Last semester I designed a mobile app that is the stripped down version of a GSP navigation system. The idea is that sometimes those systems are overkill. My app only lets you know if you’re going in the right direction, leaving opportunities for finding your own way through discovery and even getting lost. I wanted to strip down a navigation system to a core idea: to let the user know what direction they should going to get to their target destination. In other words, it’s a customized compass that points in the direction you need.
My idea for tech crafts is to build on this concept of a simplified navigation system further and remove it from the screen completely. I want to create a fabric interface that does the same as the app. I was inspired to pursue this concept when I saw this video:
I propose to make a sleeve or a wristband to be worn while walking or biking. It will have lights in a circle to represent which direction to go and a switch which will be activated by either bending the wrist or squeezing the palm.
For the midterm, I will work on the switch turning the lights on.