Robert Turner Royal College of Art / Imperial College London Innovation Design Engineering
Remote communication is currently
good at communicating direct pieces of information to people over long
distances, but it doesn’t go very far in helping to nurture and develop
the close relationships that we have built with people over time. On top
of this, the majority of communication only relies on pure text, which
can often be misinterpreted by the recipient without the other
information that is present in direct communication.
Flare is a new experience of communication that creates a presence of
your loved ones in the space around you. The device comes as a pair,
capturing an image of you at your home and projecting it in the home of
those closest to you. Flare uses computer vision to detect and amplify
unique gestures, mannerisms and movements made by individuals. Using
this information prevents misunderstandings based on assumptions.
The projected image is also abstracted. Unlike video calls, this
means that people can act naturally in front of the device without
feeling self-conscious about their actions.
With
a vast amount of people moving away from their friends and family for
work or education opportunities, remote communication fails to deliver
an experience that comes close to in person communication. By rethinking
remote communication, we can create a device that can brings benefits
to groups of people that often feel isolated from their friends and
family, such as the elderly or those who are housebound.
