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This article introduces user experience research that has been carried out by evaluating a video-illustrated science fiction prototype with process control workers. Essentially, the prototype 'A remote operator's day in a future control center in 2025' was aimed at discovering opportunities for new interaction methods and ambient intelligence for the factories of the future. The theoretical objective was to carry out experience design research, which was based on explicit ambient user experience goals in the nominated industrial work context. This article describes the complete creative prototyping process, starting from the initial user research that included evaluations of current work practices, technological trend studies and co-design workshops, and concluding with user research that assessed the final design outcome, the science fiction prototype. The main contribution of the article is on the ambient user experience goals, the creation process of the video-illustrated science fiction prototype, and on the reflection of how the experience-driven prototype was evaluated in two research setups: as video sequences embedded in a Web survey, and as interviews carried out with expert process control workers. For the science fiction prototyping process, the contribution demonstrates how the method may employ video-illustration as a means for future-oriented user experience research, and how complementary user-centered methods may be used to validate the results.

This paper uses a narrative literary study to discuss how the science fiction prototyping method has been applied so far in different disciplines, including technology and engineering research (specifically Intelligent Environment research), foresight, futures- and business studies. Then the paper presents very similar practices in human-computer interaction, entitled as e.g. critical design, speculative design and design fiction. After that, the paper focuses on their common denominator, scenario planning and scenario design, and deliberates briefly on how the creative, future-oriented prototyping differs from them. The main contribution is to propose a conversional tool - an inter- dimensional portal - for all the involved disciplines that is aimed at uniting their forces and passion for science fiction - for the greatest benefit of all mankind.

This paper uses a narrative literary study to discuss how the science fiction prototyping method has been applied so far in different disciplines, including technology and engineering research (specifically Intelligent Environment research), foresight, futures- and business studies. Then the paper presents very similar practices in human-computer interaction, entitled as e.g. critical design, speculative design and design fiction. After that, the paper focuses on their common denominator, scenario planning and scenario design, and deliberates briefly on how the creative, future-oriented prototyping differs from them. The main contribution is to propose a conversional tool - an inter- dimensional portal - for all the involved disciplines that is aimed at uniting their forces and passion for science fiction - for the greatest benefit of all mankind.

The case study presented in this paper aimed at discovering opportunities for ambient intelligence and new interaction methods for a future remote crane-operating environment. The theoretical objective was to carry out an experience-driven research project in an industrial work context, and the practical objective was to create and evaluate a future oriented science fiction prototype. The work was carried out in close co-operation with an industrial partner who was a domain expert in the field of crane industry. The aim was to focus on clearly defined user experience goals to which the industrial partner committed. The consequent immediate objective was to focus on two explicit experiences relating to 'Feeling of being motivated' and to 'Sense of community' that were placed at the core of the design investigations. These experiences were deliberated into a science fiction prototype entitled 'Remote operator's day in a future control centre'. The science fiction prototype was further introduced to users by twofold means: as a plain, simple short story and through an interactive experience path. The main contribution of the paper is to demonstrate how an emerging technology research of a new domain may employ science fiction prototyping method as a primary means of experience design investigations.