Make your Heart warm
The previous research project taught me how many different interpretations of interaction went into the development of a project. Many of the projects I found were really interesting, so I wanted to try to be able to make something that could meet half the coolness of the other projects. There were interactions between a human and software that could either give you automated generated outputs or could receive and interpret your variable inputs. What I learned from the projects is that for me interaction had to involve a human as one of the actors of two or more actors. I believe interaction can not only be like a conversation between actor but instead, there are different levels. Another level where I would categorize our project’s level of interaction as not only one that has a generated response but depending on how hard you press the sensor that is sewn into the bear a message that was made for that pressure is blinked or beeps the morse code. Here this interaction is not only just responses, but the part of the human actor’s job to be able to learn more code to understand what the potential answer is. I believe the morse code was a significant part of our project. During user testing we were told that the morse code was really a special part of our project and to stand by it, so we did. From that response, I saw the morse code as not a sign of our weakness in coding, but a strength that we could be able to find another form of communication other than speech. Here we were not only able to tell the participant a sweet message but able to teach a cool new language that they could use; expanding the number of people who know morse code. The intent is not only to teach you something cool and interesting but also to send you uplifting messages when you feel down. Also because morse code is not as popular the message can feel personal and maybe a little secret between you and the cute bear. I personally thought of sad college students as the target audience, but college students are not the only ones who are sad, so literally, anyone who is sad and needs a little pick-me-up can use the bear.
Because on the box I made it say to press the bear’s paw I tried my best to put the sensor in the paw. It was a little difficult of the person to find the sensor, but they eventually got it. I believe turning from the 3D printed bear to a stuffed one was a good move. The stuffed bear added warmth and cuddliness that the 3D printed one could not provide and also attaching the sensor with the stuffed bear was much easier than taping to the 3D bear, which did not stick very well. At first we wanted to try 3D printing; however, laser cutting a box ended up being the best decision because not only could we use it to put the instructions on it, but also put the whole morse code alphabet so that the person could really learn morse code. 3D printing the bear turned out to be an unsuccessful choice, but it lead us to the stuffed bear and the laser cutting of the box. Although we did not use the 3D bear in the final project the bear itself came out great! I was really proud of it and many people complimented how cute he was. The box itself was really frustrating because at the end I ended up with more wood glue on me than on the box itself and the top and bottom would not fit together! I used the template, but I guess something went wrong (very sad). However, the circuit my partner did including finishing the rest of the code off did an amazing job!
We got tons of feedback, which was great. The main ones we got and took were: make it a stuffed bear, add two types of senses activator (not just sight with the light, but also add a buzzer, audible, or motor, touch), spell out where to touch ( we put that on the box), what morse code was (the alphabet on the box), and add a longer delay to allow the person the prepare for the morse code. I would say most were decently productive, but maybe we could have added even longer delay at the beginning on top of the delay we added. Even with all the changes, we stood next to our choice of morse code and the wholesomeness of our project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8yIHBxzpZI&feature=youtu.be
The goal:
To have a representative, the bear, share love to a sad person not only uplifting their spirits but also teaching them a cool skill, morse code.
My definition of interaction needs to have one of the actors in a two to more group be human and allow there to be space for different levels of interaction. Our project may have not been on the level where there are infinite inputs and outputs that best represents a conversation, but our project does have different variable inputs and outputs that mimics a conversation the best it can. The interaction with the audience was great for me because no matter if they struggled to understand morse code it pushed them to figure it out. I feel like the struggle to understand results that when you eventually get it the reward is even better. There may have been an infinite list of things that we could have done different/better, but adding more messages, having the box fit together, and the sensor more apparent is to name a few important changes. I would have also liked to add the motor idea, but the buzzer was okay. I have definitely learned that communication is crucial to saving you from going crazy. So when we improved our project we decided to better spread out the workload so no one felt that the whole project rested in their hands. Overall I am super proud of what we did because we were lost the whole time, but we eventually came together and made something pretty unique.