Open Innovation Fall 2022

Cubeworks

Cole Krivak and 2 OthersBeckett Munson
Amedeo Bettauer

Amedeo, Beckett, and Cole

Cubeworks

Cole:

Hexa-Play is a box-like, handheld toy that is able to be taken apart revealing different toys designed for different levels of learning. This project is meant for children coming into a Montessori school, and who might not be used to the more self-guided format of Montessori and need a little help adjusting.  

The Hexa-Play is designed for Montessori children ages 2-5. Their teachers benefit from this toy as it teaches a range of skills in one material. Hexa-play is made of 6 trapezoidal sides attached to a frame that allows for easy removal and play. Each side is meant to target a different stage in development or a different sense. For example, one of the sides is made up of simple, tactile "gadgets" that are meant to stimulate touch and sound. while another is a sliding tiles puzzle game for younger kids to mess around with or for older kids to actually solve.



Beckett:

Hexa-Play is a customizable, wooden cube with removable faces each containing toys, designed to help students new to the Montessori method become familiar with the Montessori curriculum. Over fifty thousand students have enrolled in Montessori schools from 2018 to 2022 in the U.S, according to the Montessori Census. Many of these students come from environments with high amounts of instruction, in contrast with the Montessori curriculum which focuses on personal choice and agency. This change can cause younger kids to feel stuck or lost. The Hexa-Play can help students feel more comfortable in their new environment.

Hexa-play has a number of gadgets designed to stimulate the senses of 2-5-year-olds. Hexa-Play is designed to grow and change with students as they progress along their Montessori plan. Hexa-play also provides a gateway for an educator to start a conversation with the child about the toy they choose to play with. This conversation builds trust and helps the child become comfortable with being reflective.



Amedeo:

Hexa-Play is a modular learning material designed to help Montessori children adapt to the Montessori style of learning.  When a child first enters a Montessori school, the teacher prepares a Montessori plan for them, with things the child needs to learn. Hexa-Play is meant to help children progress along this Montessori plan in a fun and familiar way.


This project is designed both for Montessori children ages 2-5, and for their teachers to help them progress along their Montessori plan. Hexa-Play comes with six removable faces, each containing a gadget that teaches certain skills. There are gear walls to teach fine motor skills, memory games to teach critical thinking, and alphabet charts to teach language. All of these faces have been heavily researched, demonstrating their ability to fit in with the Montessori method and help children learn.

Toxic Earth

Siena Jekel and Hunter Stillwell

Toxic Earth

By: Siena Jekel and Hunter Stillwell

Toxic Earth is a three-dimensional data visualization that displays the spread of air pollution and its causes. According to National Geographic, nearly 2.5 million people die worldwide each year from the effects of air pollution and Toxic Earth aims to spread awareness of the severity of air pollution. Most maps of air pollution are two-dimensional making them difficult to read and this project proves that data visualizations in three dimensions are more advantageous than those in two.

Toxic Earth was made for people unaware of how widespread air pollution is and how it has worsened over time. There are three sliders that a user can change, air pollution, wildfires, and CO2 emissions. Each of these sliders allows the user to go back in time and view historical data. The data was collected through credible organizations such as NASA and The World Air Quality Index. The data is filtered in Python and then the code generates a greyscale map representing the intensity of the pollution, fire, or emissions. In Unreal Engine, the map is used to displace the geometry of a sphere. This effect uses the displacement of points on the textured surface to create a depth and relief effect on the geometry. Essentially, the map generated dictates what certain points should be pulled on the Earth. The final visualization is similar to a bar graph but the pillars derive from the surface of the Earth. The pillars vary in height based on the input data. When the user moves the sliders the height of the pillars and their location will change. Toxic Earth is meant to inspire people to take extra steps to reduce air pollution while exercising a new way to visualize data.

DexiBlocks

Will Fosnot and Teo Sadowski

Dexi blocks are wooden shapes that connect together and make letters for dyslexic kids to help them read in a fun, engaging, and hands on way. Dyslexic Children suffer from struggling to learn how to read and if they do not start learning early, they will be poor readers all the way into high school. Studies show that dyslexic kids see everything in a 3D form in their head, even 2D letters. When they are reading, the letters they see are viewed in 3D. These blocks allow the children to create the 3D letter and hold it, rotate it, and break it apart revealing the shapes and curves of how the letter is formed.

Each block has 2 small magnets which allow them to click into place whenever a letter is assembled. That sensation amplifies the urge to keep connecting more letters together which keeps them engaged. The more they strive to learn, the more successful they will be with their reading career in the future going into high school. 

Modular Works

Trevor McDonald and Trevor McDonald

Modular Works

Bodhi & Trevor

“Modular Works” is a four-part bench installation with four modular seats including five varying heights. With these varying settings, “Modular Works” works for everyone, with the versatility of being a standing desk or a short bench. It uses the modular movement of the benches to encourage users to interact with each other as well as share information. This is made possible by allowing people to freely deface the benches which are covered in a whiteboard chalk spray so their designs can be viewed by all.

Luminal

Kunal Botla and Lalita Bellach

KUNAL BOTLA & LALITA BELLACH

FALL 2022 • OPEN INNOVATION

NUVU INNOVATION SCHOOL

LUMINAL

[ADD FULL BLEAD BACKGROUND IMAGE]

Lalita -

Luminal is an interactive and adaptive light installation that takes inspiration from joyous moments and childhood. Luminal can be used and perceived as almost a  “reset button” and bring more attention to underutilized spaces. It also focuses on bringing more attention to areas that are passed through constantly to encourage people to slow down and stay in the moment. 

Luminal is made up of a series/ collection of simple 3-dimensional shapes hung from the ceiling so that viewers are able to pass under the installation, giving an almost “wondrous” effect. The collection of velum tubes has strings of programmed LED lights that brighten with color after sensing people walking underneath. This creates compelling visuals and to transform the hallway, and makes the space feel more alive. The heavy-weight paper material also diffuses the light for a smoother and calmer experience.

This installation is specifically made for the NuVu school space, placed in a frequently passed-through hallway. However, if wanting to expand the project, the possibility of placing these in public locations and “tunnels” could add a nice visual calming experience when on your daily commute to work or traveling from place to place.

SkiHUD

Schuyler Johnson

SkiHUD

By Schuyler Johnson

Final Presentation

Using a phone and accessing information on the slopes is a major inconvenience that skiers need to confront whenever they ski. SkiHUD is a heads-up-display that allows skiers to see information that would normally require significant effort to access, such as speed or location. In this way, SkiHUD grants a higher level of awareness on the slopes, and allows for easier movement around the mountain. 


The display works by using a transparent OLED screen and a lens, placed in the user's right field of view. The screen displays information from a GPS chip, and the lens allows the user to focus on the screen as it is too close to the user's face to focus on without the lens.

NuVu Installations

Trevor McDonald and Lalita Bellach

NuVu Space Installations