myzeitguide.com

the cultural scene in the city will never be the same again… watch this space!!

Prototype Box Development

Managed to get hold of some semi transparent black perspex for the prototype boxes. I think this will create a nice looking unit but will not give the blurred effect that we desire. However with a bit of experimentation yesterday we realised that if we lined the box with tracing paper this will diffuse the light to give a noce blurry distorted effect. The big problem we have though is wrking out the optimal distance between the LED’s and the screen / top of the box to get the best effect, though this will more than likely be determined by availability of materials.

Enchanting Computing

I have just read an interesting paper called Intimate Objects by two students at Ithaca NY – Joel Kaye and Liz Goulding. The paper is describing their researching and prototyping process of their intimate communication device for LDR’s. It makes a couple of interesting points in that it strongly maes clear the objectives and limitations of the intended device right from the outset. It also validates the project by noting how it is supporting the evolution from “efficient” computing to “enchanting” computing.

Alao from a usability perspective it was interesting to see them use particpatory design and ask actual test couples how they would envision this device to look. I think this is important with this kind of device as it is designed to be so personal there needs to be some reflection of the actual users in it.

Next Phase of Development

Once we establish concept we need to plan a development process built around the usability tests
(Preliminary plan)
Stage 1
Two initial development streams (required):
Technical / digital – work out what sensors / microprocessors are required how should they be connected – coding (processing) & creating a wired prototype that links 3 buttons (possibly) to an led display (tint) and a heat conductor .that has a very basic function. Then at this stage we can test the mechanism on a sample audience, ask questions as what do you interpret this to mean, how about this colour? This temperature? Etc etc.

Physical – design how the actual physical product will look – investigate materials for the device, investigate prototyping techniques – possible places we can get it made – if possible at all?
Test a sample audiences feedback on perhaps a couple of designs and

After this initial development phase we will be able to assess how far we can take the prototyping. The ideal situation would be to take it to the point of actually having a prototype that works well enough for people in ldr to perhaps take home for a few days to test… though this in four weeks is unlikely. I think a more realistic goal would be to create a working prototype that can tested by a couple in a lab environment in a one off basis. Thought this is unfortunate as I think our product is all about emotion and situation and this cannot be realistically recreated in a lab. This however where we may be incorporate aspects of story telling or use added visuals or video to validate our idea.

Change of Direction

After just a few interviews and an attempt of trying to write a scenario for the project I came to a sudden conclusion that a clasping, touch style mechansim is wrong. I think it is too mechanical, too short-lived (as in the action is over with instantly) and not personal enough. I also think it misses the main point of a device like this which is to provide a passive form of communication that can be interpretated in many differernt ways by the users and can also provide a possibility for playfulness but above all is for “reassurance”.

We were thinking that perhaps devices that incorporate colours or temperature could be more emotive, i think timescale is a big factor too.

We went back to one of our original idea’s of having a device that displayed colours dependent on how hard or how long you squeezed a corresponding bracelet…

Another idea would be to have the bracelet change colour continuously dependent on the heat (electrical conductivity) of the correseponding bracelet, the idea to give a constant yet passive feeling of presence with your partner. Though this then does leave out any form synchronous communication but this could be added…

Lets do this…

Questions I need to think about during the course of the next 6 weeks:

What are my biggest faliures?

What are the three most important things ‘I’ve learnt.

I have 30 minutes to present my learnings so need to keep everything ordered!

Books I need to get:

– The Inmates are Running the Asylum

– The Design of Everyday Things

– Interaction Design: Beyond Human Computer Interaction