Scent Whisper: Open House Festival Of Interactive Technology, HCI 2009, Microsoft

'Scent Whisper' is a responsive jewellery project that provides a new way to send a scented message by fusing emerging technologies with perfumery, to create a new level of experience and wellbeing, and as a novel communication system.

The 23rd BCS conference on Human Computer Interaction celebrated the people who use technology, the people who create new technologies, and the relationship between them. A centrepiece of the conference was an Open House Festival involving the many Cambridge laboratories and startup companies now creating new displays, devices, games, communications and ubiquitous computing technologies. New developments in HCI depend on technology, and interchange between the communities provided influence in both directions.

The scientific programme of the conference had a special focus on the priorities of UK and European research. In addition to scientific quality, we emphasised creativity, originality and relevance to real problems. By aligning recognition of the best HCI research with peer review criteria for career development and research funding, HCI 2009 was dedicated to enhancing and supporting the HCI research community.

HCI 2009 was hosted by Cambridge University and Microsoft Research Cambridge. General chairs were Alan Blackwell (CU) and Ken Wood (MSRC). Keynote speakers included Bill Buxton, author of Sketching User Experiences, and Anthony Dunne, Head of Design Interaction at the Royal College of Art and author of Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects.