Self-Integration in Mediated-Reality Systems: a Socio-Technical Perspective

From a structural point of view, mediated-reality systems essentially constitute hybrid socio-technical and cyber-physical systems. As such, they are inherently characterized by highly heterogeneous constituents that need to continuously integrate in order to serve their intended purpose and provide the desired user experience. This position paper discusses the different dimensions specific to self-integration in mediated-reality systems, arguing in favor of a generally human-centric design approach for systems that involve user interaction beyond monitoring tasks. Following a classification of the central interaction modes and issues, an initial set of recommendations is derived for including essential human-in-the-loop aspects already at an early stage of the design and integration process.