Enchanted Objects – The Next Wave of The Web

The Internet of Things has always felt like an impulse-without-logic category. It reminds you of Jeff Goldblum’s quote from “Jurassic Park” on the ethics of making dinosaurs—“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they never stopped to think if they should.” So we can put a chip in literally everything. Should we? And to what end? Nobody seemed to asking the important question of “why” when it comes to IOT.

Like a lot of things, our ability to achieve something often races ahead. Ahead of what? Typically usefullness. But there are things beyond pure utility that stimulate adoption. Things like story.

And that’s where an emerging subset of IOT is getting traction. A subset called “Enchanted Objects”. Simply put, Enchanted Objects are really just connected objects with a magical context. Where technology infuses ordinary things with a bit of magic to create a more satisfying interaction and evoke an emotional response. And nobody is more on the forefront of enchanted objects than David Rose who is head of the “Tangible Media Group” at MIT.

Rose is a pretty interesting guy. Both for the things he creates. And the things he bemoans. Things like cell phones.

“They’re not doing a lot for you unless you’re constantly interacting with them,” he offers. “These devices are like small children—They require constant attention, feedback and interaction.”

Rose’s world is already filled with these objects. Remember “Sting” the sword from “Lord of The Rings” that would glow blue when Orcs are near. Rose has rigged an umbrella with a handle that glows blue when rain is in the forecast. It’s really the frictionless interplay between story and utility. Here are just a few of the other things he’s working on:

-Cutlery and condiments that measure your eating habits.

-A teleporting cabinet. Where you open a very analog hinged wooden door and a screen aut0-skypes a preset destination.

-Talking pill bottles.

-Curtains you open by waving your hands.

-An orb that glows when a stock you own goes up in value.

Part of Rose’s idea is that story and narrative come through substance. Screens are ultimately screens. But there’s something infinitely more satisfying about mixing the modern notion of chip embeds with wood or cork or stone. These substances are age old, so filling them with responsive capacity makes the experience seem all the more magical.

Also interesting is transmedia play or transmedia storytelling.

Typically this transmediation just bounces between screens and more analog technologies tied to them (Like landline telephones). But pair a smartphone with a toy or stuffed animal with a chip in it, and transmedia play seems ripe for innovators to go nuts.

Feelings_Whoa_Whoa_Whoa_Feelings.

Every year at SXSWi, there’s the collective intake of breath while we wait for the next quantum leap to be announced. There was pre-festival buzz around Meerkat this year. But that came and went weeks before any of us got here. Periscope made it’s debut. But even those apps (as evidence of a quantum leap) are pretty thin. Particularly when you consider completely serviceable apps like Ustream have been around for years. So it’s only natural, that we start to look inward. Not so much discussing sudden shifts. But instead measuring the gradual effect the digital world is starting to have on our emotional state as we sink deeper into it.

2016 will mark the commercial launch of virtual reality. Hold on to something. Because this will be a media hailstorm. But what’s already interesting is how as we deepen our immersion in the digital world, behavorial responses are starting to surface. Here are some of the learnings and themes that surfaced around that this year:

1)     Digital Avatars. There is mounting evidence that digital avatars aren’ the firewall we presume they are. Generally, users will be more honest and therefore more vulnerable behind the protection of an avatar. When avatars are violated in virtual space, it can be emotionally damaging. Behavorial scientists are beginning to see symptoms in actual users that are indistinguishable from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when they’re avatars are subjected to mistreatment in virtual systems.

2)     Rapid Identity Shifting. We’re being conditioned to shift rapidly between our digital identies. In a few minutes, a user can shuttle between applications that will change their role from seductress to sister to employee (for example). Two decades ago it would’ve seemed schizophrenic to shed one personality for another so quickly.  But technology is teaching us to exchange one role for the next in record time.

3)     Nature Rift. As we spend more time in digital space, it’s drawing us away from nature. Generally, people who spend more time in nature (however you want to define that) are happier. So it’s not surprising that VR sees a role for itself here. Eden River, is an early though interesting entrant in the VR “let’s get back to nature and be happy” space. Though it lacks the immersion of viewing it through Oculus Rift, here’s a Youtube version.

4)    2015. The Year of Mood.  Given the sudden interest in the behavorial impact of technology, it’s not surprising to see a word get dusted off that had it’s first big run in the 70’s. Mood. The research linked below suggests that matching the mood of a viewer is more likely to persuade than mismatching. Which has fascinating implications provided we can guess or predict what a viewer’s mood is like. Check it out here.

By reading voice and facial expressions, Toyota’s new FV-2 concept will assess the mood of the driver, displaying different exterior colors (like a mood ring) and making adjustments to effectively get the driver to a good emotional space (i.e. not road rage). 

In general, technology (including wearables) is getting better at reading our emotional state. Which puts us at an interesting crossr0ad. On the one hand, the time may come where we can quickly assess the best time to do anything. The best time to run 5 miles. The best time to write a poem. The best time to bake a cake. We may soon be able to self diagnose optimal times to do everything with the greatest possibility of success. But there’s a bit of an Orwellian twist, as employers may soon have the ability to embed subtle biometric readers in at-work technology that could quietly sift and classify employees as behavorially desirable or undesirable. 

And We're Back

It only took four years. But we're back. We'll be updating the MB@SXSW blog with all the latest observations, trends and gadgetry from the 2015 SXSWi.