In this project a team of 5 students, including me, created five interactive prototypes of vending machines that offer the user a walnut in an emotionally expressive way.
Why emotion? Emotional intelligence is essential in our social communication and decision-making processes. Current vending machines totally lack this and can be very frustrating to interact with when for example, we have to bow to them to reach for the product we just bought. Future products need to anticipate and adapt to user's wishes and act according to them. One way to do this is to behave in an emotional way.
When you approach Phunx, it detects you and starts to wiggle happily, since you are a potential customer. As you come closer he starts an enthusiastic dance, throws out the nut and goes back to sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment