Designing Intelligent Spaces as if They Were Human: A “Space Agent” Framework

The literature of communication theory suggests that people tend to interact with interactive artifacts as if these were human. For decades, this understanding has been applied to designing computer embedded devices at small physical scale (i.e. objects). In this paper, the authors extend this same understanding to the dimension of space—to designing intelligent, physical environments. The conceptual ground for this design intention is found in a “pattern language” developed by Alexander, et al. for designing static physical environments based on the “‘best guesses” of architects. Upon this foundation of a pattern language, the authors offer a design framework based on our novel concept of “space agency” whereby observed human-human interaction is translated into human-machine Interaction for spatial artifacts by way of two mapping techniques. Our intention is to strive for more human-human-like interactions between human beings and intelligent spaces whereby intelligent spaces become friendly, helpful, and welcoming. In this paper, the design of an interior space within a fully autonomous vehicle provides a case study. The framework presented here has significance for designing intelligent artifacts and interactions with them as these extend, inevitably, to the dimension of space, entertaining, serving, and augmenting our increasingly digital and human-centered society.