Group Project

My group and I (Freshie Freshmen) developed the Intelligent Disinfection Machine (IDM for short) that helps detect, treat, and effectively eliminate any virus from a patient. This device is inspired by from Yan Leisheng’s “The Plague,” and we used Wendy’s idea of an interactive device in this world as the base for our project.

Here is a sketch of our project. We originally intended to build the entire machine in the style of a baby gym tunnel (reference below) but there was not enough cardboard to accomplish that. In the end, we settled on building the three main components. 

Here is a picture of our props! Wendy built the light and I built the dryer and shower head.

Here’s a recording of my group and me demonstrating our artifact!

Here is the script for our skit! Leon wrote it and we all added input to help the flow of the story.

While drastically different from the project I presented in my RESEARCH portion, I think my idea of what interaction consists of is still present in this project. The conversation between parties, while more practical, is still occurring between the machine, the patient, and the doctor. These parties also influence one another, taking the shape of mutual aid and assistance. 

While this artifact is useful in the world setting of the short story, I think we could have created something that breaks the box of conventionality and practicality. Seeing the other groups present their project made me think that we might have missed the mark and made our artifact too simple. Our machine works and accomplishes something, but it’s not something you’ve never seen before or something particularly intriguing.

Looking back at our project I think that our drastically different ideas of what interaction consisted of and our developing concept of what interaction looks like attributed to this shortcoming. As Crawford illustrated in “The Art of Interactive Design,” interaction has lost its meaning throughout the ages – especially in recent years and it’s up to us to redefine that word in our journey through interactive design. Nonetheless, I will take this as a learning opportunity and use it to improve my future projects!

A group project I found interesting and enjoyed watching was the Anti-Crime glasses. They consisted of a pair of glasses that would record your surroundings, turn red, and play an alarm when they detected a crime. The glasses functioned with the help of AI and would allow playback for future reference.

I thought the glasses were quite remarkable, and how the group presented them was funny, yet effective. Their performance allowed the audience to immediately understand what the gadget was for and have a laugh at the same time. I liked the practicality of the design and how it was represented through glasses. I can see how the artifact is connected to the short story and how the gadget could exist in the universe. I wouldn’t have any suggestions for improvements, as I think they delivered quite exceptionally!