200 words describing my model

Ali Mays

Hot and Cold Experience

For my model, I wanted to create a unique experience using the touch senses. I thought that this experience would

be more interesting however, if the user were to use tactile senses that are not through the use of hands. I considered

that the skin behind your neck and ears are quite sensitive as they are protected by your hair and clothes. I therefore

came up with the idea of detecting tempratures in that part of the body through  the use of plastic straws or tubes.

The idea is that the user will feel a hot and cold sensation run down the tubes and will therefore test the sensitivity

of our body areas that use less of the touch senses than our hands- will we feel a distinction or will we not be able to 

differentiate which tube carries what temperature.

Instructions

The head piece is fitted onto the head and rests on the back of the ears, wile the intersection of the tubes rests

on the back of the user's neck. A second person will pour in the hot water and cold water into the plastic funnels

on each sides of the headpiece and the water will instantly flow down the tubes. The user should feel a gradual 

change in temperature. The water will be caught by two dispensers that the user will hold in order to easily control

how long the tubes should be.

final images

making the model!!

 i didn't want to just use plastic cups to catch the water, since the presentation of the model is very important, so I came up with the idea of using red and blue cups to identify which is hot water and cold water, and attach that to small containers that are easier to hold, and dont penetrate heat or cold easily, so it is much more comfortable to hold.

I cut out the cups so that they fit in nicely.

i took inspiration from mcdonalds' cup lids and cut out two incisions in an x shape so that the straw fits tightly and doesn't slide off 

I tried to make a variety of braces to hold the cup in place or else it leans to the side.

eventually, i found that this way was much better, where I stuck a bit of wire through the inverted cup and fitted it into the containers so that it stays in place.

my developments for the past week

i've put together my ideas and tested them out with the materials that I chose to use for this project.

using wire as the head or shoulder frame to test the model. Wire is thin an fits well inside the tube that I bought to use instead of straw, which isn't as bendy as the plastic tubes.

I found small funnels that are just small enough to squeeze the tubes through, and secured it with a small piece of a straw. i tested the reliability of the funnel and it doesn't leak, so it's safe.

I figured that if i wanted to turn it into a headpiece, i could place the wire inside the little holes in the funnel.

I tried testing out the arm model, however, the water doesn't flow down the coils as easily and the subject noted that they felt the temperatures stronger when it was placed at the back of the neck. cool as pj's too!

tube+wire makes it easy to bend and mould into the desired shape

My developments!!

I took on board what the tutors said about removing the idea of suction, not because I didn't like the idea, But because when I experimented with it, The suction went too fast and actually burnt my tounge!!:( So I made a new brainstorm where I collected a bunch of ideas ideas on how I could further develop my model and help it create the experience that im going for

Brainstorm

I settled on one I dea that I had which was to replace the element of suction and instead have the user not control the way that the flows. Instead I'll use small funnels that are attatched to a head piece  so that the water is pressurised and travels down the tubes without the user putting effort into using the model. There will be two funnels for hot and cold water, so it's the same idea as before, but I think that this is better because the user wont anticipate or be able to control how fast the water travels down the straw. I like this idea more because there's something nerve wrecking about a person pouring boiling hot water and freezing cold water above your head, like you're not exactly sure what to expect.
Ideas...

Head Model

 Water is poured into funnels and goes behind ears and neck and will be rested somehow just above the ears.

Arm model

 

Another rough sketch of an alternative, where the model is wrapped around the subject's arm. I did this because I want to explore creating the tactile sensation in other parts of the body and see whats more effective. I thought the arm would be more userfriendly as the user can just roll up their sleeve, unless they are already wearing a sleevless or short-sleaved shirt.

interums

On monday I got feedback on my project concept/idea from another tutor, who told me that he felt that sucking up the water then drinking it does nothing to my project. I kind of disagree, because I believe that the warm temperature that the user swallows will compliment the  idea of confusion and will mirror the mix of hot and cold water in the users neck and ears. I have taken the tutors thoughts into consideration and have come up with some alternative ideas, but I would rather talk to my tutor about this and see how she feels about it.
........attitude lol :P

Week 3/4-Story board and proposal

Story board

This is my storyboard and illustrations that I tried to do on photoshop!!!

My 200 word proposal:

Model for project 1

My model explores the touch senses and the sensitivity of our touch senses through the differences in temperature. The model is made of two plastic tubes/straws, which are moulded with a thin wire to fit around the back of the neck and ears, which are two very sensitive areas in the body. One straw will be connected to a cup of hot water and the other to a cup of cold water, and the idea is that the user will not only experience a contrasting feeling from the two temperatures, but will also be confused as to which straw contains hot water or cold water by the time the water reaches the back of the neck and ears. The mechanics are simple and the user will have to suck on both straws at the same time, or else I can design a mouth piece that connects both straws together.

I aim to make the user experience a new way of looking at our touch senses by gathering how strong or sensitive the human touch senses can be. This is why I decided to allow the user to feel the difference in two different temperatures; so that when they are asked “Which straw contains hot water?”  It becomes a test to see if our touch senses are able to differentiate between two temperatures.