October 2018

Domestic Widgets

Domestic Widgets is a kit that allows families to create physical data visualisations using everyday materials and tools. After the cardboard design is assembled, it can be connecting to real-time data, such as the weather or seismic activity anywhere in the world. There is no soldering or coding involved. Instead, Widgets are configured using your voice through a Google Home. With this kit, I explored how we can involve and empower families in the development of future Internet of Things (IoT) products and scenarios - and especially involve more members of the household in these activities with different ages and interests.

Technology

A Domestic Widget hosts a Wi-Fi enabled microcontroller and servo motor. Every minute, this microcontroller requests instructions, which are simplified physical positions and movements based on live data streams. Users interact through a Google Home voice assistant, and choose data streams and a particular method of mapping the data to physical movements.

Contribution

As part of my design-research led PhD, I fully designed and developed this toolkit. This includes the physical (product) design, hardware, software, server protocol, voice interface 'app', instruction booklets as well as the photographs displayed here. In addition, I was responsible for the setup, execution and analysis of the research activities involving the Domestic Widget's deployment.