| dc.description.abstract | The aim of this thesis was to design a tangible user interface (TUI) for the management of tasks at home. There are multiple existing solutions that families already use to organise their activities and chores at home. Yet, these solutions are either physical tools that can be used by all the family members, or they are digital apps that provide further connectivity. One of the objectives of this project was to create a product that is tangible and therefore can be used by all members, but also connected through the internet and thus can be accessed from anywhere.
The design was built upon a literature review of how TUIs can help in promoting collaboration. Furthermore, the user investigations consisted of online social media and market research, as well as house visits and interviews. Finally, the prototype was built taking advantage of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and a Raspberry Pi thanks to their flexibility as tools for quick prototyping. The physical prototype consists of a magnetic board, RFID-tagged tokens and an RFID box which provides the internet functionalities. The product is capable of receiving task via email, allow users to interact with the tasks via the graspable tokens, and can also display the status of the tasks online by connecting to a Google Keep account. The final prototype hopes to decrease the limitations of existing analogue boards for task management, as it adds digital functionalities to a tangible product. This thesis hopes to serve as an example of how blended interaction can be used to add computational functionalities to everyday objects. The contents of the prototype itself, are laid out in detail, allowing others to replicate, modify and improve the product. | |
