Words.

Introducing Jeeves & Otto, the oxybots.

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 18:28:00 -0400

Introducing Jeeves & Otto, the oxybots.

logo. done.

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 22:48:00 -0400

logo. done.

It is almost as if I could just figure out the logo, everything would be right in my life.

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:18:42 -0400

It is almost as if I could just figure out the logo, everything would be right in my life.

Crying in public is such a New York behavior. Never before have I witnessed people silently weeping...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 00:36:01 -0400

Crying in public is such a New York behavior. Never before have I witnessed people silently weeping walking down the streets, sitting on stoops, or waiting on the train. But where should we cry? Us, the broken-hearted, the stressed, the angered, the confused. Shuffled from home to work in such a public way, there is so little privacy. New Yorkers build little invisible walls between themselves and the world. We carry them out the door and into crowded streets and trains. These little empty walls allow us to be so open, but also maintain our public privacy.

Maybe I should consider covering Jeeves & Otto in...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:10:54 -0400

Maybe I should consider covering Jeeves & Otto in upholstery? (by the way their named Jeeves and Otto now)

(via 2 | TVs Shouldn’t Look Like The Death Star | Co.Design: business innovation design)

Sound Sketches This exercises explores the associations we have...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:34:00 -0400

Sound Sketches

This exercises explores the associations we have with various objects and their sound. By masking an object with a different sound pattern, we are forced to examine the nuances of the noise it should be making.

In collaboration with Alex Todaro, who came to me with the idea.

"Robot as cyborg extension. In the second paradigm, the robot is physically merged with the human to..."

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:25:21 -0400

“Robot as cyborg extension. In the second paradigm, the robot is physically merged with the human to the extent that the person accepts it as an integral part of his/her body. For example, the person would view the removal of his/her robotic leg as an amputation that leaves him/her only partially whole. Consider a robot that has an intimate physcial connection with ones’s body, such as an exoskeleton for a soldier or a prosthetic of an amputee. Emotions play a critical role in connecting the mind with the body and vice versa. Note that the performance of one’s physical body changes depending on whether one is relaxed or exhilarated. Although a robotic leg would not “have emotions” itself, it is important that it adapt its characteristics to match those of the rest of the body in accordance with the emotional state of the human to avoid imbalance. If the robotic extension were able to sense and recognize the person’s emotional state (perhaps via physiological changes in his/her body) it could adapt its operating characteristics appropriately. Under calmer times the robotic extension could go into energy conservation mode since power demands are lower. However, in high stress situations, the robot could change its operation parameters to significantly augment the person’s strength or speed.”

- Robot Emotion: A Functional Perspective

Cynthia Breazeal and Rodney Brooks

Video

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:11:10 -0400

"One day, all of these phones are going to start walking. They will realize that we are unnecessary..."

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:55:28 -0400

“One day, all of these phones are going to start walking. They will realize that we are unnecessary companion devices. And that will be the end of human kind.”

- Seth Piezas

This research was conducted a few weeks ago, but I realized I never summarized my insights. So,...

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:51:47 -0400

This research was conducted a few weeks ago, but I realized I never summarized my insights. So, here they are.

With my emphasis that the machine has presence, and hence, character, I created a few exercises to explore this. One of the first was recognizing three character types, “Calm”, “Helpful”, and “Overbearing”. I worked with a friend, Alex, to act out how these traits appear. It was helpful to observe some one else act the parts, because by watching his interpretation, I then questioned my own. Not unlike Oriza Hirata, and his quest to understand human behavior by observing how an android mimics.

I came to understand “Calm” as being an internalized characteristic. This steady state is felt from within, and harder to physically express. It is more the absence of energy, than an expressed action. “Helpful” is reactive. This trait is only observable when there is something to project on to, to be helpful towards. “Overbearing” is easily expressed in physical display through posturing. It is intrusive and demanding of your space or time.

From these character studies, I went on to create 50 blank forms. While creating them, I tried to think of how the forms might convey these personalities. After photographing them, I photoshopped some very simple & abstract elements to give them a more mechanical look. The testing was a bit of a “Rorsarch” style. The people I interviewed (except one) were unaware of my research purposes. Covering the posters, I first asked them to describe the traits of four different physical forms, then discuss the fifty blank forms, and finally revealing the fifty “robot” forms. I intentionally chose to use abstract shapes, as a posed to versions of the machine, so there wouldn’t be a bias in what the functions were.

Despite the small group tested, there were consistent themes and answers that came out of the interviews. With the 3D shapes, two were always left in the same position at the end, no matter how much they were turned around to begin with. These two forms had proportions similar to a head/body relationship, which was also commented on. Despite the open-ended questions, people described the forms’ features in terms of “face” and “body”. Participants alluded to personalities, both positive and negative. Angular ones were thought of “sadistic” and “looming”, while others were described as “clumsy” or “eager”. Without having saying “robot”, nearly everyone immediately described the photoshopped set as robotic. Another consistent statement was the interpretation of a few forms being dog-like, despite appearing very abstract. Those comments stuck with me, and went on to influence the physical form of the design.

A lot of study has been done around the human tendency to search for faces in the inanimate. I felt my own exercise around this was to justify a small hypothesis I had. That humans ascribe agency to objects, and part of this can be conveyed through form.

A few highlights from the testing. (by Sarah Adams)

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:31:03 -0400

A few highlights from the testing. (by Sarah Adams)

In which I test a small hypothesis by asking vague questions and...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 01:07:47 -0400

In which I test a small hypothesis by asking vague questions and getting people to interpret box forms & primitive robots.

I don’t think anyone will understand where this “Process” is taking me, but me....

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:28:10 -0400

I don’t think anyone will understand where this “Process” is taking me, but me. But it’s working, I swear.

Terrifying sound, that for some reason resonates with me. Boat...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:27:57 -0400

Terrifying sound, that for some reason resonates with me. Boat motor at the docks.

what are the characteristics of these robots?

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:45:01 -0400

what are the characteristics of these robots?

i think this is a very calm looking fellow.

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 23:17:06 -0500

i think this is a very calm looking fellow.

Sketching medical equipment tonight: Ha! I’m pretty good at this! I could have been an...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:00:06 -0500

Sketching medical equipment tonight:

Ha! I’m pretty good at this! I could have been an industrial designer with these sketching skills. Oh wait….

OMG YES (via Speck Design)

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:55:14 -0500

OMG YES

(via Speck Design)

This came out of a discussion with Daniel Goddmyer, when...

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 17:43:10 -0500

This came out of a discussion with Daniel Goddmyer, when prompted to think of the system I was examining, at a more social level.

Friend calls this creepy, I’m in love however. (via Smart...

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 18:37:28 -0500

Friend calls this creepy, I’m in love however.

(via Smart fur : Anna Flagg)