Friendogram

Designing for smart homes & cities

For this assignment we were asked to design a smart product for the kitchen, a space that is typically the heart of the home. Conventionally, the kitchen is where family members come together; to converse, to cook and to share a meal. Commensality, or the act of eating together is a practice that is built into our evolutionary progress and it has many positive benefits still, for instance, it promotes conversations (connectivity), maintains relationships and it is also a buffer against negative emotions. (Danesi, 2012).

However, contemporary society makes it hard for family members to be in the family home at the same time. Things like busy schedules, immigration, work travels, or perhaps micro-living; studio apartments, cramped kitchens and the lack of a dining table makes family meals inconvenient or even infeasible. While it has never been this easy to stay connected, the decline in family dinners does leave something to be desired. A recent study saw that 74% of polled teenagers would like to have family dinners more often. Commensal eating in the family is particularly significant for teenagers and young adults, as they are very vulnerable to psychosocial disorders, such as depression, alcohol and drug abuse, disordered eating, anxiety etc. Family dinners presents the opportunity for family discussions and problem-solving. (Cason, 2006).

The type of smart product I envisioned to exist in the not to distant future (next 30 years) is a product/concept based on hologram technology. Already, tech companies such as Microsoft have made advances in this field, for instance HoloLens. HoloLens is a product that allows one to be present in a fictional holographic space, seen through an eye-glass wear. Other wearers of this technology can exist in the same space, and together they can alter that space with their commands and movements. New sounds, new holographic displays can be called upon, or drawn from a storage into the holographic scene. Long existing movies such as Star Wars and more recent ones such as Black Panther have flirted with holographic concepts in their imagination of a technologically advance world.

My product concept is for the dining room. A holographic table cloth that is connected to one's smart phone upon which holographic family members can be projected when they are called. Whilst it is not possible to touch the holographic display (it is light after all), one can talk to them and hear them respond as if they were there with them. During meal times, if family members are separated by obligations or geography, they can still eat together, although they are unlikely to be eating the same thing... however, the conditions for connectivity and conversation are stimulated.

For more please go to: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_kmo5QDo=/

References:

Danesi, G. (2012). Pleasures and stress of eating alone and eating together among French and German young adults. Menu: The Journal of Eating and Hospitality Research, 1, 77–91.

Cason, K. L. (2006). Family Mealtimes: More than Just Eating Together. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 106(4), 532–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2006.01.012