October 01, 2005
Thank you Catherine, Michael and Todd!
I had fun doing our first group project.
We got through it!
Hope to collaborate with you all in the very near future! :)
I will soon post the rest of our presentation!
Posted by min at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2005
Prototype Proposal
During the first week of our observation project, we noted and documented the pattern of movement in the upstairs and downstairs email station space. We photographed and video taped the space parameters, noted the obvious ways that people were utilizing the space and interviewed various users as to how they felt the space could be improved or changed to better serve there needs. Through these observations and interviews, we came up with several important ideas as to how we could affect the space, utilizing its current design, and thus affect those who entered the space. Of most importance to many users, as aformentiond, was the idea of comfort, or in this case lack thereof. We concluded that while we probably would not be able to provide comfort during the actual act of using the email stations, we could devise a way that users could feel more comfortable while waiting for a particular email station to be free.
In thinking about a prototype for this idea, one of our first thoughts was that it would be ideal if people did not have to wait to use the stations in the actual downstairs area, since the area itself was devoid of any real aspect of comfort. If people could go and do other things, such as smoke a cigarette outside, get a snack or sit and relax in the common rea while they were waiting and then be notified that a computer was free, this would not only make their experience of the space more ideal, but it would ultimately change the pattern of movement throughout the space. There would be no more lines of people waiting to use the stations, no more flow of people to the downstairs area who would then simply return back upstairs frustrated at the line. In fact, with all probability, the only people who would be downstairs would be those utilizing the terminals.
In thinking about how we could construct this prototype, we researched the possibility of using pressurized mats that would sit directly under the feet of someone using the computer. The mat would sense that no pressure was being exerted upon it and, after a 15 second delay, could trigger, via wireless methods ideally, a display source of some kind located in various places such as on a column in the common area and one of the white columns facing the outside “smoking area”. We discussed what kind of display modules we could use. Ideally, one of the scrolling LED light boxes (similar to what we see at the DMV) would be the most effective way to communicate that a computer was free. They are readily identifiable to many people and could be programmed easily to say “I am free” when one of the pressure sensing mats transmits information that it senses no pressure being exerted upon it. They could also be programmed to flash a green light when a computer is or becomes available and a red light if none are. Unfortunately, the LED boxes are very expensive and perhaps not the best cost-effective solution to the problem.
Another idea we came up with was to use a traffic light box, either bought or, for expense and design purposes, made that would maintain a continuous red light until a computer became available, which would subsequently trigger a green light to flash. If several computers were available or one was available for a long time, say three or five minutes, the green light would stop blinking and be steady. The idea that our group found to be the most interesting, however, was to take old computers, set them up in the notification areas and network them to each so that each computer could alert a potential user of availability by writing “I am free” on the screen when told to do so via connection to the pressurized mats. By utilizing old computers, our prototype would certainly cost less then the LED boxes. It would also be visually more interesting and would need less explanation then a traffic light LED system, which could potentially be signaling anything and would thus have to be explained. Regardless of the display mechanism, each potential user could feel free to do anything they wanted within the view of the display, thus allowing a more efficient and comfortable experience of the space.
Posted by at 02:55 AM | Comments (0)
final video doc
Email stations, TSOA, Lower Level
Documentation. Sound needed.
Sound recordings by Todd.
Video by Catherine.
Video editing by Michael.
Pictures by Min.
Posted by min at 02:25 AM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2005
Proposal
Proposal
Group #4
Physical Computing
Email Stations
In thinking about a possible space to observe, our group came up with a variety of different options. We considered several locations including a public playground on Houston Street, which is also utilized by an elementary school during the day. However, after some discussion, all of us agreed that while the playground would provide us with ample activity to observe, our primary concerns in conceptualizing this project were choosing a space where the activity and purpose of use were relatively consistent and having the opportunity to potentially implement our proposed prototype if its design and construction were within our means. Given this set of concerns, we came to the conclusion that we would observe and document the email stations in the basement and lobby of Tisch. Ultimately, we felt that this choice would allow us the flexibility to view the usage of the sight multiple times daily and thus get a more accurate idea of what we could design to improve the space.
In the beginning, our primary hypothesis was that many people who used the email stations in the basement were waiting extended periods of time to check their email and that some were leaving the space frustrated because of this wait. Certain members of our group had observed this occurring previous to the beginning of the project. However, once we began to further observe the sight we were surprised to find that this was not necessarily the case. At various times during the day from as early as 10am to as late as 9pm, over a four day period, different members of our group documented the sight, often seeing many of the stations in use but never observing the lines and wait times we were expecting. We did observe, however, that the email stations in the lobby were frequently more crowded and that many people were waiting upstairs not knowing that there were identical computer stations a few feet away. Upon interviewing a total of ten people we found utilizing the sight, we learned that, while some people had experienced wait times, especially upstairs, their primary concerns were not being able to print and the lack of a comfortable space at the sight.
After discussing our observations, we began to contemplate how we could improve the sight based on user concerns and what we had ourselves observed. Installing a printer was obviously not relevant to our current project, although it does sound like a pretty good idea. We focused instead on how we could make the space more comfortable and how we could alert those waiting for the computers upstairs that there were available stations downstairs. We came to the conclusion that if there was a notification system alerting potential users to the fact a computer station was open, people would not have to wait by the computers themselves and could go do other things such as relax in the Common Room or smoke a cigarette outside, thus making their experience of the space more comfortable without changing the space itself. We came up with the possibility of creating a set of devices that could be installed by the upstairs computers, in the Common Room and either outside or visible to the outside that would alert, via a blinking light possibly, that a computer station was available. This system could also alert users on each computer if they had been on the computer for too long. Additionally, the system would have a 15 to 30 second delay, so if there were people waiting for a particular station the system would not alert others waiting in different areas that a computer was available unnecessarily. There are obviously many things we still have to discuss concerning how we could make a prototype of this system, especially since it should, ideally, be wireless. However, we concluded that our initial ideas for the space would enhance the current activity and address user concerns by shortening wait times upstairs and allowing people to engage in more comfortable activities while waiting for a computer instead of leaving the space and thus not utilizing it for its intended purpose.
Posted by at 02:53 AM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2005
hey gang, meeting tomorrow
September, 22nd,Thursday. NOON at ITP.
I'll try to be on time but I'm getting my internet cable set up tomorrow. So please excuse me if I'm a few minutes late.
Thanks Catherine for doing the writing, thanks Todd for the audio work and thank you Michael H for editing!
:)
Posted by min at 10:23 PM | Comments (0)
Some pictures of our SPACE
The basement-level computer stations. The flow of the people make this space quite interesting. The computer stations are around these two pillars and people come from upstairs and through the hallways.
The layout
The people in the space
The wait area
Details of the work stations
Posted by min at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
September 19, 2005
Audio Documentation -- I'm on it.
I'm going to do some recordings tomorrow around 12:30. I'll be available until about 2:30 or so if anyone wants to come take pics or video, or whatever your chosen mode of documentation. You'll recognize me by my huge headphones and microphone. I'll be able to meet Wednesday...have you guys discussed your visions for integrating our observations?
I'd love to read some of your ideas before I go in to do the recordings...I haven't actually checked the space out yet(?!)
Posted by at 08:46 PM | Comments (1)
Meeting on Monday, 0919
Catherine, Michael and I met up on Monday morning and agreed on the space at TSOA, the lower level computer stations.
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 3pm at ITP. Todd, let us know if you can make it. Also, could you do some audio recordings of this space?
We went to the space at 1230, expecting to see a lot of people, but we didn't see that many people. So we decided to document on our own until Wed and agree on what to present in class.
We'll have audio recordings, video, pictures and some layout drawings.
Thanks for all your hard work! :)
Posted by min at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2005
I'll be there at 10am, I'm assuming thats when we're meeting still (with the exception of Todd). Somone email me if thats not the case. I have to say that I'm not fully thrilled with the idea of using somewhere in the building as I think many people have done it before us but if thats what you guys want to do i'll go along. I'll bring my video camera to shoot some stuff for documentation purposes, even if we don't use it.
see everyone then
-cat
Posted by at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2005
our itp bldg, lower level, mac stations
hey group, so we're meeting on monday at 10am right? besides todd? (he has work)
i'll do some recordings of the space on sunday (although there won't be much activity that day) and do some sketches/ take some pics.
let's try to take this slow and come up with a strong concept for our project so that we could make a good prototype for it for the second week.
let me know what you all think
thanks! :)
m
Posted by min at 10:39 PM | Comments (0)
space close to home...
Hey-
Min and I have just met here at Tisch, and we think that it might be best to document a location close to the building, or even in it, just for convenience's sake. We've come up with two suggestions...one is the e-mail stations downstairs here, and the other would be an elevator. We thought that smaller spaces with some consistency of use might be more manageable for this first project. I really want to help document this, especially in the audio domain (since I am a music tech guy after all), and I'm willing to record the space, conduct audio interviews, etc. Unfortunately I won't be able to meet at 10 AM on monday, becasue I have to work.
Please post some replies so we can get the ball rolling.
Hope you're having a great weekend.
Todd
Posted by at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2005
Another thing- I can video tape some stuff this weekend as examples.
-cat
Posted by at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)
As I mentioned, I had the idea of observing a playground and possibly attempting to create something that had to do with safety. For instance, I have spent a lot of time in parks, as I have a three year old, and have seen many kids get hurt or not utiliz the equipment properly. Perhaps this may involve a sensor that could calculate weight and beep when the weight on a particular slide or suspension bridge exceeded a safe level.
I also thought it might be interesting to explore the idea of an interactive playground. I think many children get hurt becuase they are not utilizing the equipment properly due to boredom with it's designed use.
These are just ideas...I'm a beginner at this and am unsure how we could actually design this.
- Cat
Posted by at 09:51 PM | Comments (0)