SYNOPSIS

For our assignment, Helen and I wanted to create a telematic experience that was inspired by the themes of Valentine’s Day. We revolved our concept around a plush heart that covered the Adafruit device and would emit light when it was picked up and play a two – toned sound when the device was tapped on. With these visual and auditory cues, we created an ambient experience that could link two people emotionally while separated by distance.

THE PLUSH HEART

I constructed a set of two plush hearts that covered the device and held it in place with two elastic strips on the back. To give the hearts a textural and comforting feel, I decided to stuff them with polyfill so when the user tapped on the heart it didn’t aggressively hit the device. Stuffing the hearts also helped in diffusing the light emitted from the device, and further added to the soft and romantic theme that related to our Valentine’s Day concept.

Front of the plush heart that covered the device
The back of the plush heart that secured the device in place when it was picked up

THE CODE

Helen’s concept behind the code was that if you tapped on the device, it would alarm your partner via sound and flash of light. Your heart changes colors depending on its xyz accelerations. When lifting the heart, it would trigger a flashing on your partner’s heart (but not on yours), letting them know you are thinking of them. If your LEDs start to blink as well, your partner is making their presence known. The code was constructed so when your partner tapped on the device, a two – toned sound would emit from both devices.

HEARTS IN ACTION

Demonstration of our telematic experience during our Zoom call
The heart lighting up and changing colors depending on the xyz accelerations
The heart emitting a two – toned sound when tapping on the device twice

CONCLUSION AND ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

While our design and execution is just breeching a beginner’s level, it would be interesting to see how these telematic projects could be expanded upon through more complex means of affective haptics. Within the past few years, studies behind affective haptics have been used to push the boundaries for creating a means of human connection and how it can influence or elicit an emotional reaction. In a way, our project tied in these fundamental points: when one of us heard our heart emit sound or a flash of light, it brought us immediate joy to know we were being connected to each other, without even having to hear or see the other person. As Garth and Olivia stated in class, it’s one thing to simply press a button or flip a switch and to see a sudden reaction, but to have something to interact and connect you to another person on a more intimate level through human touch and means was the ultimate goal for our project.