Hardware
Prototyping, Design Fictions
In more recent (academic) projects, I've been involved in working with design fictions; realistic prototypes of ideas that can be used to evaluate and predict user acceptance for a yet-to-exist idea or product. The products need to be credible and functional in for users to engage meaningfully with them. I've built tangible interfaces that work with home routers, low power smart lockers, a smart sponge and various other sensors.
Low power Bluetooth controlled servos connected to a control panel. Runs off 4AA batteries and piggybacks connectivity off a companion mobile app.
Open source community owned lockers can be built to custom dimensions at a fraction of the cost of bespoke smart lockers. The lock connects to T-Slot extruded aluminium - the ubiquitous building blocks for open source 3D printers and CNC machines.
Community smart lockers
A device that supports router configuration through tangible interactions. An app is used to generate a configuration, which is transferred (over RFID) to a token.
Tokens placed in a pot will then trigger a particular router configuration. Multiple tokens and multiple pots are supported, making it trivially easy to support rich ad-hoc router configurations
Tangible router configuration
Another device that supports router configuration through tangible interactions. Combinations of laser-cut keys are placed upon a surface that sits ontop of a home router. When these keys are arranged in the correct order, users are authenticated to perform operations that require elevated privileges (e.g.: configure a VPN)
Tangible router configuration - 2
A 'smart' sponge. I developed this for a project that looked at building a remote hygiene monitoring kit. The sponge was configured with a bunch of sensors (3 axis accelerometer, gyro, temperature and a pressure pad). Information from these sensors was used to provide realtime feedback to trial participants (via a web dashboard)
Smart sponge
A key release machine that handles large bunches of keys. Two plates spin round to give access to pods that contain bunches of keys. The top plate is a lock plate that prevents access to the underlying pods. Users gain access to an underlying pod once holes in each of the top and bottom plates align. The system has an anti-tampering alarm and a weight sensor to calculate when keys have been added or removed. The mechanism used a three-axis stepper controller from a laser cutter
Key machine
A simple key manager that fits inside a cheap key locker. It tracks and manages 'dumb' keys, emulating smart locks and smart lockers at a fraction of the cost. The locker works with an app which is used to load keys and issue pickup codes. Pickup codes are entered into a keypad on the front of the device
Keyroost