P.E.D - Personal Enrichment Device
Project Type: Physical Computing, Industrial Design
Team
- Matthew Blanco
- Jean Jules Irakoze
The piece was showcased at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications 2025 Winter Show and created as the final project for Introduction to Physical Computing in ITP, the brief was to create a project that built on the physical computing concepts we had learned over the course of the semester. The idea originated as a play on the ways our smartphones are purposefully designed to be addictive.
The P.E.D is not meant to replace a smartphone but act as a supplement to it. Its handheld design makes it portable and easy to take around while subverting the need to take out a phone when a dull moment occurs.
Every time a note is played, the ferrofluid display pulses (due to a hidden electromagnet) and a haptic motor is activated creating a multi-sensory experience for anyone holding the device.
The form of the device was created based on the sizes of the components inside, with the goal to make it as small as possible to be handheld.
The P.E.D has four main interactions:
- Each button plays a note from two different octaves.
- Octaves can be changed by pressing down on the knob
- Rotating the knob both plays a note and changes which notes the buttons play and the speed of the ferrofluid display
- The toggle switch enables a 'demo mode' controlling the device on its own
The P.E.D at NYU's ITP 2025 Winter Show
