A smart-home weather device. It fosters connection between long-distance friends. I was responsible for physical prototyping and programming functionality.
“Strata” is a prototype floating smart-home device with wi-fi enabled functionality. The deliverables included a physical working product that would be demonstrated to stakeholders.
Time Frame
2024 | 10 Weeks
Objective
Develop a prototype for a smart-home product that appeals to the core human driver of connection.
My Roles
UX Research, Programming, Prototyping
Ideated and developed a physical prototype with Arduino.
Programmed wi-fi and light pattern functionality in C++
Iterated on the physical form factor with help from other team members.
Communicated with an exterior motion media design team to ensure consistent branding.
I had worked with Arduino wi-fi before, but I had never used it to create a soldered portable device that had to be within a certain weight capacity, not to mention the fact that it could float. There were also unexpected challenges, such as figuring out how to make it rely on battery power. My team came from varied fields, such as Industrial Design and Graphic Design, and it was enlightening to work with them. Since we only 10 weeks to work on this project, it came to a close at that time, but if we had been given more time, we would have used it to conduct more rounds of research and iteration on the design.