2023 || Design Project
Mentor: Joep Frens, Yaliang Chuang
The design of socio-technical systems is receiving increasing attention, with concepts such as ubiquitous computing, ambient intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT) reshaping how we live together. Yet interaction in IoT is still often reduced to screen-based smartphone apps, while emerging fields like embodied, tangible, and rich interaction point toward more physical, human-centered alternatives. This project investigates how tangible interfaces can support social connection in neighborhoods through two prototypes: Next-Door, which lets neighbors invite each other for walks via a physical map and pull-string, and Snapshot, a camera that enables sharing location-based photos to foster community engagement.
The Next-Door & Snapshot
Neighborhood IoT products often rely on apps and notifications, which can feel abstract, distracting, or inaccessible, especially for building genuine local relationships. This project asks how tangible, embodied interactions might better support everyday social connection—such as going for walks together or sharing moments from the neighborhood—by matching human sensorimotor skills and social rhythms.
Why?
The project focuses on a single neighborhood-scale system composed of two linked prototypes: Next-Door, a wall-mounted neighborhood map for coordinating walks, and Snapshot, a tangible camera for capturing and sharing photos. Work was limited to concept development, prototyping, and literature-informed reflection on interaction quality and growth in IoT systems, rather than long-term deployment.
Scope
Iterated on form–interaction–function alignment (e.g., mapping time to pull-string length, turning a camera button into a photo “token”). Experience prototyping and scenario-based use allowed us to explore aesthetics of interaction, perceived affordances, and how modular and hybrid system qualities could support future growth.
Approach
Next-Door showed how a simple pull-string and ambient neighborhood display can make committing to a shared walk socially legible and physically intuitive. Snapshot demonstrated how rematerializing digital photos into a physical token can make data sharing more playful and emotionally expressive.