Prototyping

UI Design

UX Design

3D Modeling

Context

Solo personal portfolio project

Tools

Duration

July - September 2021 (3 months)

Figma

Adobe illustrator

Arduino

Fusion 360

Ultimaker Cura

Ender 3 3D printer

Material

PLA plastic

Circuits

Neon Pixel Led

Arduino

Blue Tooth Module

Speaker

Background

During COVID-19, we were separated from friends and family due to travel restrictions.

Meanwhile, we shifted our primary communication online, such that we missed the chance to have a physical presence in places and interact with the surroundings.

As we were separated by time and space during lockdowns, how should I bring the experience of co-existing?

Challenge

The experience of doing something together is made up of various elements, such as temperature, light strength and background sounds.

However, suppose all the information mentioned above is presented only on screen. The result will be dull and dry, which is practically equivalent to a weather forecast app that plays audio.

Therefore, a physical device plus a mobile app interacting with users will create the needed abstraction to recreate the presence.

Solution & Concept

This work is a combination of mobile and physical device designed to recapture the moments of life, such that it acts as a time machine for users to relive their past.

The mobile app is meant to record, archive, and share clips as it is convenient for mobile devices to record rather than design another physical device to do the task. Furthermore, a physical device can replay processed information can retain some level of abstraction, whereas a mobile device will make the experience dull and dry.

Final Design

Inspiration

This work is inspired by video game death stranding that enables players to interact with phantoms of players who progress the game ahead of them. Such that players are able to use the infrastructures built by predecessor players, check signs placed by them, track their trails, etc. However, they are never able to have real-time communication with other players. This way of connecting people via their presence inspired me on how I should build this project.

Manatsu No Tooriame (真夏の通り雨) by Utada Hikaru, a song about death, birth, and memories, helps me get through the worst period of my life. And later, I discovered that part of my memory was attached to this song.