The idea my group focused on was a helmet that has the ability to print the words the wearer is speaking onto a strip across the mouth. This artifact is based on “The Plague” and the assumption that the protection suits in the short story make it difficult to hear. The original idea incorporated many other functions to go along with the caption function, including sound amplification, virus detection, and virus protection. It was meant to amplify the wearer’s voice in order to make it easier for others to hear them in addition to giving others the option to read the printed caption along the mouth. Because it was during the plague, the helmet was also supposed to be able to protect the wearer and detect the infected, as well as spray disinfectant when necessary. However, we decided to focus on the caption ability because it was the most interesting and logistically easiest function of the artifact to display in a performance. We did also include a radar detector in the performance that was separate from the helmet but it wasn’t the main focus.
The helmet is an interactive artifact because it responds to its wearer. When the wearer speaks, the helmet processes the sound and responds by printing the caption on the strip across the mouth. The person or people the wearer is speaking to can then process the words they read and produce a response. In this way, the helmet interacts with humans and also facilitates the interaction between two or more people.
My group was originally thinking of designing more of a mask rather than a whole helmet. However, we decided to design a helmet because it would be easier to build. We put the caption area in front of the mouth since people speak from the mouth and designed a helmet that still looked like a face with the addition of a nose and holes for the eyes. We had three group members do most of the prop building, while another group member and I wrote the script. I think it would have been better if we could’ve met up more to work all together but, due to our different schedules, it was hard to find a time where everyone was available. In terms of prop building, I didn’t do much except write some captions for the helmet. I helped with writing the script and did the final edits. The script was broken up into two scenes so that we could show what might happen without the helmet, and then how the helmet would make the situation better. We added a narrator to set the scene and make the story more clear.
I think this artifact is a good idea and can be useful during the plague as well as regular life for those that are hard of hearing. However, wearing a helmet is not the most convenient. It can be uncomfortable and it makes human interaction less personal because it can’t show facial expressions. Therefore, if this were to be a real invention, I think the design still needs work. Our prototype worked fairly well with pulling out strips of paper to convey the idea of captions. However, they are quite small so it may not have been super clear what we were doing during the performance. We tried to make it more clear what was happening with the narrator and the old man’s acting and I think that was effective to get our idea across. I think our performance was organized well and the final product was not too bad. Unfortunately, one of our members did lose the captions so they weren’t in one of the helmets.
Below is our script and a video of the final performance:Actors: a narrator, 2 “crows”, an old man, a vegetative person (the old man’s son)
Scene 1
Narrator: The plague has swept the city. It’s highly contagious, hard to detect, and has no cure. The effects have been devastating. In order to minimize infections, the Emergency Management Institution has issued protective suits, but they are not always effective or convenient. For instance, the suits can only physically segregate each other without any functions to sterilize. And for the elders who suffer from hearing loss, the heavy and airtight suit makes it even harder for them to communicate with each other. These weaknesses and non-inclusivity of protective suits lead to a tragedy …
(two crows knock on the door)
(the old man opens the door)
Crow 1: At the request of our superiors, we’ve come here to check if anyone is infected in this residential district.
The old man: Sorry, I can’t really hear you. I’m 80 y/o now. I have been suffering from hearing loss for more than ten years. This heavy protection suit makes it almost impossible for me to talk with other people.
(the crow raises his/her voice and with some gestures)
Crow 2: We’re here to see if anyone is infected. We’ll just go around your house. If everything’s fine, we’ll leave. OK??
(two crows ignore the old man and rush into the house)
The old man: Wait! What are you doing? This is my house! Get out of here!
(two crows spot the old man’s son, who is a vegetative person)
Crow 1: Seems like we’ve already found one infected guy. Let’s move him outside.
(two crows start moving the old man’s son)
The old man: What are you doing? Leave my son alone. He’s disabled. He’s a vegetative person!
Crow 1: Then give me his ID. Let me check it in the disability information base.
(the old man frowns)
The old man: First of all, I can’t hear what you’re saying. Second of all, I don’t care what you’re saying. Just leave my son alone! He’s disabled!
(Two crows have eye contact and tacitly move the old man’s son outside)
Crow 2: Sorry, we’re just doing our job. If he can’t move, talk, or physically react to the outside world, we assume he is infected.
Scene 2
Narrator: However, if they put the smart helmets on, this tragedy won’t happen.
(two crows knock on the door)
(the old man opens the door)
Crow 1: At the request of our superiors, we’ve come here to check if anyone is infected in this residential district.
(the old man carefully reads the caption projected on the shield)
The old man: Oh sure! You can come inside.
(two crows walk inside)
Crow 1: Look! Is he infected? It seems like he can’t move.
(crow 2 scans the boy)
Crow 2: My radar detector shows that he’s not infected.
(the old man reads the caption)
The old man: This is my son. He ran into a severe car accident two years ago. The doctor said he would be in a persistent vegetative state forever. So he can’t react to the outside world anymore.
Crow 2: Sorry to hear that! Can you tell me his ID number so that we can check it in the disability information base?
The old man: Sure. It’s 12345678.
Crow 2: Got it! He’s in the information base. Hope you can stay safe during this pandemic. Take care!
The old man: Thank you! Bye!
Another group’s artifact was a laptop-looking device that could send the user to any location in the world they desired. I liked the idea but it wasn’t super integrated into “The Veldt” which was the short story they based it off of. It was also kind of similar to the room in the story. What they did differently was make the desired environment real and one you can physically interact with. The design of the artifact also could have been more creative since it just looked like a regualar laptop. Although, I think making it look so similar to an existing product could make it more charming to some people too. Their artifact wasn’t my favorite idea of the day but their performance was probably my favorite one. The function of the artifact was clear and the performance was fun to watch. They had a lot of different props that really brought it to life and they made it funny and interesting so I really liked their performance.