Ele-Phidget 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.
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
see the video