In the final exhibition, the motor in this thing got so hot it started melting the acrylic and in the end we had to shut it off. But yesterday we got it working again so we could put together this video. It’s a noisy prototype, but you would be surprised how much power was required to lift that package of potatoes.
I have also updated the blog post about this project with new photos…
I was not in this workshop but it is a nice video by James and Josh from the Interaction Lab at Rockwell Group. They came to CIID from New York and conducted a one week workshop on Crafting Interactive Spaces.
More info on their website or the Interaction Design Pilot Year gallery website…
2D foam-core prototype for testing joints and mechanics.
Keep reading to see more videos documenting or various prototypes…
Final concept presentation (photo by Tobias Toft)
On Friday each group presented their concepts and current prototypes to the class. We discussed the evolution of our scale and demonstrated the current prototype. The initial reaction was a lot of confusion. People saw our object as a balance for comparing two objects and not a scale used for measuring. People were also confused by the metaphor of weight and how this can be used to measure a product’s environmental impact. How can we clarify the metaphor of a scale? How can we better present the “weight” of a product in terms of environmental impact?
Studio party in honor of Ashwin's birthday
After the last group presented, we quickly got on with our Friday night.
Rissoto, Girl Scout cookies and a final meeting before Monday
Eilidh, Sid and I got together over the weekend to discuss the feedback from our presentation. We brainstormed ways we could move away from the scale metaphor, but with the course half way over, we decided it would be best to carry on.
Sid's 2D prototype demonstrating the mechanics of our scale
On Monday we moved away from the traditional balance and decided to use the form of a mechanical scale. Sid created this 2D prototype out of foam-core to demonstrate the mechanics of the arm.
Stealing parts from a digital scale
With two weeks left, it is time to begin the electronics. It is often cheaper to buy a consumer product and take it apart than it is buying a single component from an electronics distributor. In this case be bought a digital scale from Ikea so that we could use the load cell sensor.
Sid and Eilidh's 3D prototype demonstrating the mechanics
Finally we made a 3D model of the scale to better understand the mechanics, size, where to hide the electronics, motor, etc…
We just finished our second “foundations” workshop and the subject was video prototyping. From the course syllabus:
Representing complex relationships, new behaviours and attitudes are an integral part of interaction design. These can be represented through many mediums including sketching, making physical prototypes, etc., but capturing the journey over time requires a linear medium like video.
Prototypes help validate the value of new ideas and test initial assumptions. Prototypes can also help to convince other and yourself. Early and rapid prototypes require low resource and time investment. It provides faster feedback and a participatory approach to developing your ideas. It also provides early validation of ideas in the development life-cycle and creates a platform for constructive discussions.
I have been subscribing to the Future Perfect blog for quite some time now and I am beginning to enjoy it more and more. Future Perfect is about “the collision of people, society and technology” and is written by Jan Chipchase, a principal researcher for Nokia Design. His job essentially involves traveling all over the (mainly developing) world and observing how people use their mobile phones then supplying this data to designers at Nokia who use it to create new products and services. His most interesting research focuses around Sente (a home-brewed method for transferring cash via mobile phone in Uganda), street hackers in Africa and Asia who, amongst other things, outfit phones to run multiple SIM cards (thus saving the user money by allowing them to call call contacts across different service providers) and the ways that illiterate people interface with their phones. However Future Perfect does not delve into these topics in any detail. It only hints at the work done with Nokia and makes subtle observations about everyday life, cultural nuances and the influence of technology for people across the world. In fact, maybe it is best summarized on his website here:
Pushing technologies on society without thinking through their consequences is at least naive, at worst dangerous, though typically it, and IMHO the people that do it are just boring. Future perfect is a pause for reflection in our planet’s seemingly headlong rush to churn out more, faster, smaller and cheaper.