Ghost Pepper

Intention/Narrative

Ghost Pepper is a smart pin designed to keep its wearer safe by detecting potential threats such as stalkers, kidnappers, and pickpockets. When Ghost Pepper detects movements from other people that seem threatening, it will alert the police or shoot pepper spray. Movements that might trigger Ghost Pepper include sudden approaches from behind, outsider access to personal baggage, or following. The device also tracks the wearer's heart rate and blood pressure as indication of when the wearer is anxious or being threatened. 

We chose to design a device like Ghost Pepper because there is a shortage of products on the market for discreet, internet connected personal protection. Ghost Pepper Spray is an inconspicuous device that can ensure its wearer feels protected at all times and from a variety of common outside threats. Furthermore, the device provides an effective solution to people living in crime-ridden areas due to its ability to covertly defend at close ranges. Ghost pepper can detect danger totally unbeknownst to the wearer, such as a stalking or pickpockets. Additionally, Ghost Pepper connects the wearer to help by calling the police and sending a picture of the aggressor. 

Process/Brainstorming

The overarching issue that we wanted to explore with this IoT device was whether a device could differentiate between aggression and affection in different contexts. 

We began by exploring the breadth of possible human-robot interactions in where there was room for error and problematic results. We then typified these potential problematic results:

We used a 6-3-5 brainstorming session to explore ideas stemming from these paradigms, and we were subsequently able to narrow down our focus to the regimes of "Affection misunderstood as aggression" and "Errors of food automation".

After exploring affectionate gestures that could be misconstrued as aggressive ones based on cultural norms, we determined that there can be a huge difference between gestures displayed towards friends versus those towards strangers. For example, a friend running towards you for a hug might move at the same speed as a stranger trying to attack/rob you. So, we imagined a device that would interpret this movement, but not necessarily be able to distinguish between the situations. Additionally, we assessed the physical signs of distress that occur in a victim before attack. After finding that both heart rate and blood pressure spike in this situation, we imagined the same device having the capability to track these stats. 

This brainstorming session raised several questions. Would the device register two bodies accelerating towards each other as an attack? Would someone slipping a surprise note into a friend's backpack alert the device of a pickpocket? Giving a presentation in front of a lot of people might trigger nervousness and increased heart rate for some people, but would the device interpret this setting as its wearer being threatened by a large group of people? Since these situations will give similar input to the Ghost Pepper Spray device, this IoT product would be dangerously flawed. We show in our video how two friends excitedly reuniting can trigger the device, along with the possible initiation of the pepper spray during an interview. 

Context & Design

Ghost Pepper is a small pin that the user can add on their front and back to ensure 360º of protection. Since it is such a small device that looks just like an accessory, the wearer can be sure that wearing it is not a burden or too conspicuous. The device has an embedded camera which is used to monitor the people around its wearer. The camera can be used to determine if someone has been following the wearer, if someone is approaching quickly and directly as in a kidnap or attack, and if someone is reaching into the wearer's bag or personal belongings. The inner side of the device includes heart rate and blood pressure monitors, which will register anxiety, potential threat, or medical emergency by spikes in these data. When such triggers are detected, it calls 911 with a report of the appropriate emergency, captures a photo of the attacker, and sprays pepper spray if necessary.

Some resources we modeled the device after include the Defender 24/7 (http://www.getthedefender.com/) and Redpoint Positioning (https://www.redpointpositioning.com/rtls-for-vertical-industries/rtls-for-construction/). Defender 24/7 is a better version of regular pepper spray, which calls 911 and takes a picture when it is sprayed. This is an effective method of recording the attacker as the pepper spray is already directed at the attacker's face. Redpoint Positioning is an attachment to construction worker's helmets which alerts the worker when he is in a zone of hazardous material or off-limit areas. It also tracks the movement of materials and tools, which helps avoid unintentional danger of misplaced items. 

Recommendations

In our brainstorming session before we developed the Ghost Pepper idea, we considered other problems that IoT devices can create, whether due to their hackability, security, or breakability. In the case of Ghost Pepper, the device has a noble intention, but due to some oversight, it may react in unwanted ways. If Ghost Pepper was actually built, we would recommend to its developers to fine tune the triggers. For example, should Ghost Pepper have the pepper spray feature or should it be another form of repelling potential attackers (e.g. a siren, silent alarm, or TASER)? Should the Ghost Pepper be automatic (based on communication between sensors and the Ghost Pepper) or user-activated? Perhaps some combination thereof?

If the pepper spray feature is desirable, Ghost Pepper needs to make sure to take into account the context that the wearer is in and the attitudes or expressions of the potential aggressors. Heart rate/blood pressure alone might not be the best indications of stress. Perhaps there are more bodily functions signs that it could track to function more appropriately. 

Reflection

Overall, we chose an interesting topic to explore with our device. Could a piece of technology ever distinguish between aggression and affection or nervousness? To make Ghost Pepper as functional as personal bodyguard, it needs to be able to read body language like people can, as well as things we can't necessarily see like blood pressure and surprise attacks.. Completing this project gave us great insight into the unexpected consequences that IoT designers need to consider when building new devices. How might devices be misused, broken, hacked, or otherwise play a role in its user's life besides its intended function? While we want our devices to be functional and helpful, we need to be mindful of different contexts in which they might not be so functional and helpful.