Amigo Box
'Making Things Talk' - Interaction design project using Arduino to build a handy household product
Brief
For this project we were instructed to learn some Arduino basics and complete a few beginner exercises to familiarise ourselves with the hardware/software. We also had to research smart home devices and gather inspiration, bring to light five different interactions between people and their everyday home and then bring them to a vote where the rest of the class would choose an intervention for us to focus on and to conceptualise our own device around. Finally we had to craft it using simple coding techniques and a physical structure.
Research
Firstly we did some secondary online research around the pros and cons of smart home devices and how people traditionally interact with them and in what space. Then we conducted interviews with homeowners to discover what smart home devices they currently use and which interventions around the home (eg. filling the kettle, choosing what to cook or wear, checking the food in the oven etc.) do they wish could be made easier using technology.
Concepts
When put to a vote of numerous ideas the majority of people wanted us to focus on the activity of choosing an outfit. We then invented three concepts: One - an alarm clock with a speaker to wake you up and tell you todays weather forecast, and four outfit idea options to recommend to you based on the weather, Two - a smart watch that reads your emotions and determines what you should wear based on your detected mood, Three - a screen based device that would be placed inside your wardrobe, scan your clothes and be synced with your calendar so it could advise you what to wear to upcoming events.
Development
We then went on to develop and refine concept one - a physical device to sit on your bedside table and connect to your phone in order to retrieve weather data and give you outfit suggestions based on the current forecast.
Outcome
We decided to make a physical weather detection system with capsule outfit suggestions. The box has 4 sides with 4 typical weather conditions - wind, sun, rain and clouds, In the ideal use scenario the box would be wirelessly connected to your phone and the arrow on the box would spin to the side with the most accurate weather condition (eg. rain) and therefore give you a basic outfit suggestion.
Final Thoughts
This project required me to learn how to use Arduino and coding. It was quite challenging but in turn I definitely learned a lot. Overall given the fact I only had 2 weeks to complete this project and most of my time went towards perfecting the code for the moveable elements, I'm quite happy with how this designed interface turned out and I'm sure it will help the user choose their daily outfit quickly and easily despite the ever-changing weather. I believe this subtle, simple yet useful product with more developed graphics would blend nicely alongside a users other belongings while using minimal technology to be less invasive and more purposeful & joyful. View video here!