Nanotech Bracelet Detects Allergies

Designed by Luc de Smet, Awear is a speculative bracelet that can detect and record the sources of allergies for children in uncontrolled environments, such as schools and playgrounds. While the child wears the bracelet, parents or teachers can check the results on a computer or smartphone. It can be removed at any time when it is deemed no longer necessary or in the way.

Awear works by using an array of nanosize Raman spectroscopes that can scan any surface where light pierces. These miniature spectroscopes would look inside the wearer’s skin to see if an allergic reaction is occurring, and then analyze the surrounding air to detect what allergens are in range. GPS or another similar technology would record the location. The bracelet could be linked with others to share information, and could be modified to give warnings when certain known allergens are in range.

Want to design your own speculative nanotech? Check out the Call for Products in the second edition of the NANO Supermarket. 

Nano Supermarket 2nd Edition: Call for Products

The NANO Supermarket is evolving! After two successful years touring the globe, the supermarket is now entering its second edition. We are calling upon designers, technologists and artists to submit their speculative nanotech products for the next round of the NANO supermarket. A selection of the most innovative products will be exhibited in the physical space, and featured in the accompanying catalogue. The best product overall will win a € 2500 prize.

Nanotechnology is an important emerging technology  – it radically intervenes with our sense of what is natural – yet most people are still relatively unaware of its consequences. The Next Nature NANO Supermarket is a physical “supermarket” that features debate-provoking visions on nanotech products that could be expected to hit the shelves between today and 2020.

Just what is a nano product? Click through for some examples of our past entries:

Read more »

#11: Don’t Use Anthropomorphism if it Does Not Serve Any Purpose

Part 11 of the series 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design

Anthropomorphism can be a powerful tool in product design. But there are also risks involved that urge designers to be careful in their implementation. This final Golden Rule is also a warning: Don’t use anthropomorphism simply to ‘dress up’ a product; it will make it distracting and confusing, and although it may increase the initial appeal of the product, people will soon lose interest for it, as the promise of human likeness is empty.

Lecture on Next Nature book

Our resident designer Hendrik-Jan Grievink will give a presentation about next nature and our book Next Nature: Nature Changes Along With Us in Amsterdam on february 14th. Yes, we know that’s on Valentines’s Day, but Hendrik-Jan will skip a romantic dinner for this occasion so why can’t you?. So, see you there!

Raise Crops on the Moon with Plant-Growing Jelly

In dry areas like the desert, on mountain tops or on the moon it’s impossible to grow anything. Or is it? A rain in the desert sparks extreme plant growth from the moment the raindrops hit the ground. As long as the ground is irrigated and fertilized, plants will grow during the warm periods of the day. For some regions, the nights are another challenge. In the desert, temperatures drop drastically at night. For farmers, its a big challenge to keep the soil “livable” for plants, and to cope with the drastic temperature differences between day and night. Money is another problem. There needs to be a stable environment for plants to grow in, at low costs. That’s what the Plant-Growing Jelly project seeks to solve.

Conceived of by industrial design students Ruud van Reijmersdal, Tom Slijkhuis, Joppe Spaans and Jeroen Rood, this speculative project  consists of a gel which serves as an ideal growing environment for food crops. The gel contains all the vital nutrients for a plant to grow, and insulates it from extremes of temperatures. Isolated the plant from the outside world could enable plants to grow anywhere, even on the moon. This enriched environment would attractive for mass-production, as fruits and vegetables could grow faster, earlier, and take up less space than traditional methods.

Want to learn more about the inspiration and specifics for this project? Read the project report.

#10: Enhance Human Experience, Don’t Replace it

Part 10 in the 11 part series Anthropomorphism and Design.

The hidden danger with interactive products is that they will become so good at fulfilling our needs that they start to replace actual humans. This is not a futuristic scenario: In an increasing number of locations, from supermarket self-scan checkouts to online bookstores, automatization has replaced human contact. Eventually this may lead to us becoming alienated from other people, which seems to contradict today’s rapidly increasing communication possibilities. Anthropomorphic products have the potential to support, stimulate and enhance human contact, but they may also eliminate it.

#9: Be Aware of the Ecosystem You’re Invading

Part 9 in the 11 part series Anthropomorphism and Design.

With most products, one wouldn’t normally worry about the environment that it enters. However, anthropomorphic products inevitably elicit responses from others, even from non-human entities. This can have obvious advantages, for instance, when a human-shaped scarecrow frightens off the birds. But when daddy’s new toy frightens the children or the pets, there is a significant chance that it will end up on the attic. Bringing home an anthropomorphic product can be like introducing a new person into the household, which doesn’t always go as smoothly as the family might hope.

Image via I’m Not Obsessed.

Rule #8: Use Human Ethics

Part 8 of the 11 part series Anthropomorphism and Design. 

Anthropomorphic products blur the boundaries between products and people. Ethical norms for people don’t usually apply to products and vice versa. For example, there’s no need to apologize if you accidentally run into an object. But with an anthropomorphic product, you might instinctively say sorry, because it seems like the right thing to do. People can apply their attitude towards humans to products, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But transferring attitudes from a product to a human might lead to problems, especially when the product induces abnormal social behavior. Don’t make your product do what you wouldn’t want a person to do.

Image via Lazy Bone.

Rule #7: Respect Social Standards

Part 7 of the 11 part series Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design. 

Anthropomorphic products enter the human social space. Humans have the most complex social behavior of any organism on Earth. Anyone or anything trying to join in should be careful to do it right. Although an anthropomorphic product may function perfectly, if it crosses social boundaries it will still tick people off. This can cause the product to become a social reject, which won’t do sales much good. Luckily, it’s not hard to figure out why things go wrong. Imagine a scenario where a person and a product interact, then replace the product with a second person. If the actions of the second person and the product don’t match up, then there’s something off about the product’s design.

Image via Anvari.

Rule #6: Meet People’s Expectations

For past entries and an introduction to the 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design, click here. 

People expect many things from each other: Expect them to say hi in the morning; expect them to buy a ticket for the bus; expect them to watch out when driving a car; expect them to do their jobs well. People also expect certain behaviors from anthropomorphic products. When a product works differently than promised, this can cause confusion or anger. When a person gives commands to a product and the product ignores him, he becomes frustrated, because the product feels like a person who rudely turns his back. You wouldn’t accept that behavior from a person, so why would you accept it from a product?

The robot Saya has been developed to teach elementary-grade school children. She can speak different languages and make facial expressions, and hopefully confirm to what the kids expect of an instructor.

Image via The Daily Mail.

Bruce Sterling – Next Literature

At the Next Nature Power Show 2011 American Science Fiction writer Bruce Sterling – ‘perhaps the sharpest observer of our media-choked culture working today in any genre’, according to Time Magazine – enlightened us with his vision Next Nature. According to Bruce the emerging of next nature also asks for a next literature.

Rule #5: Consider Zoomorphism as an Alternative

For past entries and an introduction to the 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design, click here. 

When a product imitates animal behavior, the strict social rules governing anthropomorphic products don’t apply. People may be much more forgiving when a zoomorphic product makes an error, and fascinated rather than disturbed when it behaves other than expected. Similar to how we think a person walking in circles on the street is weird, but a dog chasing its tail is funny, Sony’s robot dog Aibo is considered adorable, while Honda’s humanoid robot Asimo seems clumsy and slow.

What is Next Nature?

At the Next Nature Power Show 2011, our master of ceremony Koert Van Mensvoort, gave a mini lecture on our changing notion of Nature. Where technology and nature are traditionally seen as opposed, they now appear to merge or even trade places. Time to explore how we can design, build and live in a nature caused by people. More powershow video’s ahead!

Rule #4: Complex Products Tend to Be Anthropomorphized

For past entries and an introduction to the 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design, click here. 

Think about a spoon. Now think about a spoon with a face. What do you think it is? Most likely, you think it’s a spoon with a face. Now think about a computer, which doesn’t have a face. Are you more likely to swear at the spoon or the computer? Humans have a natural tendency to anthropomorphize things they can’t explain. In the past, mysterious phenomena such as the weather, the sun or the moon were anthropomorphized in the form of gods.

Nowadays, technological products have advanced to such a degree that most people don’t understand them. They try to explain a device by ascribing human emotions and motives to its behavior. The more complex, capable and autonomous a product is, the more likely it’s going to be anthropomorphized. Designers of technologically advanced products should anticipate how users will anthropomorphize their product, and design it accordingly.

Photo via Top Design Mag.

Rule #3: Keep it ASS: Abstract, Simple and Subtle

For past entries and an introduction to the 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design, click here. 

Making good use of anthropomorphism isn’t easy. As you’ve probably already noticed, people may dislike products purely because of their anthropomorphic elements. One way to reduce this risk is to downplay the anthropomorphic qualities: keep it as simple, subtle and abstract as possible. When the implementation is so subtle that most people won’t consciously notice it, they are less likely to be annoyed, while the product can still achieve the desired effect. Abstraction reduces the chance of directly evoking negative emotions, while preserving the positive associations.

The Senseo coffee maker, above, was designed to resemble a butler bowing down to serve a hot cup of java. The anthropomorphic form is not obvious, but it still succeeds in evoking the pleasant sensation of being served.

Rule #2: Different People Anthropomorphize Differently

For past entries and an introduction to the 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design, click here. 

What people experience as anthropomorphic is highly personal. Tests have shown that when given a selection of products with anthropomorphic characteristics, people differ greatly in how human-like they perceive the objects to be. Even if an anthropomorphic product fits the cultural, social and ethical norms of a society, it’s still possible some people just won’t like it because they experience it differently.

A computer with a glowing round button is a fairly generic design. But to those who’ve seen Stanley Kubricks’ 2001: A Space Odyssey there’s an unavoidable association with murderous hardware. Would you trust the unblinking blue eye of a Lacie hard drive?

Last November the Next Nature Power Show rocked Amsterdam with a roller-coaster of performances from artists, scientists, designers, writers and architects.

This two minute compilation video features some (but not all) of its highlights. More pictures here. Individual presenter videos will be published over the coming weeks. For the crew members there is also pinkish backstage fun video.

Rule #1: Any Association that Can be Made, Will be Made

For other entries and an introduction to the 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design, click here. 

People have evolutionarily built-in mechanisms that help us to recognize the human face and body, and what gender, race and mood those faces and bodies are projecting. We’re so good at recognizing each other, we do it even when it’s not applicable. When we look at animals, machines, and random objects we infer characteristics that aren’t there. Especially when a product was intended to have certain human qualities, it’s easy to imagine even more. Since designers can create anthropomorphic products without even realizing it, it’s better to design these characteristics intentionally.

London’s Swiss Re, aka The Gherkin, is a famous example of a building that looks like something more than an innocent suite of offices. Click through for more examples of unintentional anthropomorphizing.

Read more »