Interaction has many definitions and has lost its true meaning. But in my opinion, interaction is how machines reach the goals of people while communicating with each other. It breaks down into three processes, listens, thinks, and speaks. For any interactive project, listen is input, think is process and speak is output. A low level of interaction is just taking action according to the orders. But for a higher level of interaction, its works contain more profound thoughts to the human being as it has known what a human is or looks.
This project, the Quad stick, is a high level of interaction, in my opinion. It is designed to help Quadriplegics. The Quadriplegics can’t move most of their muscles, so ordinary game sticks are impossible for them. However, the Quad stick is designed to solve the problem. They used it to play games and enjoy leisure as ordinary people by their mouths. The Quad stick not only contains the three processes I mentioned above but also includes the detection of the movements of Quadriplegics. It lets the machine rethink about a disabled human and to fulfill their requirements.
As you can see in the video, the Quadriplegic just moved his mouth or bite on the stick, the player in the game can take action quickly like playing with a joystick. It is such a functional interaction between the computer and the Quadriplegics.
As I mentioned above, there is a various definition of interaction, but the “high-tech art show celebrates Japan’s flowers” is different from my interpretation. In this project, the creator used a touchable screen to demonstrate Japanese flowers. They designed lots of screens not only on walls but also on floors or ceilings. The visitors can touch the screen so that the bulb will blossom. However, I don’t think it is interaction. The visitor did not interact with the flowers, and the screen didn’t show the processes of “ listen,” “think,” and “speak,” the blossoming process is well-designed animation which can play without anyone around.
Lastly, for our project——Magic Mirror——our group hopes to show not only the communication and interaction between humans and machinery but also the consideration of the environmental crisis.
The magic mirror is a device to help people solve clothes choosing and recycling problems. The mirror is put in the public area of communities, accompanied by fitting rooms. When the member stands in front of the mirror, the magic mirror will wake up and say hello to you. You can ask her about the weather and air pollution, which will lead to the need for a hat, sunglasses, masks and so on. According to your schedule, the mirror will choose clothes for you. The appearance of yourself in the outfits will reflect in the mirror so you can decide whether or not to wear it. You can also change the color or style if you don’t like it. The whole process is just conversations and reflection between the mirror and the users. It embodies a vital point——interaction。
Another thing is after you decide the clothes that you want to wear, you can enter the fitting room and get changed. The clothes are either made from recyclable materials or reused after the professional cleaning process. This process helped to solve the clothes wasting and recycling problems. Members don’t need to buy clothes anymore, and users can recycle clothes.
For our group, the communication between the mirror and users is the process of thinking. The mirror understands its mission by chatting with users. Then, the process of choosing clothes or changing their style and color shows its thinking ability. Lastly, getting the clothes done in the fitting room is the process of speaking.
The Quad stick project gives me the idea that our invention should be designed to help change the world or solve the problems. So, the magic mirror is not just a project to help people choose clothes but a project to address the world clothes recycling issues. And the Japanese flower renders me the idea that our project shouldn’t just touching or clicking, but contains more elements like chatting and reflecting.