Angie Kim: Midterm Portfolio – #6 Touch Object
Project Description:
This is a project to make touch object based on my tactile graphic project and audio description remix project.
It consists of two objects, one is with haptic feedback and one is without.
People can touch the objects and move their fingers and hands around to feel them.
Documentation and Visual Description:
What is the theme of the work? What is it you aim to express?
I continued with my previous projects: especially the tactile graphic project and last week’s.
Also I wanted to incorporate a bit of my Thesis idea which was related to handwritten letter.
So I tried to make two different object for each inspiration and theme.
First Object
Firstly I started with the last week’s – the dance letter project and the tactile graphics.
I thought of my sister is a flower standing in front of a red/pinkish background and is dancing-expressing emotions.
She wants to have a solid base. So I casted Rockite with food container – as it’s easy-to-find, tactile and has a nice size.
The casting was pretty easy – I mixed that with water for a thick pasty consistency and poured the solution into a container.
It took 20mins to cure, super fast! I added pompoms to represent red lights for tactile aspect.
And I continued making a flower part. I used some part of wig (bleached and dyed, just like my sister’s hair) and wires to make a stem.
I tried laser cutting the flower with wood but it was too heavy. So I made a flower with felt to have lighted weight and soft texture.
Then I made a circuit to make it give a haptic feedback and movement.
I used arduino 33 nano IoT and haptic board with vibration motor for the circuit.
It vibrates with the sound of the original video. Below is the video of the object working (a.k.a vibrating)
(Somehow I can’t attach the video from Youtube. Youtube link is this.)
Second Object
And for the second one, I concentrated on converting an image into touch object.
The image that I used is from one of a postcards that I got.
I used found materials on itp floor – rubber, cables, paper for the leaves element and also the rockite for the base.
I glued three layers of rubber and made 3 leaves, and put green textured paper on the both sides of them to resemble the texture and color of the original.
I wanted it to have a solid base and fluffy texture, so I added pipe cleaners to the leaves.
I also wanted that to be a postcard stand as well, so I assembled the elements in the way it can hold a paper between the front 2 leaves and the leaf behind them.
Then I added wires and white felt clouds to resemble the flowers and to hold the postcard better to finalize the form.
Reflection questions:
Which elements of the work are beautifully/wonderfully/perfectly expressed through the modality?
I absolutely adore the incorporation of haptic feedback and movement that was present in the first project.
This feature brings about a heightened level of interaction, as it provides more direct touch feedback, making the user experience considerably richer and more immersive.
Beyond just the tactile sensation, it was also visually fascinating to observe the movement.
The way the elements react to the input added an extra layer of interest to the overall project.
This combination of visual and tactile feedback made the project not only more engaging but also truly dynamic and responsive.
Which elements are lost or inexpressible through the modality of the week?
The time-based element in the dance piece was missing. Also the text content of the letter was lost in the second project.
Also I had to reduce number of elements in the postcard to make the size controllable.
Who does this project exclude? Who would not be able to interact with this work? Who is this modality not accessible for?
It’s also still. highly visual. I don’t have any auditory elements in this piece yet.
Additional Modality:
I’m making 3 more touch objects and will share after it’s done!