Naked Approach is a Finnish research consortium that is focused on exploring a “Nordic perspective to gadget‐free hyperconnected environments.”

To quote their site:

In our vision, the digital surroundings will form an “omnipotential” environment around the user, providing all the information, tools, and services that the user needs in his or her everyday life in the Hyper connected society of 2020’s and 2030’s.

The vision reminds me a lot of Tangible Bits at MIT’s Media Lab (or frankly, many of the groups at the Media Lab).  Or even my own research thesis on active objects, surfaces and zones.  But updated for the advances of the modern world, like cloud connectivity, IoT, and advanced digital displays.

I think the core of their proposition is expressed in this section, which is from page 8 of the PDF of their  concept book (for posterity, the PDF: na-concept-book):

1) Human connections – Co-work and caring through ambient connectivity

The digital surroundings can be used as a media for ambient connections
that form bonds between people and places. Whereas a continuous video
connection would be intrusive, our aim is to create the feeling of being
connected, but respecting privacy. We want to make the connection alive,
but in the periphery of awareness, without requiring the user’s continuous
full attention. Ambient connections through digital surroundings can play a
role in connecting remote family members, maintaining the spirit between
team members, and helping provide unintrusive, constant care for those who
need it.

2) Lifestyle – Boosting my daily activities

Lot of things happen in our daily life. We sleep, we eat, we go to work,
we arrange meetings, we go shopping, we wash dishes, we read and then
we sleep again. Our routines usually happen in constant places with the
same equipment, following similar daily rhythms. Could we make digital
surroundings that learn our habits, predicts our moves, suggests actions,
prepares things for us, and especially creates an ambience of tranquillity
when needed?

3) User on the move – Migrating services and morphic spaces

Occasionally we do things in a different way, in a different place, at a
different time than in a normal day. Some of us have jobs or routines that
keep changing daily and weekly. We need to find new places, we need to
access our files or services in totally new environments, we need to present
things to our customers on their premises, and we need to re-arrange our
usual surroundings for specific occasions. How much can the digital
surroundings help us there? What services can they provide for users on the
move? Can we change the spaces to make us feel more at home via digital
morphic features?

I wish all the participants success as they start on this endeavor.