Sixth Sense
2016
Ambient Color Changes to Communicate Masseges
Imagining light and color as means to extend our communication capabilities…
Sixth Sense is a device that explores a new way in which we can enhance our senses to stay well communicated and aware of the things that are truly important for us by challenging current technology’s tendencies to rely on intrusive messages and notifications to get a user’s attention. The goal of the project is to provide an exploratory framework for developing non verbal communication systems for interfacing humans with other humans as well as with machines.
Giving voice to those who don’t have one…
The first prototype of the device was purposed as an ambient baby monitor that lets parents know the state in which their baby is in, whether it be crying or calm. The device works as an extension of the babies communication capabilities and as an extension of the parent’s receptive and awareness capabilities. Sixth Sense allows parents to maintain high levels of productivity while keeping a close eye and bond with their newborns. The subtle lighting features can seamlessly let parents know about the state of their baby in a non obtrusive manner. The extra information and detail that can be found on many monitors today has been purposefully removed to encourage human to human interactions of parents with their babies, allowing them to bond and let them grow in the most humane way possible.
Anomaly Detection System
The device works by continuously listening to the environment through a microphone. It’s algorithms are constantly looking for drastic changes in sound intensity created by the sound of a crying baby. Once the device detects that the baby is crying it signals the parents by changing its color. The above images show the different signals that the algorithm looks for, the way in which they are processed and the electronic components that make up the system.
Some future improvements…
Future improvements for the device will include the separation of the detection components from the lighting devices so that they can be placed around the home. Separation of the components will allow for parents to only place the sound detecting component besides the baby and connect its signals to many types of smart lighting devices around the home so that they will never be disconnected from their babies.
Credits & Acknowledgements
Alejandra Díaz (Design Mentorship) | Ricardo Roberts (Hardware & Software Mentorship)
Adolfo Caballero (Concept Development) | Sheccid Sánchez (Concept Development)