Touching the ice: in-the-wild study of an interactive icewall

In this paper, we present an interactive installation consisting of a 3 m wide × 1.4 m high touch sensitive wall of ice, which was set up as an indoor installation during a music festival. During a one night in-the-wild study, the audience could draw on the back-projected icewall, either directly using it as a touch screen, or remotely via a mobile optimized webpage. We focus on reporting the lessons learnt from this in-the-wild experience, and on user experience aspects of interacting both with the physical ice and through the mobile interface. The results highlight that the material qualities of the tangible user interface are essential for creating engaging and intriguing user experiences, whereas remote interaction through a mobile app enhances the possibilities for social interaction and sharing.