Research & Publications

Situated human–technology relations in design research.

I bring postphenomenology and design research into dialogue to understand situated human–technology relations and develop ways of designing for the experiences they mediate. Drawing on technological mediation theory, I develop concepts, methods, and tools through empirical, philosophical, and design inquiry.

My work engages with more-than-human design while attending closely to lived human experience. I use phenomenological interviews, experience sampling, qualitative analysis, and conceptual and interactive research tools, adapting methods as new inquiries require.

Research foundations & ongoing work

Research contributions & current inquiries

Doctoral research · 2021–2025

Co-driving pleasure in context

My PhD connected technological mediation theory with pleasure and psychological needs to examine how drivers experience cooperation with automated vehicles. The first study combined over 110 trip reports with interviews involving 12 participants; interviews with 10 additional participants refined the interpretation. I developed the Human–Vehicle Relation framework and Co-Driving Pleasure Model, then discussed their design relevance and practical limits with nine automotive practitioners.

Explore the doctoral research ↗

Concepts & research resources

Making mediation visible and discussable

My sole-authored NordiCHI 2026 paper introduces mediation granularity and the Mediation Composition Diagram (MCD), making analytical boundaries and the composition of mediated experience explicit. Thing-sona, developed from my doctoral work, uses cards to express perceived technological roles and relational qualities. Interactive prototypes extend both resources; new empirical cases will examine their value and limitations.

Interdisciplinary foundations

Service, systems & human factors

My wider publications span a service-design framework for servitization, reflexivity across scales in sociotechnical transitions, systemic and speculative approaches to automated shuttle design, and vibrotactile takeover evaluation. These projects connect conceptual, design-oriented, and empirical research, informing my attention to organizational and sociotechnical circumstances.

Current inquiries

Creative practice & research methods

I am documenting my own AI-assisted programming and design practice to examine how creative practices and experiences of control and agency evolve over time. Planned interviews with other practitioners will extend and challenge these interpretations. Alongside this inquiry, I am reviewing postphenomenology’s contributions to HCI and design research across empirical analysis, methods, knowledge, and intervention.

Research interests & guiding questions

Three interconnected questions link empirical understanding, research-resource development, and design exploration. They inform one another rather than defining separate research tracks.

01

How do mediated experiences and practices emerge and change in context?

I examine how material, social, cultural, and institutional circumstances shape human–technology relations, including how people come to value particular relational qualities over time.

02

How can articulating relations generate knowledge for design?

Diagrams, cards, and other research resources make analytical choices and differing interpretations discussable. Their use and revision can develop experiential insights, concepts, and methods.

03

How can design inquiry explore new relational possibilities?

Participatory, speculative, and prototype-based inquiries can explore alternative ways of relating to technology, contributing both design knowledge and postphenomenological understanding.

Future research agenda

Connecting empirical, philosophical, and design inquiry.

My long-term ambition is to advance design theory and methods for understanding and designing for human experience amid evolving human–technology entanglements.

Next, I plan to extend the AI-mediated practice inquiry through interviews and practice diaries; develop MCD and Thing-sona through participatory inquiry into differing interpretations; and explore alternative relations through scenarios, prototypes, and guided enactments. These are proposed inquiries: their findings will revise the resources and generate further questions, not simply validate existing tools.

Selected output

Publications

  1. 2026

    Granularity as Analytical Cut: A Diagrammatic Approach to Situated Mediation Analysis in Postphenomenological Design Research

    Peng Lu

    Adjunct Proceedings of the 14th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (NordiCHI 2026 Adjunct)

    Conference paper
  2. 2023

    Speculative Exploration on Future Sustainable Human-Machine Interface Design in Automated Shuttle Buses

    Ming Yan, Zijun Lin, Peng Lu, Mansu Wang, Lucia Rampino, and Giandomenico Caruso

    Sustainability, 15(6), 5497

    Journal article
  3. 2023

    Systemic Design Strategies for Shaping the Future of Automated Shuttle Buses

    Ming Yan, Peng Lu, Venanzio Arquilla, Fausto Brevi, Lucia Rampino, and Giandomenico Caruso

    Applied Sciences, 13(21), 11767

    Journal article
  4. 2023

    Toward Hazard or Action? Effects of Directional Vibrotactile Takeover Requests on Takeover Performance in Automated Driving

    Jinlei Shi, Changxu Wu, Hanjia Zheng, Wei Zhang, Xiyuan Zhang, Peng Lu, and Chunlei Chai

    International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 39(19), 3786–3801

    Journal article
  5. 2023

    An Exploration UX Automotive in the 5G Era: New Interaction Processes Through Gesture Control and Haptic Feedback

    Venanzio Arquilla, Fausto Brevi, Federica Caruso, Flora Gaetani, and Peng Lu

    DeSForM 2023

    Conference paper
  6. 2021

    Exploring Implications for Designing for Sociotechnical Transitions: Taking Reflexivity as a Matter of Scale

    Peng Lu and Daniela Sangiorgi

    Proceedings of the 9th Nordes Design Research Conference

    Conference paper
  7. 2021

    An Application Framework of Service Design for Servitization

    Peng Lu

    ServDes.2020: Tensions, Paradoxes and Plurality Conference Proceedings

    Conference paper