tl;dr: An is designed to use

Examples of Remote Communication and Connected Intimacy

Remote intimacy often considers sending ‘gestures’ that help couples coordinate and communicate over a distance. They normally think about adding missing cues to enhance a relationship. Have we considered the fully messyness of social relationships? Take cues from this weeks readings and consider the complex socio-cultural implications of maintaining relationships over distances. There are already many examples of ways that connected objects can do this.

Many projects explore simple ‘gestures’ that can be transmitted through connected objects. How can a handshake, a pat on the back or a hug be sent between two people across distances?

The Tangible Media Group at MIT created inTouch in 1998. It is designed to explore “new forms of interpersonal communication through touch”. It allows a gesture to be sent from one allowing two sets of connected rollers. Rolling the cylinders on one devices creates the corresponding action on the paired device, and vice versa, allowing two people to share

They continued this line of exploration with LumiTouch in 2001 where they developed a series of paired picture frames. Touches on the frames are sensed and when it is held the other frame lights up as an indication that the other person is thinking about them. It allows for a moment of intimacy to be shared and for new interpersonal communications with subtle gestures.

The Good Night Lamp is a kickstarter backed project which connects a series of bedside lamps. “Good Night Lamp is a physicalsocial network. It allows you to keep in touch with people all over the world. When you buy Good Night Lamp it comes as a set of two lamps: a Big Lamp and a Little Lamp. When you turn on your Big Lamp, the Little Lamp turns on too. You can send your Little Lamp to your friend or family member anywhere in the world. There is no lengthy setup and no internet connection needed.”

Lover’s cups sees drinking as ‘a new communication channel’ and a shared ritual between two people for example, to share a toast at distances. The cups ‘enable people to share the time of drinking with someone they care about in different places. Using a wireless connection, an otherwise ordinary pair of cups becomes a communication device, amplifying the social aspect of drinking behavior.’

Telesound allows sonic emoji to be shared between two remote individuals. Using a mobile device you can choose from a series of audio clips and develop multiple clips into a ‘grammar’ or vocabulary. Once the audio emoji is built, it can be shared with any friend’s speaker.

Pillow Talk is “an interactive product aimed at bringing long distance lovers together. Each person has a special pillow on their bed and goes to sleep wearing a wireless ring sensor. When one half of the couple goes to bed, the pillow on the other’s bed begins to glow softly. Placing their head on the glowing pillow, one can instantly hear the real-time heartbeat of their lover and feel closely connected, regardless of distance.”

Lovebox by Jean Gregoire was designed because he wanted to send his love to his fiancée back in France. He designed a modern take on the ‘love note’ - a gift box emblazoned with a pixelated heart on the outside spins when a new message is received and opening the lid reveals a personalized message on a digital screen.

Created by Elise Migraine at ECAL, “Twin Objects is a collection of devices designed to act as a ‘hotline’ in attempt to nurture intimacy and telepresence that long-distance relationships need… Twin Objects is a playful solution to enhance the experience of instant messaging using the possibilities of the Internet of Things (IoT).” - ^{via *}

Love Letters by Jonathan Sher, see also article on Designboom explores the same opportunities for intimate communications through playful, affective interactions with devices:

present day technology allows us to hear, text, see, and use pictures and icons to express how we feel. however, there are physical and emotional dimensions that exist only when we’re close to loved ones. in response to this problem, daniel sher asked herself, ‘how can I use technology to bring people closer in a different yet familiar way? it was important to me not to try to reenact the feelings of touch, pressure and warmth we feel when we hug of caress our loved one. trying to imitate that will always feel fake.’ with this understanding of human interaction, she wanted to create new experiences for those who wish to express their love and affection. as a result, for her final project at holon institute of technology, sher, along with ben hagin, has developed ‘saying things that can’t be said’, a series of objects that revolve around people in long-distance relationships.

Other projects have explored: sharing pulse readings or biometrics between partners, activating scents remotely and many other variations but fundamentally they are designed to let two people say “I’m thinking of you.”