Feel the Hive

Designer

Benjamin Pang

Project Description

Hi-res image of the backscratcher rig

Feel the Hive is an IoT project that uses the premise of an Internet-powered backscratcher to deconstruct social/power dynamics found in interactions between Internet content creators and their viewers. Feel the Hive aims to play with the sensory disconnect of indirectly “touching” someone through a screen to provide a microculture reflective of parasocial relationships and power imbalances.

The project is split into two components: the clients (i.e. users) and the host. The host wears a rig with servos attached. Clients access a webapp and are instructed to tap the screen repeatedly. Each tap translates to the servos moving, which scratches the host’s back. Faster taps mean faster servo scratches, potentially to the point of discomfort for the host.

Timeline

10/27/2022: brainstorm + figure out project idea
11/03/2022: prototype webapp UI/UX
11/10/2022: user testing + UI/UX tweaks, build server -> webapp ready
11/17/2022: breadboard circuit + test servos
11/24/2022: connect to server + server architecture tweaks
12/01/2022: solder circuit + mount to rig
12/08/2022: finish docs + video

Weekly Updates

10/27/22
Observation & IdeatioN

Video Presentation

Inspirations

Mechanical Turk: Amazon’s service that hires human workers to perform high-volume menial tasks that are otherwise unfeasible via automation/AI.
r/place: A Reddit April Fool’s activity in which pixels on a web canvas were progressively filled by users to create collaborative artworks.
Cut Piece, Yoko Ono, 1964: Performance artwork in which audience members were invited to cut pieces from Ono’s clothing. Some hesitantly cut small pieces, others boldly cut larger pieces. Often interpreted as a feminist work, although Ono has remained decidedly ambiguous about this.
Online live-streaming culture (e.g. Twitch): Viewers can donate with text-to-speech messages and chat directly with the streamer to create an unpredictable and uniquely interactive live experience. Related: parasocial relationship

Idea

The “host” (performer) puts on a rig/suit that contains various motors/linear actuators. The audience/bystanders visit a website/app where they are told to tap the screen. Upon doing so, the motors/actuators on the host’s rig activate and scratch/poke/etc. the host’s body, creating an abstract tactile sensation of a virtual user touching the host. More users connecting and tapping means a greater effect on the rig, creating a greater feedback not only in motor activity but also in the “franticness” of the app’s UI/UX.

Extensibility is possible, especially with the types of motors/actuators/etc. that can be attached to the rig. As an extreme possibility, TENS units could be used to create a temporary power imbalance between the audience and the host – i.e. the audience has control over the pain/sensation that the host feels. Potential concepts that this project might grapple with include parasocial interactions, online anonymity, and mob mentality.

Senses

- Touch: Feeling motors scratch/poke the back
- Hearing: Hearing motors whir?
- Sight: Visual design of app, the visual spectacle of motor rig wrapped around body
- Proprioception: Distinction between the sense of physical self vs. external stimuli of motors

11/03/22
RAPID PROTOTYPING

Rapid Prototype Link
- Source code

11/10/22
USER FEEDBACK

User Testing Script

Findings:

Simpler is better!
Shaking UI could be problematic for motion sickness => provide slider/option to tone down shaking.
Possibility for livestreaming view/camera?
Screenreader support?
Bigger button/use entire screen as tappable space?

11/17/22
ITERATION

Materials procured so far: microcontrollers and servos.

Basic breadboard prototype to test servo and microcontroller performance.

5 W’s Chart

Source: Velasco, Carlos and Marianna Obrist. Multisensory Experiences. 2020.

Components	Questions and considerations
Background (Why)	Why do we want to design this interface? Deconstruction of a social/power dynamic found in interactions between Internet streamers/content creators and their viewers Parasocial relationships – each viewer feels like they are the streamer’s friend, but the streamer may not personally know the viewer Anonymity – since the streamer is unable to personally know each viewer, power is shifted in favor of the viewer who has low-risk control over streamer’s experience
Impressions (What)	What impressions do we want the user to feel when interacting with the interface? Paradoxical contrast between the client understanding that they are “scratching” someone’s back and the inability to fully feel the tactile/emotional/etc. feedback of doing so Power imbalance – the one-way “no-consequences” control that clients have over what the host feels Simple interactions/concepts ideally convey the underlying deconstruction/themes and allows both the client and host to build further interactions to create a more holistic experience
Events (When)	What is the user’s journey? CLIENT: Open webapp, tap screen, faster tap = more power + feedback HOST: Wear servo rig, receive scratches from clients
Sensory Elements (How)	What sensory modalities should we select and why? Are there trade-offs? Who might be excluded? Sight: Webapp UI/UX Sound: Webapp feedback sounds, servo sounds fluctuating as power fluctuates Proprioception: Feeling servos scratch back and having to mentally reconcile the fact that someone
Designer/User (Who/Whom)	Who is the designer? For who are we designing? DESIGNER: END USER: Anyone – takeaways might vary depending on client’s personal experiences with online interactions

Feel the Hive

Feel the Hive

Designer

Project Description

Timeline