Current Happenings

I've always enjoyed the aesthetics of engineering. Here are some parts of the forms I've been working on. A spring to open and close an RFID dispersing shell form. A 3D model Peter built for the gummy toad. And a draft of the mechanisms for a hand held anemone object.

Creating working prototypes of the interactive switch objects is a challenging task. I am experiencing the lightness of my concept becoming weighted down with clumsy technology and mechanics. Much time is invested in fine tuning the experience I imagine for these objects. Since part of my research is to give these working prototypes to writers who will build narratives around them, I need to make sure what the writers experience is as close to my intentions as possible.

The first one is ready to go: "object #1 gummy toad." It's long wiring goes to a project box with all the power supplies and the micro-controller. When i pass it off to a writer, he or she will plug a light into the socket on the project box and use the object as the switch for the light. After a week of living with the object, I hope the writer can put down a story inspired by the experience. I will make a few changes to the object - invert the interaction - and pass it on to another writer, trying to get at least 3 stories per object by the fall.

Images of the objects I'm designing:


And a slide from a presentation I gave last week: