Ikea Mutations

The Brief

Grace MacPherson and Arielle Dede
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Messaging Alert Device

Jake Cowen-Whitman and Tati Curran

This was our first model that we used out of cardboard and cling wrap . It worked better than the glass dome because we didn’t have a top to block the fan air from escaping allowing the leaves to float. When we tried it with the glass dome the leaves didn’t float because the air couldn’t escape. Luckily we figured out that the wind from the fan had to have some sort of opening on the sculpture so that air can leave, so we created a 3d modal on rhino so that the dome can slide in the ring. After we made it it worked just as well.

Our project started with an idea to make getting notifactions from your phone easier. My parnter and I had the idea to connect an iphone to bluetooth and link it with a light on a chair. We decided to pivet our idea to make it more interactive. We started with the idea of a vertex used to make water tornados, neitherless we got a fan and went to work. Our first model had a big flat base with just a fan, the problem with this design was the piece of paper we used to float would get stuck and clog up the fan. Also the base was to big and the glass case didnt have any venting so the air had no where to go. Our second model we improved by adding a vetting system ontop of the fan, like a grate, to stop any pieces of paper from falling down. My parnter and I also designed the entire model to be smaller. 

  • Our project is the Messgaing Alert Device 
  • The problem we are sloving is to help with being alerted to when you have a text or someone is calling you, without having to carry around your phone with you around the house.
  • Wiht the messaging alert device you are able to leave your phone on a charing pad, when you a get your phone will vibrate which will send a signal to our alert model. This model is an interactive way to alert you, it a small vortex that creates a small wind tornado with either, leaves, flower pedals or snow. 
  • The design of our project was based off a wind turbin and a large water vortex machine. My partner and I developed a smaller version of a wind turbine. 
  • We relized further into our design that we needed a fliter and a vent to help the leaves blow more freely. We were able to produce a 3D printed vet and filter to alow air to vent through and help create the tornado we needed.
  • The major complucation that we had was figuring out the venting 

Messaging Alert Device

Jake Cowen-Whitman and Tati Curran

This was our first model that we used out of cardboard and cling wrap . It worked better than the glass dome because we didn’t have a top to block the fan air from escaping allowing the leaves to float. When we tried it with the glass dome the leaves didn’t float because the air couldn’t escape. Luckily we figured out that the wind from the fan had to have some sort of opening on the sculpture so that air can leave, so we created a 3d modal on rhino so that the dome can slide in the ring. After we made it it worked just as well.

Our project started with an idea to make getting notifactions from your phone easier. My parnter and I had the idea to connect an iphone to bluetooth and link it with a light on a chair. We decided to pivet our idea to make it more interactive. We started with the idea of a vertex used to make water tornados, neitherless we got a fan and went to work. Our first model had a big flat base with just a fan, the problem with this design was the piece of paper we used to float would get stuck and clog up the fan. Also the base was to big and the glass case didnt have any venting so the air had no where to go. Our second model we improved by adding a vetting system ontop of the fan, like a grate, to stop any pieces of paper from falling down. My parnter and I also designed the entire model to be smaller. 

  • Our project is the Messgaing Alert Device 
  • The problem we are sloving is to help with being alerted to when you have a text or someone is calling you, without having to carry around your phone with you around the house.
  • Wiht the messaging alert device you are able to leave your phone on a charing pad, when you a get your phone will vibrate which will send a signal to our alert model. This model is an interactive way to alert you, it a small vortex that creates a small wind tornado with either, leaves, flower pedals or snow. 
  • The design of our project was based off a wind turbin and a large water vortex machine. My partner and I developed a smaller version of a wind turbine. 
  • We relized further into our design that we needed a fliter and a vent to help the leaves blow more freely. We were able to produce a 3D printed vet and filter to alow air to vent through and help create the tornado we needed.
  • The major complucation that we had was figuring out the venting 

The Brief

Micah Reid

The Biofeedback Posture Chair is, as the name implies, a chair that not only encourages good posture, but also gives live feedback through a "companion app" developed for the iPhone. It does this using pressure sensors located inside hard foam padding.

Our intention was to hack furniture from IKEA, adding new functionality, either smart or physical. After several different ideas in similar veins, we decided we wanted to pursue a biofeedback device and eventually landed upon the idea of a chair that would detect posture.

In our first brainstorm, we had plans to attach a lightbulb in the style of a reading chair, and only decided until much later in the project that we wouldn’t have time to add that functionality in during the studio. Our first prototypes were both scaled down cardboard models of our chair. We were just getting a feel for the layout of our chair and where different parts would be positioned.

We then dove into software. Our first software iteration was a simple processing/arduino code that checked the pressure of each sensor showed pressure individually through brightness of the color. We then averaged those out into a fourth color. We later used this mainly for debugging purposes. The next step was to create a user interface for the iPhone after a couple of designs we landed upon one with a simple apple health-inspired UI. We made a design in Sketch and then actually started the programming process in Swift using Xcode. By the end we had a fully functional iPhone app that graphed all user input. 

When we finally received the chair and assembled it, we could move on to creating our final product. We opted for a harder foam to preserve the sensors’ readings and added a very thin layer of squishy foam to give a better contact with the sensor, giving more sensitive feedback.

In the end we had a project that both was functional, and had real world applications. Hopefully in the future we can continue work and find a way to get this technology to the public.

Process

Micah Reid

The Biofeedback Posture Chair is, as the name implies, a chair that not only encourages good posture, but also gives live feedback through a "companion app" developed for the iPhone. It does this using pressure sensors located inside hard foam padding.

Our intention was to hack furniture from IKEA, adding new functionality, either smart or physical. After several different ideas in similar veins, we decided we wanted to pursue a biofeedback device and eventually landed upon the idea of a chair that would detect posture.

In our first brainstorm, we had plans to attach a lightbulb in the style of a reading chair, and only decided until much later in the project that we wouldn’t have time to add that functionality in during the studio. Our first prototypes were both scaled down cardboard models of our chair. We were just getting a feel for the layout of our chair and where different parts would be positioned.

We then dove into software. Our first software iteration was a simple processing/arduino code that checked the pressure of each sensor showed pressure individually through brightness of the color. We then averaged those out into a fourth color. We later used this mainly for debugging purposes. The next step was to create a user interface for the iPhone after a couple of designs we landed upon one with a simple apple health-inspired UI. We made a design in Sketch and then actually started the programming process in Swift using Xcode. By the end we had a fully functional iPhone app that graphed all user input. 

When we finally received the chair and assembled it, we could move on to creating our final product. We opted for a harder foam to preserve the sensors’ readings and added a very thin layer of squishy foam to give a better contact with the sensor, giving more sensitive feedback.

In the end we had a project that both was functional, and had real world applications. Hopefully in the future we can continue work and find a way to get this technology to the public.

Process

Micah Reid

The Biofeedback Posture Chair is, as the name implies, a chair that not only encourages good posture, but also gives live feedback through a "companion app" developed for the iPhone. It does this using pressure sensors located inside hard foam padding.

Our intention was to hack furniture from IKEA, adding new functionality, either smart or physical. After several different ideas in similar veins, we decided we wanted to pursue a biofeedback device and eventually landed upon the idea of a chair that would detect posture.

In our first brainstorm, we had plans to attach a lightbulb in the style of a reading chair, and only decided until much later in the project that we wouldn’t have time to add that functionality in during the studio. Our first prototypes were both scaled down cardboard models of our chair. We were just getting a feel for the layout of our chair and where different parts would be positioned.

We then dove into software. Our first software iteration was a simple processing/arduino code that checked the pressure of each sensor showed pressure individually through brightness of the color. We then averaged those out into a fourth color. We later used this mainly for debugging purposes. The next step was to create a user interface for the iPhone after a couple of designs we landed upon one with a simple apple health-inspired UI. We made a design in Sketch and then actually started the programming process in Swift using Xcode. By the end we had a fully functional iPhone app that graphed all user input. 

When we finally received the chair and assembled it, we could move on to creating our final product. We opted for a harder foam to preserve the sensors’ readings and added a very thin layer of squishy foam to give a better contact with the sensor, giving more sensitive feedback.

In the end we had a project that both was functional, and had real world applications. Hopefully in the future we can continue work and find a way to get this technology to the public.