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The
iFortune
| Short
Description |
The
iFortune is a Playful Kitchen Appliance. The function of this device is
to wash a coffee or tea mug, inserted into it by the user, and provide
a short 'fortune', tailored to match the user's percieved mood. The
fortune is generated by 'reading' the coffee grounds or tea leaves at
the bottom of the cup.
The iFortune also examines cultural images associated with food, and
tries to find a place for low-key spirituality in the kitchen. |
| Project
Goals |
Design
Creating
the iFortune is an exercise in human-centered design. By providing its
user with both functionality and a novel experience, the iFortune
pushes its user to reflect on his or her relationship with other,
purely functional kitchen appliances, as well as with technology in
general.
Technical
The most
interesting technical challenge involved with creating the iFortune is
working out a Natural Language Generation algorithm that will map from
a digital photo of the coffee grounds or tea leaves at the bottom of a
user's cup, as well as the user's percieved emotional state, to an
appropriate 'fortune'. |
Final Design
|
Click here
to see the iFortune hardware setup. The grounds or leaves on the bottom of the cup are photographed by an
eyeModule digital camera that plugs into a Visor Platinum handheld. The
Visor generates the fortune and sends it to a Datecs PP-50 handheld
printer to be printed.
The following are drawings of the final iFortune design, and related commentary:
(front
view)
(side
view with cut-away)
Click here
for a short list of fortunes the iFortune has generated, and read a brief description of the fortune-generation algorithm.
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The iFortune is sponsored by a grant from the NSF |
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