Weeks 1 & 2: Situations Worth Sensing

Jon Lai & Katie Suskin

In considering situations worth sensing, we were especially inspired by http://www.thefuntheory.com/. We were excited by the prospect of solution to a problem while incorporating an element of fun. After discussing everything from paying taxes to learning music to encouraging sustainability, we landed on four main ideas, two of which we presented in class on Wednesday (4/06).

HANDS FREE MUSIC*

Electronic instruments have gotten more and more complex over time as well as increased in number. What if you could control all your different sound effects such as guitar pedals by gesture or location rather than having to push a button?

Floor mats

Similar to a push button pedal, having larger spaces a musician could move around in would create flexibility and not tie the musician down to a single point

Directional motion sensors

An invisible way to detect the position of the musician on the stage. A musician would simply have to be in front of the sensor to activate the effect.

Looping pedal location lensor

Allowing one person to have multiple stage presences. In a series of ‘zones’ a musician could record an instrument and then move to the next ‘zone’ and record something different. In doing so, the musician could create loops and play as a one man band while using a full stage.

HEALTHY HABITS*

Most people want to be healthy, but lack motivation or encouragement. How could sensors make having a healthy lifestyle more fun or easier? Some healthy habits we considered were drinking more water, exercising, and discouraging over-eating.

Watch/Shoes

Could potentially monitor heart rate/steps/time duration of exercise, and report back to another object to provide feedback about suggested food/water intake

Water bottle

People don’t drink enough water, exercising more also requires more water intake, could monitor water level in bottle vs exercise duration

Fridge

People often leave messages and reminders on fridges, fridge could communicate with other sensors to give feedback based on whether or not user has exercised, discourage over-eating

'KITCHEN AID'

A kitchen is a very chaotic place at times. There is always a wide array of activities that can be taking place at any one moment. When a meal is being made, many appliances can be active and potentially forgotten. For most people, this may be a common accident, but it can be especially dangerous for the elderly.

Stovetop

A familiar interface location. A stove could sense weight applied to its elements and turn off when a pot or pan is removed or left on too long

Range Hood

A ventilation hood that could sense smoke and turn on or adjust to adapt to changing states in the kitchen

Fridge Door

A centralized location that normally displays important information. Color coding here could describe anything from stove elements left on, to the contents of food within the fridge at a glance.

BICYCLE WAYFINDING

It’s very easy to get lost on bike rides, and there isn’t a simple, non-intrusive way to direct cyclists on routes. Existing signage is often limited and overly generalized, carrying printed directions is a hassle and dangerous, and even having to read GPS units on handlebars can be a pain.

Bicycle Parts: handlebars, seat, light

Parts of the bike that riders can touch and/or see at all times could be useful directional tools

Phone (GPS)

Though we don’t want cyclists to have to read screens, the GPS on phones is a valuable tool that we hope to somehow translate to somewhere more visible/detectable

Helmet, glasses, gloves

Many cyclists tend to have these items on a regular basis. Because they are near the face, we envision that helmets or sunglasses could create some sort of visual wayfinding. Gloves may provide opportunities to use some sort of touch sensor, though we would have to experiment to see what could be felt on the hands while riding.

*situations we presented in class and plan to explore more

week 2 : what makes interacting so awesome?

Over the past two weeks Olga and I have been searching for what it is that makes for interesting interactions, both between humans and objects, as well as between humans and humans, mitigated by objects.

We've come up with a short list:

1. Interactions that solve a problem.
2. Interactions that reward desired behaviors.
3. Interactions that raise awareness.
4. Interactions that are simply delightful.

*bonus points for achieving any of these goals with humor or irony.

Our next task was to make lists of problems, fears, desirable states, delightful things etc.

Here are a few examples:

1. Overpopulation
2. Over-consumption
3. Not recycling recyclables
4. Cars
5. Working too much
6. Not enough time with our families / friends
7. Procrastination
8. Fear of flying, public speaking, heights, dark, intimacy, death...
9. Making the visible visible
10. Building community (not enough time with other IxD students :-)

This brainstorm brought us to yet another list of more specific problem spaces / situations, a few of which we presented in class.

Making music:

Currently, we dance to music. What if you could make music by dancing? What if you could make music by dancing with another person... with many people?

Viral music:

What if you could share a song that you are listening to with another person by touching them? They say that smiles are contagious. What if music was? What if you could send your song to a fellow driver in a traffic jam? What if everyone in a traffic jam could listen to the same song?

Making art:

What if you could make art by simply being somewhere... by working together in the same place. What if you were a color and you could track your

Virtual water food print:

What if you projected onto the side of a building how much water that building has used over the course of a month. Would it fill up the whole thing? What if we could set up a competition between music and art?

...and then we took apart stuff, and it was awesome.

Week 1- Situations to Explore

Neil R & Inness

We are interested in two situations that cover divergent aspects of living, to allow ourselves a rich array of problems to explore. Between sleeping and being at a bar we cover both a very private, sensitive action, and an extremely social space that confronts us with how we represent ourselves publicly.


Sleeping
Sleeping is an extremely vulnerable state, and one which we have little control over. A poor night's sleep can ruin a day, and many factors impact how much rest we get (both during sleep and wakefulness). The most important objects/factors we found for the act of sleeping were the mattress, bedding, light, temperature and sound.

The Mattress

-This is the location where we do the most sleeping

-Provides a comfortable space where a sleeper feels secure

-Our comfort and sleep consistency are affected by the firmness of the mattress and its quality

-Affects posture and spine health

-Sleep experience is affected by the relationship between the width of a mattress and the number of sleepers
inhabiting it


Bedding

-Creates a comfortable space for sleeping

-Is highly modifiable and customizable

-Changes according to seasons

-Creates feeling of security in being covered

-Protects neck

-Affects temperature

-Constrains movement


Light

-The time that most of us spend sleeping is defined by lack of daylight

-We get the best sleep with no light on

-Some sleepers fear the dark

-Daylight is a gentle alarm with psychological effects on the human brain.


Temperature

-Can affect speed of falling asleep or prevent sleep altogether

-Can awaken a sleeper

-Affected seasonally, by location and by number of bed occupants


Sound

-Can prevent sleep

-Can wake a sleeper up intentionally or accidentally

-Sometimes is incorporated into dreams

-During sleep we sometimes speak

-Some sounds can sooth people into sleep



The Bar
Attending a public social space creates a need to represent one's self. Even the choice to spend an evening in a bar rather than socializing more privately says something significant. Whether or not someone actually interacts with strangers, being in a place where many people gather changes behavior. Significant objects/aspects we identified in a bar were seating, drink vessels, entertainment and time of day.


Seating

-Seating can be positioned around private or social desires

-The way seats are used is good anthropological evidence of what behavior is occurring

-Creates a place to be comfortable


TV / Games / Entertainment

-Use stimuli to create feeling of excitement / unique bar experience

-Activity or entertainment might be catered to subgroup / subculture

-Can help create atmosphere

-Safety net that creates bridge for social reactions


Time Change

-Societal perception of bars change with the time of day they are visited

-Social norms of behavior at bars changes with time

-Available services and operation change with time, also promotions are based on time

-Bars provide services at unique times

-There is a narrative arch of experiences with every bar for each day


Drinking Objects

-Cups and pitchers are objects most people interact with at bars

-Essential item that gives comfort or signals what you are doing at a bar

-Indicates personality by shape or contents

-Could be the centerpiece or shared objects in an interaction between a group

-Indicative of behavior at a bar, multiple cups = multiple drinks, cups are stackable


We believe that these situations will provide a rich scope for arduino intervention and look forward to finding these opportunities.

Week1: Sensing Interactions

Amber and Meleigha

Initially we brainstormed starting with the object and how it could solve a situation.
First we started with rooms:
-Bathroom: hair in the shower, auto fan, noise cancellation, toilet flush according to substance
-Bedroom: waking up (hard pillow, cold bed)
-Kitchen: Auto sharpening knife, changing surfaces based on foods

We realized this was not the assignment and started over thinking first about a situation and then objects that would potentially enhance or address the situation.
The general situations we are addressing (without giving away our presentation for tomorrow) are:
-Being caught in the rain
-Living with the opposite gender
-Waiting in the check out line
-Being in a crowd
-Being awkwardly alone

From here we hope to narrow down our objects and start discovering what is realistic to achieve.