- dEsiGn for tHE nEtworkEd worLd (^) | 317
Machine to machine communication is at the heart of many interac-
tions and systems that we can’t live without. This means that designers
need to think about not just the human actors in a system, but also the
objects, networks, and algorithms that run our environments.
This puts the modern designer in a bit of a sticky situation. As an exam-
ple, a project on which we recently embarked at Normative includes a
mobile app that communicates with a physical box of electronics affixed
to the back of a ski that is laced with embedded sensors, as shown in
Figure 14 - 1. That box also needs to be aesthetically pleasing and fit the
skier’s understanding of how a ski accessory should look and feel. The
skier needs to enjoy working with the companion mobile app in a way
that enhances the skiing experience. The box of electronics that reads
the data from the sensors embedded in the ski needs to communicate
that data to the mobile device, and has to communicate that it is doing
something to the person on the skis through a simple display of LEDs
and recessed buttons. All of this needs to happen in a way that makes
sense to the skier, doesn’t detract from skiing, and withstands the envi-
ronment of the slopes.
f gure 14-1. i an early ski prototype^2
2 Copyright Normative, 2013
nandana
(Nandana)
#1