Further Individual Thoughts

These photographs are quite exciting in terms of smaller elements being brought together to form a larger whole entity.  

I think it would be great if we could do something like this, create a way in which the individual devices could be joined together in a seamless and beautiful manner. 

Taking inspiration from the images above can really work with our concept and stick with everything we have discussed and agreed on over the weeks. 

The concept of "swarm" is definitely there. Through the grouping and separation of various devices. This can concept can also be built further by the forming of smaller families and sub-groups. Through a kind of layering system using colours and levels this can be achieved.  

With these different layer and families, a progression is created. Users buy and collect more devices through time to build and up and expand their central unit. 

This can also form part of a game. Which would be good to link back to our earlier concepts and thoughts. 

Once a device has been triggered through the occurrence of a "coincidence" the device is then disabled. Over time, as more and more devices are activated through the coincidence and then disabled, they are able to be put together to form the central product. This game enable the two users to play as a team, in order to build up their products. It wouldn't be like a game that the two people set out to play everyday. But more something at the back of their minds. They live life normally as they would do anyway, but when a coincidence occurs it is a nice surprise and gives the users a moment of shared joy, enabling them to build up their sculpture "together". The progression of gradually building up the form would be an exciting journey for the two people to share. As more and more devices and used, the more specific the coincidence becomes, making the occurrence much harder and less chance of actually happening. This would make the system very long lived. 

While the initial excitements of sitting on the couch and opening the fridge at the same time would provide a thrill early on after the products introduction to the home, much later down the track as teh coincidences' have become almost impossible to trigger, out of the blue when the games is nearly forgotten, a device will finally be triggered. This will be a pleasant shock to both the suers and remind them of each other in a playful way. 

Having this form that the individual devices form would solve one of the problems we had as a team, which was that we had nothing to really design. 

Each component would be a particular shape and colour and somehow the pieces would be able to connect to join and become part of the overall product. As planned, inside the components would be LED's, vibrators, speakers, heating elements etc. 

When connected the pieces would interact with each other in some way. I will have to think about that some more though. 

Individual Thinking

I have been doing some thinking from the feedback the group was given. Especially the idea of swarm and how we can connect different devices and how they could interact. 

Tessellating shapes
Connecting different forms in a layered and geometric way
Building a sort of art work or ornament
Three dimensional forms with numerous faces for different connections and relationships

Future Path

I have found a few products that are very much based on interactive design. They are extremely relevant to this project, there are even some similarities between other groups concepts. 



"The Kiss Communicator by IDEO allows users to “kiss” a distant loved one from anywhere in the world. With a simple puff of air and a light squeeze, the Kiss reaches across the miles to send a quiet message of contact and affection. While both parties hold their Kiss devices, one user can send this affectionate message while the other’s device signals the user with a gentle sequence of lights. Although still in prototype phase as of 2008, the Kiss Communicator could replace the cumbersome activity of texting a small message of affection with a simple “peck” in the palm of the hand"

"Also in prototype phase, the Whereabouts Clock by Microsoft seeks to help families stay in touch while away from home. Using cell phone data, this piece sends an SMS message from the member’s cell phone to the clock at home. Zones such as school, work, mall or home, can be registered into the Whereabouts Clock at the time its programming is downloaded and are applied to the clock’s face in segmented areas. As each user’s cell phone is activated, the clock and cell phones synch in real time to register the locations of each user. As each family member moves, so does their personal avatar or photo on the clock. With its text messaging screen, the Whereabouts Clock affords busy families with the choice of a more detailed communication experience."


(http://futurepath.org/future-of-human-interaction/)


Although this one has not as much relevance due to it's whole design being based on a GUI. But even so It is a good indication of future interactions. The screen being able to take money off of a credit card and photos out of a camera simply by placing the objects on top of it is pretty amazing.  

Week 10 Feedback

Leonardo suggested that we think of our concept as a SWARM.

A group of small separate robot or "animals" that form a large family together. This is a very interesting way to look at it. 

Definition of Swarm:

1. A number of similar geologic phenomena or features occurring closely within a given period or place 

2. a large number of animate or inanimate things massed together and usually in motion

I found Leonardo drawing his thoughts for us was a very effective way for him to express his ideas to us. It makes it much more easily understandable and much easier to remember.

We need to consider how all of these individual elements interact with each other. They should not be very separate things but create a community amongst them with connections and different relationships.

Other things to think about:

- How the users can interact with the devices

- Designing them in a way which does not require them to be subtle, discreet or hidden but rather a part of the home 

Doing numerous attachments of LED's, vibrators and fans etc does not require a great deal of aesthetic design. So as a group we must think about perhaps creating a central unit or some other complimentary product in which we could actually design to be able to do a 3d model of with technical drawings etc. 

The main driver of our concept is COINCIDENCE and we must continue to make this the main focus of the design. 

Week 10

It was good to come back together as a team after the holidays. None of us had really had a lightbulb moment by ourselves after the feedback from the other week. But straight into the discussion we we began to find ways to resolve and improve our concept. Our team works really well together and every member contributed great ideas.

At the top of this page is written what our team has deemed the most important points of our interpretation of "news" for this project.  We will aim to address all three of these points through our design. 

Going with the idea of numerous sensors being strategically placed within two corresponding homes we began to build a strong concept. 

Individual sensors and their outputs would indicate a friends actions and movements within their own home. But only when the other person is engaged in the same activity. Eg. opening the fridge door our sitting on the couch. This gives the two people a sense of companionship and provides a pleasant surprise when they realise that they are doing the same thing as their friend living elsewhere.

These are some of the specific relationships with outputs present in the home. 

BED - WARMTH

SHOWER - LEDS

FRIDGE - LEDS

WARDROBE - FAN

COUCH - VIBRATOR

FRONT DOOR - BELL

We even started thinking about beginning to make the model today. We were quite excited about this as the potential to make a very expressive and provoking demonstration was definitely there. 

We decided to build two three dimensional floor plans in which we could place the relevant furniture. Using audrino we could connect the two homes to show how the two simultaneous actions trigger particular outputs. 

Brainstorming

Below are some brainstorming pages that I have done. These pages were completed using my own thoughts and assumptions but also from the insights and experiences of other people who have been in house sharing situation. The pages address two very important points to our overarching concept.  
1. What it means to be a good housemate
2. What kind of memories or rituals do house mates have/share that are worth remembering or keeping


The main points that were recognised through doing these mind maps are having rituals related to food, tv and just general routine. 

After this brainstorming i did some very basic initial concept ideas picking out particular rituals that appeared from the mind maps to work with. The drawings below show concepts for the rituals of; routine, scary movie marathons, watching sport and preparing meals together. 











The first concept is similar to the "marauders map" from Harry potter. It would be an electronic device displaying the floor plan of a friends house. The map would indicate the friends location to teach other. This would bring back the feeling of a shared routine and trigger memories of the other person such things like a particular character trait of standing in front of the fridge for a long period of time before deciding what to eat or the memory of the congestion in the bathroom every morning as both people competed to use the shower at a particular time everyday. This concept  is all about triggering particular memories about a person and retaining a kind of routine together but i a more symbolic virtual way. 

The second and fourth concept are very similar. It is applied to the rituals of watching scary movie marathons and the shared experience of watching sport together on tv. The device is a wrist band that both friends wear whilst watching the same programme at the same time  but in different locations. The band are able to recognise heartbeats/pulse and emotion. This information is than transferred to the other person's band where the emotions are indicated.
for example;
The person's band will begin to mimic the pulse of the friend during a tense or suspenseful part of a game or horror movie. Lights will flicker or be steady depending on the other persons movement. There may be lots of movement to celebrate some points in the game or movement simply because the friend is eating chips, no light can also signify suspense or concentration. The steady glow of the band can change colour to represent the friends mood. 


Finally the third concept is based around the ritual of cooking together. It is a specially designed cook ware set including things like wooden spoons, tongs, pots, knives etc. The two sets are connected to enable a shared cooking experience for two friends in different locations. The sets are designed to be used simultaneously to prepare the same meals. The outputs are to signify different stages of the recipe, when a friend has moved on to the next step and is presently doing a particular task. 

The Future of Interaction Design

I found this interesting website; 
http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesign/




It is written by a man who was once involved in the design and testing of interfaces for the future. 

He used these 2 diagrams and states that good tools converts what we can do into what we want to do. 

The writer says that human needs and technology are two very throughly explored concepts. But what is lacking attention is human capabilities. The design visions of the future with glass interfaces thin as paper and applied to everything rely primarily and often singularly on tapping and swiping of fingers. 

Hands are capable of doing two main things;
1. Feel 
2. Manipulate

The pictures he used (below) are very effective ways in showing how natural human movement have been transferred to a glass interface. However, the purpose of these pictures for the writer, was to suggest that the sliding finger often used on touch screen devices, is a very unnatural thing for a human to do, and is rarely used in any real situation (these 2 images show the only situations he could think of). But I think the images he chose were quite compelling in convincing of it actually being a "natural movement". It appears to be an instinctive kind of action. Even though the particular movement is not necessarily encouraged or supposed to be done, it seems to be something that people can't help themselves from doing. In both situations, it is a natural and intuitive thing to do. 

The author does have a very interesting side of an argument, where he encourages readers to challenge the future of touch glass interfaces. As the future of this ignores human capabilities and the two things that hands are made to do. There are other possibilities into the future that involve more interactive and communicative forms and technology. 

he finishes his "rant" with; 

"The next time you make breakfast, pay attention to the exquisitely intricate choreography of opening cupboards and pouring the milk — notice how your limbs move in space, how effortlessly you use your weight and balance. The only reason your mind doesn't explode every morning from the sheer awesomeness of your balletic achievement is that everyone else in the world can do this as well.

With an entire body at your command, do you seriously think the Future Of Interaction should be a single finger?"