INTERACTION & EXPERIENCE DESIGN
Experience Energy
Experience energy aimed to change consumer’s energy consumption in a different way to traditional data graph energy monitors.
The monitor has been designed around familiar organic forms, these being the heart and lungs. The monitor provides both a physical interaction and a visual stimulus to get users to acknowledge when they are consuming energy and then aims to encourage users to change their own habits.
BIO-INSPIRED DESIGN
Experience
The heart and the lungs were selected for their specific functions within the human body. The lungs are used for gas exchange and have been selected to represent gas consumption within the home. As more gas is used the faster the outer volume will expand and contract. In the heart's case, electrical pulses are used to maintain a steady heartbeat, thus representing electricity. As more electricity is used the faster the ‘heart will beat’. This aims to create a link between physical human exhaustion to energy consumption in the home.
VISUAL MODEL AND ELECTRONICS PROTOTYPE
Design
A visual foam model was produced to show the scale of the form as well as a simple working prototype driven by an Arduino board simulating the expressions of the heart and the lungs.
SKETCH DEVELOPMENT
Concept
Bio inspired design sketches informing the initial shape and form of the energy monitor.
