Grammar, meaning and movement-based interaction

Abstract

Human movement is rightly seen as a rich and under-explored resource for the design of novel interaction modalities. In this paper, I briefly explore some of the difficulties inherent to harnessing what seems to be the limitless potential of human movements as a means of interacting with systems. In particular, I treat these difficulties as a symptom of the fact that movement (generally conceived), unlike language, does not have a grammar. Some implications of this for the promise of human movement as interaction design material are then discussed.