Type: Master
Status: Completed September 2017
Student: Matteo Pontiggia

The goal of this project is to design and prototype a tangible device for controlling the capture and exchange of “lifelog” data – e.g., photos captured by a wearable camera, or audio recorded by a wrist-worn audio-capture device – with other, co-located peers. The overall vision of lifelogging is that captured experiences can help us remember better our past, and thus improve our cognitive skills and overall memory performance. By supporting the dynamic exchange of such captured data when co-located with other (e.g., in a meeting) we can also have access to our own experiences from someone else’s vantage point. The to-be-designed device would allow one to control both the capture and the subsequent sharing of experiences not only in a tangible way, but also act as a social marker that would allow all parties involved in a meeting to understand when their discussions would be captured and shared. For example, recording would only take place if the device is placed on a table; exchange with others would only proceed if other devices are placed next to it; shaking the device would delete the last minute of captured data, etc. The first stage of this project will study the different requirements for a privacy friendly data recording device. The second part will be about applying those requirements and constructing a first prototype of a physical recording gadget. Willingness to learn advanced prototyping skills (3D printing, embedded systems development) is required, prior actual experience with embedded systems programming (Arduino or Raspberry Pi) is a plus.

For more information contact: Agon Bexheti