As part of my PhD, I am looking into research methods to involve and empower families in the development of future Internet of Things (IoT) products and scenarios. Over the last decade(s), a growth of tools, platforms and consumer products has lowered the threshold to get involved in Do-It-Yourself (DIY) practises. Whilst self-built (or at least assembled) connected products are becoming more common, not all members of a household are necessarily involved – or interested for that matter. By leveraging the household creativity of existing activities, such as tinkering and crafting with household materials, we aim to involve all members of the household in these activities.
The Domestic Widgets toolkit enables households to craft and tinker with household materials, and bring them ‘alive’ using a minimal amount of components. Using speech-based interaction (currently the Google Home), the behaviour of the components can be discussed through conversation. As such, no coding or soldering is required – and the transparent vocal interaction can quickly be picked up by all household members.
Through both public engagements (e.g. Maker Faire UK), workshops and deployments, this project explores the (latent) needs and values within the complex ecology that we call home.
Resources
The code is currently not yet publically available. The following pictures show the currently implemented architecture.
Tools used
- Google Cloud Firestore, Dialogflow
- Node.js & Javascript
- Arduino (C++)
- Lasercutter
Related Publications
The DW toolkit, consisting out of a Google Home, some perforated cardboard, a motor and microcontroller. Domestic Widgets are intended to be decorated / modified to your heart’s content! An assembled Widget. All that is left is to decorate it. Me and a visitor talking about the Domestic Widgets and their potential. A set of pre-built Domestic Widgets were on display at the UK Maker Faire 2018. Visitors could interact with these using the Google Assistant on the tablet. This is an abstraction of the architecture used for the Domestic Widgets.