I’ve been thinking a bit about what it is that I’m trying to talk about with the sketches and outlines I have for this thing I’m making. It’s about social anxiety, and the usage scenario is that when this mythical user feels threatened, they wrap a silicone shawl around themselves and built in spines protrude from the back.
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social anxiety

Rather than make this device electronic, I think that what I’m going to do is work entirely mechanically, using monofilament cast into the “handle” region of the object going through a grommet and over the shoulder to control the “hackles.” Muscle fiber doesn’t really move enough to use, and requires very high current levels to activate. Servo motors are large, loud, and expensive. In this case, I think that just making the material nature of the silicone being pulled into and out of place be the point of it would be elegant and effective.

I just got linked to this implementation of some of the ideas I’ve been kicking around. It’s nice to see other people thinking about this kind of personal emotional device, and the idea of a PWMing a LED is a nice way to represent diffused worry.

link: kombolói

“This is a quick, quick sketch for an idea I had for a intimate personable device that is best described as a digital worry bead or Kombolói — not so much a worry bead as something to capture and diffuse your anxiety. It works by capacitively linking your tension through a unique capacitive touch sensor and then harnessing that energy, turning it into light and then diffusing it into more soothing energy.”

DEAD WRINGER

I’ve been working on projects that explore physical spaces for technological interaction within emotional spaces. This was conceived of as a device to mediate negative emotions technologically. There exist many technologies for recreational, ludic or generally positive emotions, but few properly interactive objects for the overwhelmingly negative. The Dead Wringer is a stuffed animal that a user symbolically murders to deal with rage, anger, or severe frustration. The device tries to walk the line between creepy and cathartic, to provoke the user into reflecting into the nature of their rage and their emotion. Ideally, the user should find that the interaction is fun and rewarding, as well as deeply disturbing that they think so.

By building something that is intentionally ambiguous morally, it opens up a space for interpretation on the part of the user. They are able to build their own experience into the device, as well as reflect on the nature of the experience. Hopefully, Dead Wringer allows a relatively healthy outlet for rage and anger as well as offering a space to reflect on the nature of the emotion.