the how (i.e., what exact mechanisms do nudges employ to incur behavior change). All in all, we found 23 distinct mechanisms of nudging, grouped in 6 categories, and leveraging 15 different cognitive biases. We present these as a framework for technology-mediated nudging, and discuss the factors shaping nudges' effectiveness and their ethical implications.2019ACAna Caraban et al.Instituto Superior Técnico, Persuasive Tech Lab, Madeira-ITIAI-Assisted Decision-Making & AutomationAI Ethics, Fairness & AccountabilityAlgorithmic Fairness & BiasCHI