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Time Machine
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Title: Time Machine
Type of work: Sustainable Tangible Product Design
Date: 27 May - 14 June 2019
Team: Davi Magalhães, Mitsu K. Shah and me
Software: Arduino, Processing
Deliverables: product concept, physical prototype, UX video, service model map, impact curve, design principles
The project brief is to build an electronic product with positive glocal impact, considering the design concept from design phase to production, use and after life scenario. Our team is focusing on global impact (UN Sustainable Development Goal #12 - Responsible Consumption and Production) and local impact on household energy saving.
My role in the project is research, concept development, physical computing, physical prototyping, and sustainability evaluation.
RESEARCH
From facts of sustainable development goals, households consume 29% of global energy and consequently contribute to 21% of resultant CO2 emissions. Tackling energy consumption in household, especially in families with children which considered consumes more energy is crucial. From research, game consoles consume up to 44% of their total energy while in standby mode.
The team did some desk research and 4 in-depth interviews with target users, focusing more on electricity using behaviors and family education on electricity.
KEY INSIGHTS
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“Vampire” appliances use energy even when they’re switched off, or not performing their primary functions.
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Cost is the only existing relationship between people and energy consumption.
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Families with children generally use more energy in the home than those without and this tends to increase as children grow older.
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Kids learn through playing and tangible interactions. They connect new concepts with their existing knowledge.
CONCEPT
Time Machine is a video game console adapter-device. It teaches kids about energy consumption in household vampire devices, and in this case- the video game console. Kids can learn about standby power consumption in a playful and engaging way that nudges them into responsible behaviors towards a sustainable lifestyle. This will help them learn the mindset of “save now” to have more in the future.
How does it work?
When Time Machine detects the “vampire” standby mode after play, it cues the kid to unplug the video game console. While the console is unplugged, Time Machine triggers a ball drop every hour. Every ball gives the kid an additional 5 minutes of playing time. The kid can then feed the balls back into Time Machine to redeem their ‘extra time’.
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PROCESS
In order to have a behavioural change for kids, the team did several rounds of ideation and prototypes to meet kids needs (play games) and save the energy at the same time. As target group is kids, having a short yet engaging feedback loop would make them easier to see what benefits they're getting and willing to use more.
Design Principles that the team was following:
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Show every little bit matters
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Empower to take actions
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Humanize the data
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Make it easy
Team brainstorming on product ideas.
Rapid-prototyping on initial concept idea.
Rapid prototype on how to attract children's attention
Final physical prototype
LEARNINGS
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Design with positive impact considering overall lifecycle including design phase, production, use and after life scenario
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Time Machine helps save energy now, but the ripple effect it causes due to behavioural change is exponential and has a long-term positive impact
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Fun tangible and intangible interaction starts from physical input, digital output and redeeming the digital back into a physical output