Redesigning Urban Micro-Mobility: E-Scooters

E-scooters on the Ground: Lessons for Redesigning Urban Micro-Mobility

• E-scooters are gaining popularity as a new mode of urban transportation, offering a flexible and convenient way to navigate congested cities.
• However, their rapid adoption has raised concerns about their impact on public space, safety, reliability, and the environment.
• The paper argues that these challenges present opportunities for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) to play a crucial role in designing better e-scooter systems and integrating them into urban environments.
• The paper explores the benefits of e-scooters, including their ability to "hack" urban mobility by switching between pedestrian, cyclist, and motorist modes, enabling intermodal transport, and contributing to more sustainable urban transport.
• The study gathered data through five weeks of field observations in Paris, interviewing 20 participants: e-scooter owners, rental users, shop owners, and city representatives.
• The study utilizes video ethnography to document interactions between e-scooter users and other road users, providing insights into navigation and conflict resolution in public spaces.

Birds of a Feather Video-Flock Together: Design and Evaluation of an Agency-Based Parrot-to-Parrot Video-Calling System for Interspecies Ethical Enrichment

• The study explores the potential of agency-driven video-calling technology for pet parrots to enhance socialization and well-being.
• The paper argues that providing parrots with the ability to initiate video calls with other parrots offers a new and ethical way for interspecies interaction.
• The study employs a longitudinal mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods over three months, with 18 parrots participating in a two-phase study.
• Parrots were trained to initiate video calls by ringing a bell and selecting another parrot's image on a tablet.
• The study observes, records, and analyzes the birds' behavior during calls, including engagement, agency, and perception.
• Caretaker feedback was collected through post-study interviews to gain insights into perceived changes in the birds' behavior and well-being.

The Halting Problem: Video Analysis of Self-Driving Cars in Traffic

• The paper investigates the challenges faced by self-driving cars in traffic due to their inability to fully participate in the social dimension of driving.
• The study argues that the vehicles' inability to interpret social cues and communicate with other road users, specifically in the context of yielding, hinders smooth integration into traffic systems.
• The study uses a video-based ethnographic approach, analyzing YouTube videos capturing real-world interactions between self-driving cars and other road users, particularly in yielding scenarios.
• The authors analyze over 16 hours of video footage from Tesla and Waymo vehicles, identifying patterns and differences in how these systems handle road interactions.

Common Themes Across the Papers

• All three studies highlight the critical role of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in addressing the social integration of technologies in complex environments.
• The papers underscore the importance of considering social interaction, user agency, and ethical responsibility in designing future technologies.
• Ethical implications are thoroughly explored, emphasizing the need to balance individual freedom with collective good, public safety, consent, and well-being in both human and non-human contexts.