User Profile
shane_crozier
Member since
07.06.2009
Ideas
2
Evaluations
18
Activity Counter
0
Messages
Welcome shane_crozier! diplomod
Did you try to ad an attachment? You mention it in your description yet I can\'t see any... Let me know! diplomod
Cute form! bahars
Entry Edit No. 1. System attachments have not loaded. I have uploaded to the \"This idea is about...\" section. 1 image remains missing and I will upload it to complete the entry when I can get it to work. shane_crozier
Entry Edit No.2 I have all my images uploaded to my blog for now, and they can be viewed here: http://zierlog.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/meme/ shane_crozier
More Ideas from this member
Breathing Patchwork
Submitted: 19.06.2009
Idea Details
MeMe
Description
Please see http://www.behance.net/Gallery/MeMe/244548 for all images until i can upload here.

BACKGROUND:

MeMe explores the issue of emotional connectivity over physical distances.

Visual communication technologies capable of transmitting facial and emotional information are yet to be widely adopted in the consumer market. This is due in part to their complexity, cost, and the large amounts of data that they require.

MeMe allows people to stay connected emotionally by visually transmitting such information in real time with LED technology.


FUNCTION:

Step 1
Choose either a SIM Card model or a USB model.
Step 2
Using a standard marker, ‘clone’ yourself by drawing your distinguishing features on MeMe.
Step 3
Give MeMe to someone you care about and wish to stay connected with.
Step 4
Send emoticon messages to MeMe through the internet or a mobile device and stay connected.


AS A SOCIAL NETWORKING DEVICE:

As a user receives multiple personalised MeMes and uses them together, they begin to form a social or ‘emocial’ network. The user then increasingly becomes immersed in the MeMe social network, creating and maintaining emotional links to others in their network.


REAL TIME:

Face-to-face communication occurs in real time, and this is the most natural and meaningful method of connecting with another person. MeMe emoticon messages are only displayed for 2 minutes to ensure that messages are current and communications are real.

SCENARIOS:
1-An elderly grandparent who has no internet or mobile can receive emotional visual messages from a family member with no presumed understanding of technology.
2-A mother on a business trip can keep in touch with her child
3-Long-distance lovers can use MeMe to keep in touch.

TECHNICAL:
Height: 100mm
Material: Polycarbonate
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Comments
Great idea!I am not quite sure if it is the first atempt in this direction at all but haven\'t seen it with LEDs so far. Anyway, my girlfriend would love it! When can I get it? I also could imagine some kind of LED-Newsticker-bar on your desk where colleagues twitter updates of projects or something like that... Very cool, good job! diplomod
This is super idea, I see all around with MeMe hanging on the keys instead of any plush toys or souvenirs, bonny design and pretty talkative thing. durica
Hi there! the idea perhaps is not new, since using LED technologies integrated in products (for connecting people over distance) is used in many concepts recently. Bur yours is a good attempt in this direction too. bahars
Excellent, Small recomendacion , move the ear (red dot) above.Congratulation. HelferDesign
Interesting concept! LED Head
I like this quite a bit. Connecting people in non-intrusive ways is such an important aspect of design that when something like this comes along and is specifically focused on that connection it often feels minimal or not quite hitting the point. This form of communication, be it colour coded Twitter or FaceBook updates, systems of notification for daily activity levels, or your concept of direct input by two users, often fall into the realm of interactive art and not design. You have done a great job at explaining the workings and use scenario of the device, but, I wonder if there is a way in which you could adjust the design of the device in order that the instructions are supplementary and not required reading. An intuitive design, one in which a user just knows how to use. Perhaps you took away too much visual information in your quest to make it modern looking ans it is time to put something back into the form. I would take a quick look at some of the research on the correlation between visual and physical interface and see if you can find some way of using that information to your advantage in a simple way. howman
Thanks for the feedback. As my attachments are now uploaded I think you will be able to understand my concept much easier so feel free to take a look. HelferDesign, The ear you mention is actually a blushing cheek and displayed only with relevant emotions. MeMe has no ears or nose to speak of. In response to concerns of originality, does anyone have links to such concepts? As I\'ve not seen any to date. Howman- The MeMe\'s form is seen as a canvas for personalization purposes, hence it\'s minimal clean aesthete. As for the issue of intuition, that issue depends on which user perspective you look from. The person receiving the MeMe simply needs to turn it on and I believe it\'s function will be universally understood. The individual who sends the gift will need a greater understanding, however I think the FUNCTION slide would attest to the simplicity of operation. Any new communication device, (think GPS navigator, Mobile phone, Web Camera) will require some documentation to be understood, and could never completely communicate it\'s function on form alone (nor should it have to). I think MeMe is simpler to understand than all these aforementioned products when they were first realized. shane_crozier
This design is so adorable! Endorphins are flowing ... user not found
PLEASANT IDEA, I LIKE IT GABRIELOX
Playful and intresting, Like the concept of Clone it yourself. just like the way to sketch out my white ipod. personalize is the way to go. cheers Shane user not found
cheers guys. Eric: thanks for the comment. I\'ve actually got some pictures of a MeMe that has been \"cloned\". once i\'ve got a way to upload it i will. shane_crozier
I think I found this already in production... http://www.violet.net/landing/nabaztag_us_usd.html?gclid=CLShwb3NkpsCFSAhDQodGFEZpg LED Head
thanks for the link LED Head. I have to say it\'s quite scary!. Nabaztag seems to do a hell of alot of stuff, but doesn\'t seem to communicate with emoticons/emotions if i understand it correctly. It\'s more like a computer personified into the form of a rabbit. as a result, when i watch that video i feel like that thing is really mechanical, emotionless and sterile. It doesn\'t \'represent\' another human being as MeMe is designed to, and isn\'t designed to form a social network either as you would only ever own one Nabaztag unless i\'m mistaken. in all i think MeMe and Nabaztag are quite different really. the only common link is the internet connectivity and personification element. shane_crozier
If this hasn\'t been said already, I think that this is a marketable idea. It is simple, portable, interactive, and customizable. However, I think that the user should also be able to create and define emotions (by mixing and matching characteristics of the presets, or by incorporating more LED lights). Also, I\'m not sure about the 2 minute display time, what happens when the receiver is absent? Would the emotions be logged? I know that you did not discuss the computer interface, but, would people be able to send short messages to each other through the interface that sets their MeMe\'s emotion? I would really like to purchase one of these, good luck! (I hope we don\'t have to wait 4+ years!) user not found
thanks for the input. i definitely agree with you on many points. i\'ve yet to design the software interface that would control MeMe. I\'ve got it largely fleshed out in my head but i\'m not sure if i\'ll have time to document it before the 25th. The interface I have in mind WOULD allow users to mix and match their own emoticons, which is largely why I haven\'t documented every emotion possible on the \"emotions\" board. The interface would be able to keep logs of messages in my head, but how difficult that is to achieve in reality I\'m not sure. (I\'m thinking of a visual instant messaging system currently) thanks for stopping by! shane_crozier
Toys user not found
? shane_crozier
I think it\'s beautiful! I love the simplicity of it. It would be great to see it made out of silicone; with a soft, warm feel to it rather than hard plastic KFriderici
Shane - Found another interesting link - http://hackaday.com/2009/06/24/lexlrie/ LED Head
cheers LED head, but i think that link would be of more interest to HOWMAN, i\'ll pass it onto him. KFriderici: Silicone is something I\'ve though about but I was concerned about how the silicone would wear and age. THe tlanslencet nature of the polycarb would lend itself to a nice glow i think, but the gloss finish is something I may look at. A matte finish (like paper) may be more appropriate considering the idea is to draw on MeMe. cheers guys. shane_crozier