Sensate is a project that explores how we can communicate more intimately over the internet. The idea was sparked when I saw the Apple Watch introduction, specifically when they talked about sharing your heartbeat with someone you love. It struck me as such a different interaction with technology. It carried a human element across the digital network to another person. This got me wondering about other ways in which we might be able to achieve the same effect; using new technology to convey very human, emotional, and intimate feelings across the internet to people you care about.
(more…)
Better late than never is what they say right? Well after a few speed bumps, the ultimate surveillance tool is complete!
Spybrero from Tommy Doyle on Vimeo.
The Spybrero uses a raspberry pi in conjunction with a raspberry pi camera module to create a spy cam. The raspberry pi (via the GPIO pins) is attached to conductive thread that runs down the sides of the sombrero into the shirt of the user. The thread then continues down the sleeve to the button at the end of the sleeve. When the button is pressed, the program on the raspberry pi takes a photo and saves it to the SD card.
(more…)
For the third micro assignment, Priya and myself worked together to create an OSC application that communicates between two computers. One computer takes input and the other outputs to a physical output. We decided to create a prototype of what could be turned into a controlled light array. One of our computers took in keyboard input and the other relayed the information to the arduino which turned on lights depending on the key pressed. We used three small light bulbs and mapped the keys ‘j’, ‘k’, and ‘l’ to them. For a nicer effect, we added some code to fade the light bulbs. Additionally since the lightbulbs required more than the 5V the arduino could supply, we used a transistor and external power supply to create the finished product. Below are links to the github repos with the source code. Note that the arduino code is in the LightReciever repo.
(more…)
For the direction I want to head in for the final project I’ve chosen wearables. Specifically I want to get into emotion and how we can communicate emotions, feelings, and sensations through devices that are meant to be worn. Below are several examples from academia, industry, and art that show some of these concepts.
Apple Watch (Industry):
The biggest news out of the commercial wearables market this Fall was Apple’s Watch. There are many cool aspects to the device, but I the ones I find most inspiring are the sharing features (mentioned towards the video). Via the watch you can send drawings or messages to another watch as well as your heartbeat. I think the latter is a really interesting concept since there is such a personal and affection connection to the concept of one’s heartbeat. Additionally the device uses a series of haptic sensors to give the user feedback which I think is critical for a wearable.
InTouch (Academic):
Paper: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=840362&tag=1
InTouch is a system that uses haptic feedback to give users a physical interaction with digital content. In this application, the system allows users to manipulate 3D surfaces and meshes with haptic feedback to improve the experience of the application. The main concept for this research that I like is the interaction between the digital and the physical where the developers are using haptic to bridge the gap and translate the digital interaction into a more relatable and manipulable physical sensation.
Synaptic Traces (Art):
Finally, in the realm of fashion and wearable technology comes the project called Synaptic Traces. The frock is made of a beautiful galaxy-like print that is curled into stripes and piece together. Inside of the garment are many LEDs that allow the garment to glow. When someone touches the garment, lights activate that represent the touch and hold for longer than a normal sensation would. In essence is holds the fleeting feelings and sensation that we get from another person or object and keeps it a bit longer in a digital representation. Other than the beautiful physical construction, I really liked the concept of preserving the intimate touches and sensations we feel when interacting with another person.
For my second project, I created a controller reminiscent of the classic NES controller with three push buttons. This project aimed to expose us to aspects of hardware prototyping and the WiringPi library. In the end I created a demo “game” where the player could move Mario around the screen by moving left, right, and jumping.
(more…)
Without noticing, we interact with our phones all the time. Whether it’s a tweet mention, a text message, emails, or an app notification, we are constantly stepping out of the real world and into the digital world. In doing so, sometimes we lose meaningful interactions that we could have with the people that are actually around us. We see this in situations such as dinner where everyone pulls out their phone to fill time instead of sparking conversation. My goal was to create a device that encouraged us to unplug and engage with actual people instead of tweeting the day away.
(more…)
Interactive Surfaces
Video (No embed-able version, sorry!)
In this project, Bruno Zamborlin, uses a microphone to detect when people are tapping an object. The interesting thing that Zamborlin is doing here is to make the device portable as well as customize the sounds the it creates. This, as demoed in the video, creates the impression that different surfaces or objects are different instruments.
Scubatone
This project brings an old technology into new use by using dual-tone multifrequency signaling to allow researchers to communicate under water. To me, this is an interesting project since it is sending the same message, but changing the medium of the message in between the recipients to break the problem of traditional sound not traveling well through the water.
Resonant Chamber
Resonant Chamber | Making from rvtr on Vimeo.
This project allows for the roof of the performance room to be changed to allow for optimal acoustics. While the initial version of the project is done via manual controls of the structure, they do plan to later add microphone input to make instant changes to the structure based on the music being played. The concept as presented shows how sound could effect space and make dynamically transform to a desired state.
Hello! My name is Tommy Doyle and I am currently a Senior majoring in Computer Science and Human Computer Interaction. My background is highly technical with experience in software engineering, mobile development, and web development. As well I have experience in interaction design (mostly UX and UI) and User Research. My goal with any design I create is to bring powerful technology to the user and to add a bit of joy to every experience.
With this course, I hope to dive into an area of interaction design that I do not have as much experience in. I hope to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone and produce some work I’m really proud of.
The work I am most proud of so far has been around booth during carnival on campus. Below is a link to the game that I played a part in making in the spring of 2013.
Journey to Paradise Falls from Andy Biar on Vimeo.
Here is a picture of the outside of the booth!
More of my work is available here: tommy-doyle.com
I’m looking forward to the semester and what it holds in store!