humanoid blanket
2015 tagged with: interaction design filed under:
demonstrating how robots can be humanoid in behaviour, and not just in appearance. a blanket looks nothing like a person, and yet, it can be expressive and win our trust by behaving like a person would.
in an age of ever-increasing loneliness, humanoid robots may help reduce anxiety, alleviate stress, communicate safety, or just help lonely people sleep better. they may or may not look like people, but if they want to win our trust and be welcomed in our private spaces, they will certainly need to behave as we do.


work: video; and simple prototype (fabric, mdf, servo-motors, projection, arduino).
with: ziyang zhang, ju hong, timothy forge, woo jung jung, lauren jin.
and with thanks to: anna unger.
in response to a brief set by the science museum, london.
showcased in uk robotics week in summer, 2016.
shobhan s
projects
-
bühler hmi 2023 interface design, illustration
-
“future, dear.” 2023 design fiction, residency
-
the future of market research 2022 design fiction
-
study app 2020–22 a morally-designed study-companion for children. digital-product design
-
safaire 2022 an affordable air-disinfectant. industrial design
-
datasculptures 2020–21 turning data into 3d-printed wood. experience design
-
mcd order-taker 2020 multi-modality in voice-led conversational interfaces. experience design
-
the cost of war 2020 visualising an endless stream of violence. communication design
-
covid-19 visualisation 2020 spread information not fear. communication design
-
furhat 2019 a multi-modal situated social robot. experience design
-
pragnya identity 2019 identity for a construction company. graphic design
-
tree 2017–18 watching a tree for one year. photography
-
swarm xiii 2018 simulating collective behaviour. electrics, art
-
future of the pin 2017 an alternative to smartphones as the de facto means of identity verification. critical design
-
zoological 2017 people and balloon-y bots say ‘hello’. animation, art
-
kajra 2017 vinyl cover for coldcut. graphic design
-
kinds of life 2016 an autonomous balloon at a children's hospital. animation, art
-
the cost of war 2016 the true cost of war is paid by civilians with their lives. art, experience design
-
ied-16: identity 2016 advertising hybrid designers-engineers-artists.
-
collaboration for expression 2015 thoughts on collaboration, people & algorithms. interaction design
-
inflating curiosity workshop 2015 pneumatics and play. play
-
aspect 2015 what if projectors didn't ask people to get out of their way? software, art
-
humanoid blanket 2015 humanoid robots do not need to look like people. interaction design
-
fionnuala font 2015–16 handwritten font for a graphic novel. graphic design
-
onn/of 2015 explaining quantum physics with bulbs. experience design
-
everybody needs somebody 2015 exhibiting a researcher's work on tangible social networks.
-
soundobject 2014 colourful sheet-music. interaction design
-
migration tops 2014 spinning-tops to present migration data. experience design
-
bookpad 2014 design lead for a software startup. graphic design, digital-product design
-
threads of change 2013 presenting textile traditions of north-east india. graphic design
-
muvtons catalogue 2012–14 catalogue for industrial wheels. graphic design
-
parameterised tree 2012 graphic, code, time. play
-
the thesis super-family 2012 (fictional) poster advertising a type family. graphic design
-
tata classedge 2012 web-portal for educational content. digital-product design
-
with jwt 2011–13 identity design explorations. graphic design
-
bdes work 2007–11 undergraduate study: design methods. design