Exploring the Role of Interactive Technology to Enrich Surfing

ACM SIGCHI Conference Designing Interactive Systems DIS'25 at Funchal, Madeira 5-9 July 2025

Maria F. Montoya, Aryan Saini, Sarah Jane Pell, Phoebe Toups Dugas, & Florian 'Floyd' Mueller

Abstract

Surfing is not just a sport; it is a playful water activity rich in culture. Prior interaction design work to support surfers has mostly focused on improving performance; yet emphasizing performance misses the experiential value of play and enjoyment, which is under-investigated. To explore this opportunity, we engaged in a soma design process resulting in two prototypes, an actuating wearable top and an octopus-inspired soft robot, aiming to facilitate a playful experience to enrich surfing. We conducted an exploratory study with eight surfers in a swimming pool (acknowledging safety but also limitations). Through thematic analysis of interviews, we found three themes that supported the idea that the design features of the prototypes have the potential to enrich surfing. Moreover, adopting a postphenomenological lens, we investigate the Human-Technology-Water relations to understand the role of interactive technology during surfing and propose five design strategies that researchers can consider to develop future designs for the experiential aspects of surfing.

CCS Concepts: • Human-centered computing → Interaction paradigms

Additional Key Words and Phrases: surf, surfing, surfers, playful experience, interactive technology, soma design, playful design

Maria F. Montoya, Aryan Saini, Sarah Jane Pell, Phoebe Toups Dugas, & Florian 'Floyd' Mueller. 2025. Exploring the Role of Interactive Technology to Enrich Surfing. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS '25). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1, 1 (April 2025), 29 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/nnnnnnn.nnnnnnn

The ACM Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) 2025 conference theme of “Designing for a Sustainable Ocean” promotes rethinking the role of DIS in shaping a more sustainable world. This theme extends beyond simply accepting research related to the ocean and bodies of water; it invites a critical examination of how these elements can inspire design that transcends human-centered perspectives. The ACM SIGCHI Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) is the premier international arena where designers, artists, psychologists, user experience researchers, systems engineers, and many more, come together to debate and shape the future of interactive systems design and practice. The 2025 conference takes place exclusively at Madeira Islands as a full in-person conference - surrounded by the ocean https://dis.acm.org/2025/.

The authors acknowledge Australian Research Council support drawn from DP190102068, DP200102612 and LP210200656.

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