Ele-Phidget


Ele-Phidget is an ambient notification for an audio chat program. When you receive a message, the elephant turns around and faces you. You push the elephant's stomach to listen to the message. When no messages are left, the elephant turns away. To record a message, you squeeze the elephant's head and speak into the elephant's trunk. A second squeeze stops recording and sends the message.

 

I modified a  chat program I had built previously to include Ele-Phidget with the program. Two force sensors connected to an Interface Kit were triggers message recording and listening.  A servo motor rotates the elephant to indicate the retrieval of a new audio message.  A microphone is embedded into the elephant's trunk.  Currently, the speakers are attached to the computer as per normal.

see the video

The Creator

Shivaughan Warwaruk created this for her short assignment as part a senior-level human computer interaction class at the University of Calgary.

 

Created in March, 2002

Next exhibit: Magnetic Dessert