Tobie Kerridge and Andy Law / RCA Interaction Design
media mediators: exploring the movement of digital objects in the home
This research project explores a new language of movement for electronic products in the home. It looks at how the movement of these objects can be customised by individual users to create interaction that is personal and relevant. Electronic objects are increasingly used in our daily routines at home. Together, these linked appliances comprise a digital ecology, interdependent and constantly communicating, sending and receiving data between themselves and a range of services and products that lie beyond the home.
The project began with a study of motion, producing films that surveyed the cultural and emotional experiences of movement in objects. The next stage explored movement as the product of mechanical capabilities and computational tools. The core aim was to explore the relationship that can emerge between a user and an object capable of movement. To achieve this, the research targeted technically creative individuals with a passion for a particular domestic hobby such as robot building, music or animation. Each person had a close input in developing the prototypes and then adopted the objects to create their own desired choreography of movement.
The four design concepts were prototyped, all designed to react to data chosen by users. Roll sits on the floor and spins like a top. Cake sits on a table and has spines arranged like candles that raise and lower. The five openings of Paper feed decorative strips in and out of the object. Drop suspends a disc from the ceiling that travels to the floor and back. The users were encouraged to choreograph the objects to reflect their individual choice of data.
more about the first year of the project
