Class Exercise A
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sketch (design) a machine/device that enhances your creativity 100 times.
Concept:
My main design interest is in fashion, so I originally thought of a hair accessory containing electrodes to stimulate brain areas associated with creativity. I thought it was a little too simple, though, so I tried to expand the idea by thinking of other (external) sources of creativity. It then occurred to me that artists and musicians often get inspiration from images and sounds occurring in the environment. Thus, functions that aid the user in perceiving such inspiration meaningfully should increase the user’s creativity.
However, a device that can analyse scenes or ambient sound and turn them into meaningful inspiration would most likely be bulky due to the sophisticated artificial intelligence needed. Since the device would need to be carried around for it to be useful, I thought of having a small, wearable device that accesses the processing power of a large computer through a wireless connection.
Another issue that occurred to me was that creative artists are commonly perceived as caught up in their inspiration and somewhat detached from reality. To avoid this, the device only filters sounds and sights on one side, leaving the other eye and ear free to perceive the environment normally. Being able to compare the filtered environmental inputs with the raw, realistic version also allows the user to learn to pick up inspiration through the own senses instead of overly relying on the device.
Rough pencil sketch of the wearable headset:
Device parts (numbers labelled in sketch):
1) Antenna
Connects portable headset to a (non-portable) sophisticated central processing computer via a wireless connection. The connected computer will analyse all environmental input received by the device, as well as coordinate the output functions of the headset.
2) Earpiece
Ambient sounds from the environment are picked up by hidden microphones, transmitted to the processing computer through the antenna and analysed. The computer then filters the sounds to the user through the earpiece, highlighting natural rhythms occurring in the environment. This serves to provide inspiration to spur musical creativity.
3) Lens
Filled with nanotechnology, the see-through lens can function as a video camera, taking in the user’s surroundings. The image is transmitted to the processing computer, which filters the scene viewed by the user through the lens and highlights interesting patterns and silhouettes to the user. This provides inspiration for visual art.
4) Headband
The underside of the headband is covered with tiny electrodes that stimulate the user’s brain through the scalp. The creative centres of the brain are stimulated with weak electric currents, enhancing creative thinking and perception.
posted at
22:22
