Note: There is a discovery attached to this project. This is due on Thursday Feb 8th, 2017 before class.
As part of this assignment you’ll be asked to:
Explore the ambient, glanceable and peripheral interfaces by developing a conceptual design based on the principles
Develop your working knowledge of actuators (motors, light, sound) in feedback scenarios.
Work collaboratively to develop a conceptual design and translate that into a working prototype with the Particle platform;
Explore design for IoT through hands on exploration and by developing a prototype connected solution.
Ambient objects aim to make data glanceable. They connect us to complex information like weather and traffic in an extremely accessible format. They don’t intrude like our phones which buzz and whirr to demand attention, instead they subtly nudge us to act when we happen to glance in their direction. They are calm and they distill information from the broader world into the minimum we need to know in order to act.
For more read the background section on Ambient devices
At its core, ambient objects are about embodying data in the real world. They enable us to engage with digital information in a physical space. They allow us to perceive the conditions of the world beyond where we are at any moment. They are specific, purposeful, elegantly simple abstractions of data placed around us to give us value. They can nudge us to good or desirable behavior or reveal information we might want to attend to.
Take for example this scenario. Imagine we wanted to spend less money or loose some weight. An ambient device might be a good way to physicalize and embody that goal, as well as our progress towards it. To get the most benefit from the ambient device, we want to place it prominently within the home where we can encounter it. Perhaps on a mantlepiece, a console table or a coffee table. These shared spaces in the home are open to visitors and perhaps other residents of the home. What happens when I’ve splurged at the mall, overspent at the end of the month, or ate a little more than I should this week? I could be embarrassed to find my data revealed to all.
As such, you’re challenged to explore these ideas directly, and :
Design an ambient object that represents intimate or personal data in a (semi-)public space.
As part of this project, you should negotiate issues of abstraction, ambiguity and legibility to identify a strategy for data-embodiment. You will need to find a mechanism to convey intimate data (sensitive but a useful nudge or cue to change) in a way that is transparent to the data-owner but opaque for other viewers. You should also navigate issues of responsible design, privacy and embodiment as you identify a context, dataset and use case for this project.
The device itself should:
In their work, Consolvo, McDonald, & Landay reflect on designing persuasive technologies for behavior change. Drawing on their experiences of a peripheral display for mobile devices (an animated background that responses to user activity), the offer several strategies that are important to consider in this context. Four of them are offered as food for thought in this assingment:
S. Consolvo, D.W. McDonald, & J.A. Landay. “Theory-Driven Design Strategies for Technologies that Support Behavior Change in Everyday Life,” Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: CHI ‘09, (2009), pp. 405-14.
Your project is to create a device that supports ambient information awareness. In addition it must meet these requirements:
The device must connect to a remote (online) information source and make use of that data to create value for a user.
The device must represent that data in physical space using sound, light, movement or other formats.
A user should be able to clearly recognize changes in information or information which requires their action. In other words: you should design a clear mapping from the digital information to information presentation.
The final outcome should be close to a product, it should be integrated into some designed physical form (casing, object, etc.)
You should “live” with the object for a few hours and evaluate its usefulness and recommend iterations. Use this to document the transition in states (e.g. with a timelapse.)
Hint: IFTTT makes it easy to connect to lots of online content and is really useful for ambient explorations. There’s lots of tutorials, guides, code samples and ways to access / use this data.
You are not required to create a fully implemented product prototype, but should have a working demonstration.
Note Light is low hanging fruit. You’re strongly encouraged to push beyond this and show creative applications of haptic, vibrotactile, movement and sound in designing your ambient outcome.
Due: Thursday, 8th Feb 2017; directly before class.
The first phase of your project is planning. This is a quick assignment designed to help you gather some inspirational resources and assets you’ll need to complete it.
Precedent Discovery: Each person in the group should research and report on one ambient device. Try to explore exciting, new or compelling way to interact with data through objects or spaces. Create a Post in the #discoveries channel on slack that includes the label “#ambientdevice” for grading purposes e.g. AirReal by Disney Research #ambientdevice. For more details, see discoveries.
Constraints: No two students may submit the same work. Claim early.
Links and Resources
To start your search, look at the following aggregators, feeds, and forums:
Note: This is by no means an exhaustive list, there’s many more in the Resources section too. You should explore beyond these!
Conceptual Design: Provide a high level design overview that considers and describes: what context it operates in (is it a personal device, site specific, etc.); what it does and how it behaves; how someone would or could interact with it; and how these interactions unfold to lead to the desired outcome? Detail your design proposal with a series of illustrations.
Prototype: Deliver a functional mock up of the ambient device prototyped using Particle.
Storyboard: Create a storyboard showing the proposed interaction and workflow with the device.
Video: Create a short (1-2 minute) video illustrating how the device would be used. This should illustrate the intended scenarios, interactions, etc.
Outcomes should be reasonably well developed and documentation should be submitted to the Gallery on or before the deadline.
Projects should be added to the Gallery. You should provide a clear and concise description of your project, your process, and the outcomes. It should be quick to get an overview of the project. Ideally, your description of the outcomes should be repeatable too i.e. anyone in the class can replicate it easily from the information provided.
Your project documentation should:
Clearly explain and provide a succinct overview of the problem and how the proposed product solves that problem
Briefly describe the design process (iterations, refinements, challenges encountered)
Document the outcome itself (code, circuit diagrams, photos, design files, 3d models, video demonstrations, etc. as required) and provide a short narrative. A bill of materials (sensors, input devices, actuators, and other components) should be provided. This documentation should be sufficiently rich to allow anyone to repeat / recreate it.
It is perfectly fine to use examples, code, tutorials, and things you find on the web to help you realize your project. That’s part of the open-source mentality that surrounds much of Making, Arduino and microcontrollers. However, you cannot just copy and paste these solutions. In your documentation you must acknowledge where you got this content from. Include a link to any tutorials, guides, or code that are part of your final solution.