Hack a Toy
This week I combined my assignments for two classes: Wearables and Assistive Tech. My assignment for Wearables was to hack into a toy, and make it of course, wearable. My assignment for Assitive Tech was to create a device that would allow someone who could not speak, the ability to communicate in a social setting.
For Assitive Tech., I worked with Rosie Daniel and Evrim. When we met to discuss our project, we tried to think of how we could communicate with each other in a bar setting without speaking. Our immediate response was to text message; which of course is awkward to do when you are standing next to the person you are trying to speak with. After thinking through the concept a little more, we came up with the idea to use a wearable, dry erase board, that could be worn easily on your arm.
I bought a couple of toys for my Wearables assignment and had begun to hack into them. One of the toys I bought was a globe that emitted light and changed colors. Once I cracked it open and realized how tiny the perf board and chip was, I immediately thought to combine this idea with my Assistive Tech assignment. How can someone write back and forth with someone at a bar, if the lighting is bad?
Here are some pictures of the process and the compeleted proejct:
