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Project Summary 


Intention

Lumi Touch Remake - "How’s the Weather" was designed to bridge emotional and physical distances between friends in different locations. Our concept leverages IoT capabilities to provide a simple yet powerful emotional check-in tool. With a small bird-shaped squeezable device connected to a luminous display, users convey their mood, triggering corresponding lighting effects on the paired device. Warm orange light signals happiness, while calming blue or trickling lights express sadness. The seamless integration of touch and light creates a unique sensory experience for emotional interaction. The prototype enables users to subtly communicate their emotional state and mood through tactile interaction with a bird-shaped device and accompanying glowing lights. The concept revolves around the metaphor of weather to represent moods: sunny, cloudy, rainy, and stormy, making it intuitive and accessible. The device fosters empathy and a sense of presence by translating physical interactions into visual feedback. This project explores how IoT devices can deepen emotional connections in today’s digitally connected but emotionally fragmented world.

Historical Cases

This project draws inspiration from historical emotional communication devices Lumi Touch frames, designed and developed by MIT Media Lab, which use haptic and visual elements to convey feelings. Drawing from theories of affective computing and emotional design (Norman, 2004), this project emphasizes subtlety and intimacy in interaction. The bird design was inspired by symbolic connections to nature and harmony, aligning with the Lumi Touch's objective to create gentle, non-intrusive communication. We reference prior works on embodied interaction (Dourish, 2001) to underline the importance of physical touch in human connection. 

How’s the Weather aims to reimagine personal emotional communication in a digitally connected world. This interactive IoT device enables users to check in with a friend’s mood and express their own feelings through tactile interaction and synchronized light patterns. The design’s driving intent is to foster emotional closeness despite physical distance, using the metaphor of weather to represent moods. By connecting two people in real-time with a tangible, engaging medium, Lumi Touch offers a solution for subtle, meaningful communication in today’s fragmented digital landscape.


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