ABSTRACT
This chapter provides selected examples of contemporary cognitive artefacts, and analyses their properties in the light of the concept of informational environments introduced. These examples are introduced in illustrative manner rather than having the character of proper empirical studies. One participant observation and interviews with nine computer scientists, engineers and ergonomists are the modest empirical grounding for the discussion of some examples. Interviewees were based at the Institute for Cognitive Systems (ICS), the Intelligent Autonomous Systems Group (IAS), the Augmented Reality Research Group (FAR), the Chair of Ergonomics (LFE) and the Institute of Micro Technology and Medical Device Technology (MIMED), all at Technical University of Munich (TUM). The examples chosen should give an idea of recent approaches to systems that create or modify informational environments and that are capable of tracking variables in these environments, in some cases including the activities of their human users.
