Internet of Things device
Learning studio 3: Spring 2021 // Exercise 3
Thinking like a designer, developing a "quick and dirty" prototype, Arduino coding
Project Overview
How can the experience of driving a car be altered to feel more embodied for a driver? For this project, I developed a possible Internet of Things solution to this question by using Arduino.
With my prototyped experience, when a driver enters the car the music will automatically start playing. When a song comes on that the driver wants to add to a playlist, they can simply hit the button and it will be added. Lastly, when the driver exits the car, the music will automatically stop playing and the driver will receive a notification to their phone reminding them to text someone if they need to.
Below, you can see my Arduino circuit. You can also see the video demonstrating the device.
Reflection
I find reflections to be the most important of any project. Why was it important to me? How did it help me grow as a designer? Why have I included this project on my portfolio?
Open-ended projects used to scare me. In fact, I purposely avoided them all the way up until this very project. Being told to create an IOT device from nothing was terrifying- and I never reflected upon my ability to create something from nothing until this project. I spent 4/5 of my time trying to find a direction, and coming up empty time after time.
My indecision on this project was my biggest fault- but what I ended up with was a "quick and dirty" prototype that worked for all intended purposes. It wasn't perfect, in fact it was everything but. But I loved it for that very reason- this project taught me to be a little less of a perfectionist, and gave me a new found appreciation for designing from nothing.
The big takeaway: Simplicity is okay! Not everything has to be so complex. Just make things.