Knock Knock
2012
Khalil Klouche
Project Link

Knock Knock @ HEAD media design from Khalil Klouche on Vimeo.

In this project, the creator aimed to create a product for children that would help them learn math, through interacting with the piece of wood through knocking. The project uses an Arduino board, contact microphones, solenoids, and some wood materials.  I find this project interesting from a UX perspective, as I do not immediately understand how it works. I would be interested to see if a child could pick it up and use it without any instructions. This project has a good, clean, stable video to show how it works, and this is something to learn from in the future. I could also learn about the knocks and how solenoids work. The creator could have explicitly stated how the device works in terms of how you should knock to produce a certain answer.

Pinikio
2012
Shanshan Zhou, Adam Ben-Dror and Joss Doggett
Project Link

Pinokio from adambd on Vimeo.

In this project, the creator aimed to create a lamp that seems like it has human-like playful qualities, somewhat akin to the Pixar Lamp.  hacked webcam, microphone, mechanical iris, 2 servos and halogen globe. A lot of the components were laser-cut.  I find this project interesting, as I am guessing that some machine learning was needed for the facial recognition aspect of the project, and I might need to incorporate some machine learning for my final project in the class. I think it is very interesting that the project takes an otherwise inanimate, everyday object, and makes it have personality. Although this may seem intrusive, this technique could be used to convey useful information in a way that is less obtrusive than adding another product to someones life.  I would have been interested to know what, if any, practical applications the creators saw for their product.

So..I was at a party last night
2011
Sabrina Mahfouz
Project Link

So.. I was at a party last night from Andrea Cuius on Vimeo.

In this project, the creator aimed to create a luminary experience for a performance that allows the audience to further immerse themselves into the show. The project uses tungsten lamps, a microphone to record the audio, and a program to process the music.  I find this project interesting because it is completely unobtrusive. From the video, it looks like the light seamlessly flows with the music, and that it enhances the experience that the user is already there to have. Using a microphone to enhance an already existing experience could be something to learn from for project 1. One thing the creator could have done better is to show more of how the lights were incorporated into the show, rather than just clips of the lights.

Hello! My name is Omead Kohanteb and I am a new MHCI student. After graduating from Berkeley with a major in cognitive science, I have worked as a web developer and UX researcher/designer over the last year. I am excited to venture out of the web space and into the physical realm. I am particularly interested in how ubiquitous computing can enhance our experience with nature and how it can help us to be more environmentally sustainable. I am in the process of creating my personal website, but I have uploaded a couple screenshots of a home remodeling website I worked on over the summer: