Sebastian Denef is finalizing his PhD project: A Pattern Language of Firefighting Frontline Practice to Inform the Design of Ubiquitous Computing.
Designing computing systems for frontline firefighting is an open challenge. As of today, little computing support exists for such hazardous environments and designers struggle to build appropriate systems that fit the complex configuration on the frontline.
Following Christopher Alexander’s understanding, design is about producing living transformations of existing configurations, it requires a thorough understanding of the situation on-site. Alexander introduces pattern languages as a means to describe existing configurations and to make them accessible for design, to link ethnography and design. This thesis therefore develops a pattern language of firefighters’ activities at the frontline to transform the existing practice into a design space for computing support.
The public presentation and defense is on Tuesday December 13 at 12:00 in the Aula of the TUDelft.
