One2One

a toolkit for creating personalized ambient media links for conveying togetherness over a distance

Cian Cullinan, Stefan Agamanolis

An important feature of healthy interpersonal relationships is a sense of attachment and closeness that is endlessly evolving and carefully balanced to the mutual benefit of the individuals involved. Lack of contact, whether due to distance or other uncontrollable factors, can throw off this balance and cause unnecessary tension and hardship. In the One2One project, we are developing a technological infrastructure for creating personalized ambient communication links to enhance a sense of presence and togetherness between two distant individuals. We are exploring a variety of passive sensing and display devices to suit individual taste and the character of the relationship.

Floral Display

Floral Display is the first ambient media link built with the developing One2One framework. It is a flower pot with a big pink flower that blooms when Cian's girlfriend, Ciara, logs into her computer at her university, and closes when she leaves. The form of a bright pink flower was chosen to reflect Ciara's love for flowers and the color pink.

The pot itself is wireless and can be carried from room to room. Inside the pot these is a simple radio transceiver and some motors that allow the flower to be opened and closed on command. The pot communicates wirelessly to a nearby computer that checks Ciara's login status at regular intervals. The battery lasts several days.

Publications and Links

Coming soon...