Site Visit

This project is based on the Nan Fung Tower, an office building in Hong Kong, to develop the idea. The company wants to build an interactive installation in their office lobby to attract people’s attention and build a memorable experience for the audience.

We conduct a site visit to get more information about the limitation of the venue, such as the floor plan structure, the flow of people, the size and height of the area, and the electricity supply position.

Limitations

• Can’t use the spotlight
• Avoid playing sounds
• Not allowed to hang the objects from the celling
• Can’t use stickers on any planes
• Make sure the installation can afford the peak hours (many people)

Potential Audience

Officers / Staff

Passengers in the cars

Passerby

Visitors

Big Idea

Blessing, Wishes & Childhood Memories

Due to the pandemic, many people are feeling separated from their friends and family.

The design concept is to explore the virtues of family, reunion, and togetherness, to send blessings to everybody we care about.

“5M” Concept

1. Meaningful
   • Showing blessings to visitors that expand when they come closer
2. Memorable
   • Utilizing the fascinating principles of kinetic sculptures
3. Memory-evoking
   • Evoking childhood memories with paper fortune tellers
4. Maintainable
   • Building on research into durable and reusable materials
5. Multi-interactive
   • Allowing multi-user interaction from inside and outside the lobby

Technology Research

Interactive Mirrors and Embodied Facilitation

Related works:

• Daniel Rozin (2014): Wooden Mirror
• Juraj Kotian (2015): Reflection of the Age
• Daniel Rozin (2015): PomPom Mirror

Mechanical Origami Folding

Reference: Diffusion Choir by SOSO Limited

Using previously established designs as a base for our own mechanical structure. Build on a system that is proven to work but adapting it for our own case.

Material Testing — Tyvek Paper

Resembles paper, but is made out of 100% synthetic material from high-density spunbond polyethylene fibers

• Tough; water-proof ; abrasive; bacterial penetration, and less aging
• Can be easily drawn on with markers

Prototyping

Laser Cut Demonstration

To estimate the scale and setup for the 1:1 scale installation.

3D Modeling

To build the mechanical structure for 3D print and demonstrate the actual outcome.

3D Print

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) & Stereolithography (SLA) for the mechanical structure.

Mechanics

The paper folding mechanism is an intricate structure entirely custom-made based on other established mechanical origami folding structures. This element is the central piece of our design explorations.

Digital Components

These components support the interaction part of the design. We have to program, solder, and test it to make it live and interactive.

Proximity Sensors HC-SR04

Gear-box DC Motors CH-N20-3 12V

Motor Drivers DRV8833

Development Boards ESP8266

Prototyping Boards 5 × 7 cm

Other Components

These are other materials that we used in the project for the mechanism part and appearance.

Arm Gears 30-2A

Worm Gears 6mm/3mm

Filament FDM Printing Material

Tyvek Paper 30 × 30 cm

Acrylic Sticks 6cm

Soldering on Prototyping Boards

To make the prototype strong and durable.

MQTT

Our design utilizes an MQTT networking connection to link the ultrasonic proximity sensors and the paper fortune tellers. This way, the system’s wiring is kept to a minimum and the design becomes easier to maintain.

1:1 Scale Prototyping

As the design is built up of an enormous amount of the small component (fortune teller), we decided to prototype a few of them to avoid unnecessary waste.

In the prototyping progress, we did a continuous iterative process based on different sources of feedback to finalize our design. The biggest challenge in this project is the compatibility between the digital components and the mechanics. We have to test it again and again to make the balance of the weight, size, and interaction.

1st Prototype

2nd Prototype

3rd Prototype

Showcase

Expected Outcome

200cm diameter Glowing Moon Inflatable warm light

15×15cm Fortune Tellers × 16 Interactive, water proof

3×3×3m Rack Cube-structure

15×15cm Mechanical folder

Interaction — Fortune Tellers

Idle State

• Expansion of individual fortune tellers in a slow & “random” pattern

Goal

• Evoking the idea of stars blinking around the moon
• Attract attention
• Hinting the possibility of interaction

Expand

• The paper fortune teller expands whenever visitors approach

Goal

• Evoke childhood memory
• Deliver wishes & blessings

Inside the fortune tellers

• Showcase the works by children made in a workshop

1:1 Scale Prototyping

1:1 Scale Prototyping — Interaction

Concept Video

Evaluation (SWOT)

Strengths

• Able to grab passers-by’s attention so that the traffic flow of the shopping mall increases
• High maintainability and feasibility
• Able to fulfill the goal of sustainability
• Evoke childhood memories that are worldwide recognized
• Align with Nan Fung’s corporate brand identity

Weaknesses

• Time consuming building process
• Noise issues

Opportunities

• Able to grab the passers-by’s attention to reinforce Nan Fung’s brand awareness qualities
• Enhancing brand equity with the uniqueness and memorability of the design and interaction
• Appealing to different customers’ segments to strengthen Nan Fung’s competitiveness and reputation

Threats

• Installations from other shopping malls nearby may disperse customers traffic flow while prompting competition

Final Result

This project has been selected by Nan Fung to further develop for its office lobby installation in 2022.

My Role

• Brainstorm and research together with teammates
• Responsible for the digital components, soldering, materials, laser-cut, and 3D printing parts
• Cooperate with the teammate who is responsible for the mechanics to build the prototypes

Reflections

More relate to the topic and build a closer relationship with clients

The original purpose of this project was to build an installation related to the mid-autumn festival. However, after we presented and discussed with Nan Fung in the middle stage, we considered focusing more on the memorable experience, which is the fortune teller (childhood memory). Therefore, our outcome is less focused on the festival but the interaction and mechanism. Although Nan Fung selected our design and was delighted with it, they need to develop it further to be more related to the mid-autumn festival, e.g. keep the same mechanism but change the fortune teller to a follow. I thought it is our insufficient to fulfill the basic requirement of the company. We should try to communicate better with clients to fit their needs and wants.

A new way to make idea come true

We have to apply different skills in this project, e.g. mechanics, 3D printing, MQTT, soldering. Those expand my ways to makes our ideas come true with tangible prototypes. However, those skill may be just a tip of the iceberg, we should keep learning the new tools and technology that can help us present the ideas and test the possibility of it. With these hard skill, we can prove our design in a more trustworthy way.