Experience Goals

‍

Before Baggage Arrives

• Spark interest subtly
• Encourage passengers to spread out and relax
• Avoid altering the existing baggage experience
• Prevent overcrowding of the carousel

‍

After Baggage Arrives

• The baggage interacts with the installation creating unique sound sequences
• Various attributes create differing sounds
• Prevent overcrowding of the carousel

Finding Direction

• Designing for an interactive environment was a new challenge for our group.
• Understanding interaction design and the aspects for designing an impactful experience was something our team had never done.
• We struggled early including a cohesive system with multiple interaction points.

‍

Failing Fast

• We created a spike list to quickly test smaller aspects of the overall installation
• This allowed us to test a vast amount of sensor and lighting strategies to identify the best solutions

‍

Prototyping to Scale

• Because this was an installation with multiple units, we had to prototype with intent to scale.
• This was an important aspect in how we addressed our budget and prototyping methods.

Material Exploration

• Finding the right look and feel was difficult with hundreds of LEDs and Material combination
• We tested and iterated quickly to really key in on what we where looking for.

‍

Wiring System

• The wiring system was very extensive with some wires reaching 80 ft. After testing this distance, it became apparent there wasn't enough power to extend 5 Lights.
• We re-addressed the system with two more power sources to allow full brightness in our experience.

Calming Carousel

‍

Before the Baggage is Ready:

• The light pillars activate from passengers walking around the carousel, matching the color of their shirt to spark interest and encourage spreading out.

‍

Baggage Begins to Arrive:

• As the carousel begins to arrive, the pillars activate synchronously, coming to life as they circulate.
• The baggage color is shown on the pillar with a corresponding pitch creating beautiful tone combinations.
• As passengers approach the carousel, the LEDs fade to influence them from overcrowding the carousel.

‍

Our Prototype

• We prototyped the pillars for a school event, in this case we reversed the sensor to make the LEDs brighter when people interact with the pillars.
• They all play differing tones and cycle through all of the potential color combinations.

The Impact of Diversity

• With a team of 4 with very different skillsets and backgrounds, our range of perspective and ability to pivot quickly allowed us to fabricate a creative & successful solution. Working with people with different experiences was very enriching and exposed me to the power of a diverse team.