FRANK
group project | 2nd master semester
FRANK will be presented at the Thirteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interactions in Tempe, Arizona, US.
FRANK is an interactive material experience that senses and reacts to the user's input. By embedding sensors, magnetic actuators and a microcontroller, we were able to program its behaviour in detail. Interacting with FRANK makes you experience a future where everyday environments will be composed of dynamic objects, intuitive interactions and stronger emotional connections between user and product.
Smart materials offer an opportunity to rethink the concept of human-product interaction, regarding both on the tactile as well as the information communication level.
In this project, we focused on smart materials and their possibilities for the future of design, by questioning: What could a materials behaviour look and feel like? Furthermore, how would we design the interaction with such a material?
Our hands can feel a myriad of textures, distinguish shapes or sense weight and all this defines how we as humans perceive the world. Building on this experience, our project brings a new idea in to the interaction paradigm with everyday products. As we are at a turning point, where the digital becomes more physical, our project FRANK both contributes to inspire different communities and adds value to human-product interaction.
The interaction flow is designed to keep the user engaged in an interaction that involves visual and tactile senses by shifting the user focus to the actual interaction momentum. With a smart material like FRANK, limitations can only be a matter of the designer’s imagination rather than given by the material qualities.
