IoT Art: Networked Art | Postscapes You pull out your phone and open a map. A blue dot appears, pinpointing your location. Here you are, the dot says. GPS, the global positioning system, is a bedrock technology of the Internet of Things, one of the earliest ways of representing real-time data about connected devices and objects. But in the parable of the dancing dot, the limitations of GPS are laid bare. Satellite Lamps, a project of design researchers Einar Sneve Martinussen, Jørn Knutsen, and Timo Arnall at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design in Norway (also the group behind the ImmaterialsWiFi and RFID exploration in 2009), illuminates the changeable nature of GPS signals. In time-lapse videos, some lamps shine bright while others flash fitfully between off and dim. As designers, the trio behind Satellite Lamps want to encourage new ways of thinking about a technology that remains largely invisible. “GPS is symbolically underdeveloped,” they write at the end of an essay that accompanies the project.
vrKid - Digital Media Bremen vrKid is a virtual reality headset designed especially for babies and toddlers up to 3 years old. The headset has the shape of a hippo and its helmet design secures safe use for children and will protect them when they move around in their physical surroundings while using the device. “It’s closely related to what we do in my company.” “If you buy this you’re the kind of parent who would rather sit and watch TV than spend time with your child.” “In 2-5 years this will be completely normal.” “You just can’t use vr for children that young. The helmet has a slide-in part for the smartphone in the front. The size of the helmet is adjustable with a turning wheel in the back, taking into account the growing head sizes of babies and toddlers. “But do you really think the children can tell the difference between what they see and the real world?” “I just love hippos. All quotes are reactions to vrKid from the push.conference 2016 in Munich.
On Speculative Design | Benjamin H. Bratton Benjamin Bratton on Speculative Design, an alternative to mainstream Design that complicates the speculative models that underscore our global economy. He suggests design solutions based on longer and shorter timescales than regular product lifecycles, and geared toward “users” who may or may not be human. This text is based on a transcription of Bratton’s remarks at the launch of the Speculative Design undergraduate major at the University of California, San Diego, February 10, 2016. åyr, Portrait #4, 2016 –> orb 11b Speculative Design (SD) understands itself as progressive alternative perspective to mainstream Design culture (and as an alternative to other alternatives as well).1 It knows that “Design” is not some magic way of thinking (involving stick-up notes, sharpies and colored beanbags) that just makes things better by “building trust,” “understanding the customer” or “getting a seat at the table” or similar. Futurism, Scale Matter, Materialism åyr, Portrait #5, 2016 –> orb 13b 1.
Prototyping: Learn Eight Common Methods and Best Practices There can never be an exhaustive list of prototyping methods, since there is quite literally an endless number of ways you can build prototypes. What we can do, however, is provide a useful list of the eight most common prototyping methods, together with best practice tips that help you maximise your prototyping and testing sessions. By arming yourself with these eight common methods, you can begin your iterative process of building prototypes in order to empathise with your users, to decide on and refine your ideas and to test your solutions. Before we begin looking at the common prototyping methods, let us first briefly examine the prototyping and testing process. You will need to pay attention to these four key components of prototyping and testing, no matter what method you choose to utilise: When you are building your prototypes, as well as when you’re testing them, keep in mind these key components. Sketches and Diagrams Author/Copyright holder: Tom Maiorana. Paper Interfaces
Simulation/ Modeling | Think Design Modeling is defined as creating physical, mathematical, or logical representations of a process, product or service where the implementation of the representations is termed as Simulation. Modeling and Simulation allow designers to test design considerations or specifications with the potential users before the formal process, product or service is launched. The terms modeling and simulation are extensively used in the technological context; however, models in the physical or real world are called prototypes and role-play, informance or role-reversals are different forms of non-virtual simulations. A small part or whole virtual product solution or service offering can be modeled to test the design specifications. In the early stages of design, the researcher spends a lot of time in research to figure the potential solutions to a problem that the target customer segments are facing. Advantages of Simulation/Modeling 01 Number of users 02 Validation of research findings 03 Applications
Hapticat Prototype | Steve Yohanan We finally limited the actuation to a small set that we could quickly implement and would work well in concert with one another. Our goal was that, as for a cat, several of these actuations employed together at varied settings would provide an expressive means of affect display. The prototype itself was composed of five major features: a body, two ear-like appendages, a breathing mechanism, a purring mechanism, and a warming element — Figure 2 displays details of the prototype internals. Prototype Actuation The prototype was controlled through Wizard of Oz techniques. Body The form factor of the body was intended to be organic yet relatively non-zoomorphic. While the focus of our research was on touch, we also did not want the general appearance of the Hapticat to detract from the interaction. The design goal for the inner filling was to provide a balance between comfortable feel as well as proper mass for the body. Ears
A New Relationship to Money - Chris Woebken A New Relationship to Money, 2007 Physical money is disappearing and we are moving towards a cashless society where hard cash only exists to avoid taxes or to buy illegal services and goods. A suitcase of money even had a magic cinematic effect making people do or believe in almost anything. In third world countries ATM cash-machines are rarely available and people usually do not have bank-accounts. As an experiment I melted the Oystercard in Acetone and stripped it down to the essence., the bare coil wire with the RFID chip. Inspired by those observation I designed devices for different spending behaviors, imagining new parasitical services sitting on top of bank accounts that create feedback mechanisms and a new relationship to our bank-account as an extension of ourselves.
Delft Institute of Positive Design | The meaningfulness of saving money It is often said that money does not seem to be a direct source of happiness. However, it has been shown as a resource that enables people to engage in meaningful activities, making a salient contribution to happiness. Different authors state that 40% of happiness relies on activities, while only 10% is about circumstances (location, weather or amount of money). Saving is the activity of accumulating and storing money over time with an intention to spend it in the future. The Meaningfulness of Saving Money was a two-part project conducted within the Delft Institute of Positive Design, supervised by Prof.dr.ir Pieter Desmet and Mafalda Casais, MSc. The project started exploring how design could contribute to making saving money more meaningful. Feeding your piggy bank with intentions Supported by several studies about the relation between money and happiness, the aim of the research internship was to define to which extend design can contribute to the meaningful of saving money.