feel the conversation.

In this project, a set of mechatronic phones was created, that transformed intonation and loudness of speech into servo movement that moves a silicone attachment up and down over a person's ear.

In this way, we can produce a similar but inverted feeling in response to both "Hello" and "你好 (Nǐ hǎo)", sent from one person to another.

Ideation and prototyping was carried our simultaneously for this project. The entire process from idea to manufacture took only 3 weeks, making agility essential.

After prototyping, a ready for manufacture version was created. In order to sell the uncanny realism of a future where these devices would be used, it was essential to produce something as close to a retail product as possible in our limited timeframe. This included details such as modular mechanisms for ease of repair and speed of assembly.

From the start, I wanted the electronics of each phone to be identical, and easy to quickly attach and detach from each other.

To do this, I put a 3.5mm headphone jack in the bottom of each phone. But rather than sending audio, I sent a digital signal with just the angle that the silicone feelers should move to on the second phone.

This way, we could attach ridiculously long cables between the phones without having to worry about analogue interference; allowing users to run around large rooms while talking to each other.

In making this a speculative device, it was important to me to make the software architecture and electronics production-worthy. I didn't want it to be a temporary prop, it's real!

When developing the system, I described to a colleague:

"We are making a phone that tickles your ear, but we haven't been able to find something that could feel good against the face."

In response, he joked:

"Why not have it lick your ear?"

In the end, our phones were presented with custom moulded blue silicone feelers, and users kept describing conversations as feeling unexpectedly personal, like talking at close range from across the room. So I attached a silicone tongue to the phone and watched how responses changed. Some people found it too strange to touch; others were oddly charmed by it. When left on my desk, passers-by would always double take, and when invited to give it a go, their faces would often display the following transition: