Alright…I’m feeling so blah about my ideas that I decided to switch them up. Actually I’m just going to abandon them for now. Instead, I’m taking one of Adam’s ideas as well as the Physical Gmail Notifier project and adapting it to something I can call my own.
Adam’s idea was to create a system of high fives that could be shared regardless of location. As an avid high fiver, Adam often felt limited in expressing victory when collaborating with a graphic artist located in Scotland. In an attempt to keep up the morale of the project, as well as set up a physical means of conveying a message of partnership despite the obvious geographical challenge, Adam began thinking up the high five machine. Several experiments with ballistics gel later, the physical aspects of the project were coming together. However, the mechanical and programming details were left underdeveloped.
Today, I started brainstorming about a new project. Normally, I try to think of non-physical concepts that I’d like to explore. What came to mind was the satisfaction gained from emails, messages, comments, page views, etc. Many people check their stuff often in hopes that they’ll have new feedback, but many skip that step altogether and just have their Facebook, Myspace, etc. automatically email them when they receive a friend request, new message, comment, or picture tag. Furthermore with the progression of mobile technology, we now link these types of things to our phones. Myspace and Facebook both have phone applications that cost money. Even I currently have all of my email accounts automatically forwarded to my phone.
The Physical Gmail Notifier project uses this technology of email forwarding to physically notify the user by utilizing an arduino, some python script, and a light fixture. With the high five project I plan to build (I think I’m going to name it “Hooray, you’re popular!”), I’m taking this idea a bit further. I want to play up the satisfaction felt upon receiving comments, emails, and other feedback.
I am going to obtain a rubber hand and rig it with pressure sensors. The hand will be covering a stiff spring that is connected to a sturdy base so that it may sit atop a desk. There will be a piezo buzzer inside of the hand, as well as a system of multi-colored LED’s. A bit of python script (obtained from the Physical Gmail Notifier project) that can be set to run upon booting your computer will be accessed, and a bit of code for the arduino to organize the functions for the lights, buzzers, and sensors will be uploaded to the board. Upon receiving an email, the hand will light up, the buzzer will sound, and in order to make it stop, you must high five the hand to activate the pressure sensor. The lights will change colors and blink violently upon the pressure sensor’s activation, and the piezo buzzer will play a specifically programmed victorious melody. Then the noise and lights will stop.
It will be completely ridiculous, just like everything else I make. I can’t wait. Now I just have to order a realistic hand over the internet without feeling too creepy about it…
