Many entertainment systems from games, television programmes and movies require sound to help build the atmosphere and mood of the current situation being viewed. My project is to understand the implications of hearing loss and focus on the sense of touch:

How can the sense of touch be utilised to play a game effectively without relying on other senses.

and/or

How it can be used to simulate a similar emotion to what the normal hearing can perceive through sound.

Kevin Wong

How can the sense of touch be used to simulate or even replace the need for hearing?

Storyboard

2. Timmy decides to find an alternative to gaming that hopefully does not require sound. He finds a site to an exhibition with an interaction designed by a student that allows people to play without relying on sound.

3. Finding it interesting, he decides to visits the exhibition and locates the interaction.

1. Timmy is hard at hearing. He decides to play a game on his phone. But could not hear the alert sounds telling him to press a button and ended up losing the game.

WELCOME TO THE SOCIAL DIGITAL EXHIBITION

5. Timmy realises that the table his hand is on vibrates everytime he hits the ball. He also feels where the ball is moving through the air blowing out of the device. Timmy is enjoying this game without having to rely on sound.

4. Timmy notices the booth with the interaction. Containing the classic game ‘Pong’ he goes in to try it out. The first thing he realises is that the unit removes the use of light and the game is solely played through touch.

Design

Aireal - ‘this diminutive machine will puff air rings that allow you to actually feel objects and textures in midair--no special controllers or gloves required.’

Focusing my project on touch, I find using air pressure an interesting method to explore.

Guru’s Day:While discussing with Ryan, he gave valuable feedback regarding senses and how sense deception can come in to play. By focusing on only one sense, the information of what it will feel like, how would the particular chosen sense be used to effectively simulate emotions and how will activity (within entertainment systems) still be available without relying on any other senses. Experimenting on one sense is definitely something that I found interesting to study in to and may allow me to understand how deaf people cope without hearing and do not find it a liability.

inFORM - ‘is a surface that three-dimensionally changes shape, allowing users to not only interact with digital content in meatspace, but even hold hands with a person hundreds of miles away.’

Using the capabilties to interact with a product without the need to physically touch anything conveys the idea of playing a classic game of ‘Pong’ with your hand as the controller.

Technology

Mesh lid. Protect fans while allowing air to flow through.

Computer fans. Linked to an arduino, allows the rpm of each fan to vary accordingly to help portray the movement of an object.

Arduino. One of the main components of technology. Arduino will allow the setup of how a user will interact with the design through programming.

Potentiometer. With the basic game of ping pong, this sliding potentiometer can be coded to represent the paddle.

Body. The idea of a simple and sleek shape to fit components in.

Coding.void loop(){ analogWrite(PWMPin, 1023); //Power on PWMPin, tested, 1023 max, 30-50ish min delay(5000);}

This portion of coding allows a specific speed for a fan to be set.

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People. To help understand the issue behind deafness, user research is necessary to help pinpoint the topic which I want to work on. Having user testing will help develop my idea in to a more effective solution.

Design. Researching in to existing products, including aesthetics, functionality and cost will help guide my project in a manageable direction.

Technology. Deciding on existing technologies that I am comfortable to work with. Will allow an easier approach to effective prototyping from my standards and possible finished products.