Noise

Immerse yourself in the presence of your loved ones by visualizing their white noise into your physical space.

Immerse yourself in the presence of your loved ones by visualizing their white noise into your physical space.

2021

2021

Interaction Design

Interaction Design

Overview

We were tasked to create a system of IoT devices that improve the well-being of individuals at home.

For this project, I worked with a team to identify opportunity areas by holding in-depth-interviews with teens who grew up in split family households. We focused on ideating concepts that were discursive and speculative in nature. I contributed significantly to the design research and interface design steps.

My Role

UX Research, Interface Design, App/Video Prototyping

Timeline

3 weeks, 2021

Team

Jasper Xie, Joanne Chen, Gwenna Gram

The Problem

As a team, we were drawn to the space of children and teens from split-family households. This problem space is also relevant to friends who are living in different cities from one another or a doctor working night-shifts away from their family.

Design Principles

Based on our findings from our in-depth-interviews, we formed 4 design principles that summarized the user needs. These guiding principles set us up for our ideation process where we brainstorm concepts that encompass these values.

Early Ideation

As a team, we ideated concepts that ideated concepts that were imaginative and futuristic. The process of sketching to communicate our ideas allowed us to mix-and-match concepts as a way of refining our ideas. By not initially focusing on practicality or feasibility, we were able to consider alternative forms for fostering human connection.

The Problem

As a team, we were drawn to the space of children and teens from split-family households. This problem space is also relevant to friends who are living in different cities from one another or a doctor working night-shifts away from their family.

System design

I led the effort to work through the mental mind map for the device ecosystem. There are multiple devices in different households that all need to connect. By creating visual mind maps, we were able to storyboard how each household would set-up their devices.

Preventing unwarranted surveillance

Our main challenge was to create a system of devices that did not allow unwarranted surveillance. In the scenario of split family households, the child and individual parent may only want to view each others' presence. As a result, we designed multiple iterations of how we might visually represent someone's motion while still concealing their identity.

Motion detection using Wi-Fi network

Part of this assignment was to imagine the future possibilities of IoT devices. We brainstormed ways motion could be detected across spaces. Rather than having multiple motion detectors places in each room, the choice to use a household's existing Wi-Fi network helped us consider what may be possible in the future.

Concept

Noise allows you to immerse  yourself in the visual white noise made from the motions of far-away family and friends. Later, when you have time to connect in real-time in person or on the phone, talk about what you discovered.

1 - Sharing Point

Each home has one motion detector that picks up motion data across the span of their Wi-Fi range.

2 - Projector

Households can have as many projectors as they would like — each can be connected to varying sharing points.

3 - Noise App

Each projector owner has a paired app, with which they can request to connect to sharing points, and personalize their experience.

Design Considerations

Abstraction of motion for privacy

The visual design of gradient blurred circles are an abstracted representation of someone's motion being detected. This abstraction lacks accuracy and precision which is intended to prevent unwarranted surveillance of someone in another household.

Gestures

To turn on the projection, the user can tap the device. For more customization, they can rotate to adjust the position and pinch to resize the light emitted.

Granting access to specific households

Speculative approach to adjusting data capture areas

Making it transparent who has access

Takeaways

Establish a device ecosystem early

As we started to wireframe the app screens, we realized how difficult it was to discuss user flows without having set names for each component of our system. By creating that mental mind map of the locations of each device, it became clearer the relationships between devices, users, and households.

Leverage visual diagrams and sketches

We spent days trying to figure out a simple and intuitive mind map of a network of devices across multiple households. We created image collages and diagrams to visualize ideas during our remote team meetings.

Embrace impractical ideas

As a team we ideated over 60 concepts in forms of sketches. Nearly every initial idea was impractical and unfeasible for the present day. By letting our imagination run wild, we were able to consider new possibilities technology could play in our everyday routines.

Next Steps

User testing and iteration

Test with different households
Refine motion design

Extension of Devices

Phone Screen, Apple Watch