Kitchen Budapest

2007 Nyár / Summer — the lab’s first catalogue, powered by Magyar Telekom

Pimp My Gadget!

■ Participating researcher / Résztvevő kutató ■ Adam Somlai-Fischer

Pimp My Gadget! 26/07/07 – 09/08/07
summer course on toy hacking and interaction design

Course Description

Aims and Objectives
the description of the intended learning outcomes of course, in terms of its aims and objectives
The main goal of the course is to learn how to make your surrounding interact with you in new, interesting and meaningful ways.

Description of Course and Topic

list of main topics
In the beginning students are going to have some lectures about interaction design in general, then students will see some examples how one can hack electronic toys, devices and gadgets, to convert these into new interactive objects. Then students will build their own ones. In the second half of the Summer Course, these new interactive gadgets will be installed as field-work at several places on the streets of Budapest, in pubs, etc.

Schedule

rough schedule with topic of lectures
Day 4-5-6: introduction, learning skills, generating ideas
Day 8-9: developing own ideas and plannig project
Day 11-12: buildings projects and presenting to public

Bibliography

any books or learning materials used during the course; list excerpts from books should also be included
http://lowtech.propositions.org.uk/
http://www.arduino.cc/en/Booklet/HomePage
http://we-make-money-not-art.com/
http://coin-operated.com/

CITY: Budapest
DATE: August 8th 2007
NAME: Adam Somlai-Fischer

black marker scribble/strike-through mark bottom right

Massimo Banzi előadása az interakciótervezésről

Lecture by Massimo Banzi about interaction design

Massimo Banzi lecturing in front of projected slide reading 'the creation of meaningful relationships between us (humans) and artifacts', audience seated

students in the classroom listening, laptops on tables, one student looking at camera by a metal column

projected slide 'INTERACTION DESIGN' with know?/feel?/do? sketch, drawing by Bill Verplank

Játék hekkelés koncepció skiccek

Pimp my Gadget :: Interaction hacking concepts

What can you think of, what could this cat do (as, to, in):
- space
- wearable thing
- between 2 people
- public
- real animals
- to the old
- club
- danube
- ...

Concept sketches of hacking toys

full-page photo of a printed worksheet on a wooden table covered in multicolour handwritten concept sketches around a fluffy cat toy image: states (awake/sleeping/crying), 'LEDs on / speaker off', circuit diagram with Sensor (touch), PCB, Speaker, LEDs, Batteries (3-4.5V), state machine loop 'wake up, make a loud noise', upside-down notes incl. 'CONTRACEPTION' project idea ('being mother simulator — promoting responsibility', '2 possibilities: # sensors + # noises, only + daddy', 'baby frequency', 'clever x test', 'one crying kitty will apparently wake the others', 'to make them sleep — want them in a hand', 'if you are loud when they are around — they may wake them up and make them cry'), 3-states gauge sketch

hands holding a hacked fluffy white toy cat with wild fur and wires

gingerbread-man cookie robot with glowing red LED eyes, green LEDs on chest and wire glasses, cotton-wool hair

students soldering/wiring a small device with green LED lit on red table

two smiling women pointing at a wired breadboard gadget with a computer mouse

overhead view of students working on laptops with electronics parts on dark red tables

Diákok munkái, a fun fan

FuN FaN
BLOWING AND GLOWING

FuN FaN is a multiplayer interactive game. By blowing in a fan, each of the 5 players, who stand in a circle, try to hit another player with the imaginary ball. The harder you blow, the more chance you have to keep the light spot, which represents the ball, away from you. The player who is first hit by the light loses the game, the 2 players in front of that person are the winners!
Don't care if you get a headache, scientists are working on it ;-) .

first SKETCH

[sketch annotations:] Players / Blow (pressur) sensors / Ball / Person blows / Ball movs / Blow hard -> Move fast / Blow light -> Move slowly

black fans with propellers mounted on tubes (the blow interface hardware)

servo/camera rig with light projector hanging, beam spotlighting a person icon on a numbered (1-5) circular game floor graphic with black person pictograms

pink first-sketch sheet: hand-drawn game diagrams — players around circle with blow pressure sensors, laptop, ball movement arrows, 'blow hard -> move fast, blow light -> move slowly'

The PhySicAL GamE

rEAL WoRLD pHYsiCAL gaME

ELeCtRoNiC ViRTuaL gaME

two players blowing a ping-pong ball across a table towards each other (the physical game)

b/w photo of Kitchen Budapest storefront ('the only spicy innovation lab', www.kitchenbudapest...) with two people playing ball against the wall — labelled 'real world physical game'

b/w-red photo of two students with game controllers playing a video game — labelled 'electronic virtual game'

man in blue shirt blowing into a handheld sensor; light spot with dartboard-like target projected on green floor next to tripods

players standing in a circle around the projected light spot on the green floor, tripod rig in middle (FuN FaN being played)

low-angle shot of presenter under the tripod light rig, audience in blue shirts watching

presenters demonstrating the tripod-mounted game rig, BEST Budapest banner behind, audience around

overhead view of the game's electronics: circular fan/LED disc with wires, controller boards and speaker taped on a black box

I love to dance with my MP3 player...

Let's try to find out something...

This mp3 is boring

...but sometimes you get tired!

IDEA!! What about pimping my chair???

A chair!! Fantastic!!

Let's hear some music... I want make my chair play music!!!!

photo-comic collage, top row: girl dancing by KIBU wall logo ('I love to dance with my MP3 player'), 'Let's try to find out something...', girl digging through pile of parts