Contributors: Kate Hartman (Lab Director), Ananda Gabo, Boris Kourtoukov, Izzie Colpitts-Campbell, Jasmine So, Mahsa Karimi, Valerie Carew
This work was developed as part of the “Wear Me” project by Dr. Isabel Pederson and was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
#122 Engagement Display
A head-based display that offers a visual measure of attention and brain stimulation.
The more engagement the device perceives from the user, the more the display mechanisms wriggle and grow.
#150 Fanning Defense
A wearable warning device that expands when the wearer is in need of personal space, acting as a shielding tool to halt interactions with the chaotic outside world. In a resting state it sits on the shoulder like a closed wing. When activated, it forms a sweeping physical barrier, delivering an unmistakable signal of resistance and fortification.
#160 First Encounter Filter
A vocal filtration system that prevents over- sharing and allows the wearer to speak freely by refining what is spoken. Only orderly and articulate communication becomes audible to the person being spoken to, helping to achieve successful first impressions and meaningful connections.
#135 Intimacy Tentacles
A dermal extension that allows for enhanced connection through physical contact. Tendrils extend touch through entanglement with the ability to reach, coil, and hook in an outward display of reciprocity and affection.
#170 Speech Equalizer
A voice control unit that enables equal speaking and listening opportunities in service of constructive communication. In conversation it allows the wearer a set amount of time to share their thoughts before speech is rendered inaudible, signaling that it is someone else’s turn to speak.
#139 Stink Bug
A subdermal implant that signals distaste by rendering the wearer distasteful. It operates as a repellant, offering the ability to emit an offensive odour to discourage unwanted interactions with others.
#176 Tiny Ears
Modules that block sound from the surrounding environment, encouraging communication through whispers made close to the ear. Starting as a spore kit, the material attaches and grows around the structure of the ear providing auditory protection, filtration, and modulation.
#39 Voice Flipper
A communication device that supports empathetic conversation between any two people. It reflects faces and swaps voices of conversation participants so each person can hear the other’s words as if they were their own.
#142 Touch Augmentation Device
A co-sensing communication tool that amplifies both the giving and receiving of touch. It increases the surface area of the hand and fingers, enhancing the tactile engagement and physical intimacy between two people.
