SMART

n the beginning of 2010, Microsoft Research came to our interaction class at Art Center College of Design and proposed a design challenge–“service meets social”. Being from California, our educational system has been deeply effected–to name a few of the giant issue: budget cuts, young and new teachers getting pink slips, students being packed into classrooms, and outdated standards. Our group easily, though sadly, found a field that desperately needs real solutions. Watching our family, friends, and community being negatively affected by the troubling educational system, we were motivated and inspired to find innovative ideas to solve our state’s educational problems. We approached our project with these questions: How do we update and integrate relevant technology into the classroom? How do we allow teachers to feel comfortable to share their ideas? Most importantly, how do we allow students to get the most out of their education? STEPS, our project, is an online resource and community for educators. With lesson plan databases, member profiles, and a series of expandable integrated applications and devices. STEPS brings networking to K-12 education and allows innovative ideas to be shared beyond the classroom.

Eye Conductor helps people express themselves through music using only their eyes and facial gestures.By translating eye gaze and facial expression into music, Eye Conductor enables people who are otherwise unable to express themselves creatively.

While typically not represented by keepsakes, memories of food are some of my strongest. Last year I tried to bring a feeling of comfort back to the isolated existence I experienced in America in the midst of a global pandemic, through food and cooking. Working with spices common in my family’s recipes and incorporating them into a textile allowed me to capture the comfort of scent; just the smell of a spice can trigger fond, powerful memories and transport you to a specific place and time. As a textile designer, I used food and sensorial memories to make home almost palpable- within reach. Through the magic of fragrance, I not only wanted to invite people to experience the warmth of my kitchen, but wanted to design a fabric that they could take, easily transport and use in their own spaces to comfort themselves when they felt isolated. Woven on the Jacquard Loom, Aromatics is an amalgamation of technology and handiwork. The textile is filled with spices commonly used in my family's Indian recipes. Designed with a complex woven structure to form a transparent 3-D gauze weave, pockets are woven in to the fabric that can be filled. Aromatics was made to be hung on a wall with the intention to fill up a space with warmth and envelope it in the aroma of spices. Interactive, sensorial and comforting- This textile is the materialisation of nostalgia through food.

Nouvelle réalité (New reality in French) is a physico-digital exploration project, it is a gateway between physical and digital worlds, aiming to generate artistic interest in children. The augmented reality gaming app reveals artwork from Lego assemblies built by the children. In this first experiment, we explore the De Stijl art movement through three unique art pieces.

Equinox prides itself on being a fitness innovator. More than just a gym, it’s the lifestyle brand for people who are laser-focused, type-A and in pursuit of perfection. With this in mind, we set out to provide members with an immersive cycling experience that tapped into their “always be better” mentality, and inspired the kind of competition and community that give boutique cycling studios their edge.

Color of Life offers visitors a unique perspective on the natural world: vibrant live animals, shimmering scientific specimens, and immersive interactive exhibits invite attendees to touch, see and experience the ways that nature’s colors help us understand and appreciate the health of ecosystems and the interconnectedness of life on our planet.

Sway is an engaging ‘interactive meditation’ experience making mindfulness available to everyone anywhere, anytime. It uses your phone to track movement and provides feedback to help you gain focus and improve your attention. With six unique levels, you will learn new techniques to be mindful in everyday life situations and subtly practice mindfulness anytime and anywhere.

Research shows that a great number of cosmetics and body care products contain hormone-altering chemicals that can seriously harm your health. But information is sparse and difficult to access. How can you remember what to look for when you don't even know how to pronounce the chemicals? The Norwegian Consumer Council wanted to inform the consumers about these dangers without creating the feeling of effortlessness that press stories and campaigns about product dangers often do. At the same time, they wanted to activate them in a battle against the cosmetics industry to rid dangerous products from the shelves. We created 'Hormone Check' - an application on your smartphone - that enables you to check cosmetic products in the store before you buy them.

MusicTongue is a tongue-training game App designed for middle-aged and elderly people. The purpose of the training is to retard the decline of mouth function, reduce the risk of choking and improve the quality of life of the elderly. The game can be played on phone or tablets, and through image recognition technology, the game can identify whether the player’s current mouth movements are correct through the front camera; the movements during training are designed by nursing experts according to the《Dysphagia Care Manual》of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan; the rules of MusicTongue are similar to “Just Dance”, players will do the training action with the music. After the game is finished players will be able to check the leaderboard and view their exercise records on the main screen. From the reaction time and correct movement rate, elders can see if they have improved.

100 BPM is a concept that helps to save lives by greatly increasing the success rate of administering compression-only CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to an adult after a cardiac arrest. It does this by giving the rescuer tangible and intuitive feedback through sound and light, for the two most important factors for the success of the procedure: compression depth and frequency of the compression. 100 BPM uses light to create a depth scale illustrating compression depth, and a 100 BPM beat for the user to follow. Sound is used not only to guide the rescuer to administer 100 BPM compressions, but to also manage the stress and emotional stages the rescuer experiences over time.100 BPM comprises of a comfortable central silicone coated pad (housing the main electronic components), through which the compressions are given. This pad sits on a larger fabric base, interwoven with LEDs. The product uses the surface area surrounding the rescuer's hands as an interface space, which is easily visible when in use. Rows of LEDs form an intuitive depth scale surrounding the hands and illuminate in yellow (for too shallow), green (for correct depth) or red (for too deep).