Brief: Working individually, design and produce a research prototype for a smart speaker concept exploring 3D form and shape.
During this project conduct user research, generate ideas, develop a concept through form development and prototyping, and create a working prototype of your idea.
The aim for my speaker was to assist kids in falling asleep easier by playing lullabies controlled by the parents from a remote device. It would also act as a ‘night light’ that would project colourful animal silhouettes on the bedroom walls through a central light source.
The final prototype was made from specially laser cut MDF that allowed the wood to bend and curve in a cylindrical form for the spinning sleeve. The prototypes aim was to show how the middle section (projector) would spin on a centre axis. I decided a metal pole could be used and act as the centre axis to support the overall structure and spinning sleeve. Different themed sleeves could be changed around to suit the child’s preference; dinosaurs, safari animals or sea animals. The spinning sleeves would be digitally controlled through the parents smartphone. In theory, the sleeves would run on a motor controlled by the app ‘Smart light’ which could control the speed of the rotating projection, the volume of the lullaby from the speaker and finally the light intensity of the images being projected.
