Magonote is a concept for a collaborative scratching experience. ‘Magonote’ (〜孫の手〜) is a Japanese word that refers to a backscratcher tool. The system we propose comprises of a Magonote enabled chair and a stuffed animal through which a remote person can participate in scratching.
Scratching is a reflex response to itches, for which we do not usually depend on others. It is easy to miss the casual bonding that happens through scratching interaction. In fact, it is also a common social grooming activity in a number of primates. From this observation, we wanted to design a novel experience that uses scratching as a social object and a medium for reconnecting with friends and family.
The above concept video demonstrates an example scenario. Arun could really use a good scratch now. He remembers that his friend Bill helped him out when he was around, particularly when Arun’s hands could not reach the itch-location very easily. Unfortunately Bill no longer lives in his city. Arun knows what to do in this situation. He comes across a Magonote chair nearby and decides to give it a try. At the same time, in a different city, Bill is reading a book. The stuffed koala that Arun gave him suddenly starts nodding its head. He fetches it closer to see why. He notices that there are some LED lights at the back of the koala, and they are blinking. From the pattern of blinking, he recognizes it as an incoming ‘scratch request’. He acknowledges the request by giving the koala a good scratch. Immediately, the Magonote attached to Arun’s chair gets activated. Arun realizes that it is Bill. Arun likes the way Bill scratches, but the scratch-location is slightly off from the itch location. Arun signals it by rubbing his back against the chair. Bill notices that the only one LED at the top-center position of the koala is now fading in and out. He starts scratching around that particular LED. Magonote arm changes the scratch position accordingly. After Arun is satisfied with the scratch session, he leaves the chair. At Bill’s end, no more lights are blinking. Bill puts the koala back to it’s original position.
Here we have used the scratch interaction as a metaphor for casual bonding. The stuffed animal is a ghost representation of someone dear to us and a metaphor for attention seeking. The dyadic interaction between the remote users takes place in personal physical spaces. The capabilities of the chair include transmission of initial presence information, actuation of robotic Magonote and scratch-location-gesture detection through pressure sensors. The features of the stuffed animal are: presence notification through nodding of head, scratch intent notification through LED blinking, scratch position notification through LED fading and a scratch sensing surface. We implemented the LED array controls using an embedded Arduino and simulated the rest using ‘Wizard of Oz’ technique.
Team
Dan Sawada
Research, Design and laser-cutting of Magonote, Prototyping (programming, electronics), Concept video production
Anirudh Sharma
Research, Concept video production, Prototyping (programming, electronics)
Sujoy Kumar Chowdhury
Research, Prototyping (programming, electronics), Interaction Design, Concept video production
Related work
- Scratch Input by Chris Harrison, Scott Hudson, UIST 2008
- inTouch by Scott Brave, Andrew Dahley, and Professor Hiroshi Ishii, 1998
- Hug Shirt by CuteCircuit, 2006