Suburban Nomad | Objects

Background
Babies require a lot of time and attention. Research suggests that children grow into more stable adults when they have higher quality contact with their mothers. At the same time, mothers, and fathers alike, have many responsibilities around the home. Stay-at-home mothers as well as working mothers need help in maintaining these relationships with their children in order for them to grow into well-adjusted adults.

The Proposal
I would like to propose a technological approach to the problem in the form of a robot, serving to both soothe the baby and the parent have the ability to interact even when they are not in the same room. In this project, Baabs, I present a robot that is meant for communication between mainly two people, a parent and child.

The Approach
The way I suggest this be implemented is through shape and material. The robot is located at the baby’s end. I decided that for the baby, it should have a shape that is welcoming, but also bearing physical qualities other than form to entice the baby. I decided to go with the shape of an animal, specifically a sheep. I chose a sheep specifically because of visual cues perceived about the sheep—soft and cuddly.

The robot is both sound and touch sensitive. Hugging Baabs causes her belly to light up, her body to warm up, and to have her sing songs. The sound of crying causes Baabs to begin singing soothing lullabies. Crying also triggers Baabs to ping the walkie-talkie to have it play the baby’s crying, thereby notifying the mother that the baby requires attention.

The inspiration for using the sheep. One of a few random sketches of sheep.

Previous iterations included dogs, organic shapes that looked like a torso, and even a woman-shaped torso.

Huggable egg-shape conceptual sketch

The final design is an egg-shaped sheep. This specific design and shape were chosen because seems to beg to be interacted with. The slight indentation around neck is wide enough that a toddler or infant would be able to reach around it; also, this shape, which seems as if it has already been squeezed, is inviting for hugging.

On the mother’s side is a device that resembles a walkie-talkie with a screen. There are four buttons on the device. One is located by the screen to allow the mother the see her baby. Another button is by the microphone and when held down, allows the mother to speak to the baby. The third button is located by the speaker and allows the mother to listen to what is happening in the baby’s crib. The fourth button sends a message to the robot to sing to the baby. In addition to this, there is an ‘On/Off’ switch.

Materials and Construction
Baabs is made of three materials. The Head and the appendages are made of a soft fur-like material. The trunk is made from a puffy white quilted fabric. The light in the middle is made of a translucent yellowish plastic. Inside the casing is where the light and the heating mechanisms are all stored. The computer is stored in two locations-- one near the bottom of the casing and the other, stored in the head. The microphone is stored behind the right eye. The speaker is stored behind the left eye. The camera is stored in the neck area, between the head and the body.

From top to bottom:
1. Baby cries, then mother comes to aid. Baabs tries to soothe baby by singing
2. Baby hugs Baabs. Baabs glows and the warming mechanism activates
3. Mother presses Talk button and talks to baby. Baby hears its mother
4. Mother presses Watch button and sees the baby through the camera. Mother presses Listen button and the speaker turns on

Proposal 2
It is not enough to stop here. This solution helps mothers when they are home with their baby. Because not all mothers are able to be home with their babies all the time, I propose further suggest that mothers be able to interact with their babies when they are away at work.

The Second Proposal is to make Baabs accessible by phone.

Top: When Baabs is 'On', a call goes straight through and is played by the robot. The microphone is used as a receiver, so the baby can speak back to the mother.
Bottom: When Baabs is 'Off', any calls go to a voicemail system. Only one message can be stored at a given time.

Further Questions
There are a few other questions that I have not covered here. This includes sound recognition so that the baby, when it is old enough, would be able to call numbers from the set of programmed numbers.

Other ways for the robot can interact with the child, such as telling stories or asking questions, were also left unexplored.



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Baabs
	Background Babies require a lot of time and attention. Research suggests that children grow into more stable adults when they have higher quality contact with their mothers. At the same time, mothers, and fathers alike, have many responsibilities around the home. Stay-at-home mothers as well as working mothers need help in maintaining these relationships with their children in order for them to grow into well-adjusted adults. The Proposal I would like to propose a technological approach to the problem in the form of a robot, serving to both soothe the baby and the parent have the ability to interact even when they are not in the same room. In this project, Baabs, I present a robot that is meant for communication between mainly two people, a parent and child. The Approach The way I suggest this be implemented is through shape and material. The robot is located at the baby’s end. I decided that for the baby, it should have a shape that is welcoming, but also bearing physical qualities other than form to entice the baby. I decided to go with the shape of an animal, specifically a sheep. I chose a sheep specifically because of visual cues perceived about the sheep—soft and cuddly. The robot is both sound and touch sensitive. Hugging Baabs causes her belly to light up, her body to warm up, and to have her sing songs. The sound of crying causes Baabs to begin singing soothing lullabies. Crying also triggers Baabs to ping the walkie-talkie to have it play the baby’s crying, thereby notifying the mother that the baby requires attention. The inspiration for using the sheep. One of a few random sketches of sheep. Previous iterations included dogs, organic shapes that looked like a torso, and even a woman-shaped torso. Concept sketches Huggable egg-shape conceptual sketch The final design is an egg-shaped sheep. This specific design and shape were chosen because seems to beg to be interacted with. The slight indentation around neck is wide enough that a toddler or infant would be able to reach around it; also, this shape, which seems as if it has already been squeezed, is inviting for hugging. On the mother’s side is a device that resembles a walkie-talkie with a screen. There are four buttons on the device. One is located by the screen to allow the mother the see her baby. Another button is by the microphone and when held down, allows the mother to speak to the baby. The third button is located by the speaker and allows the mother to listen to what is happening in the baby’s crib. The fourth button sends a message to the robot to sing to the baby. In addition to this, there is an ‘On/Off’ switch. Materials and Construction Baabs is made of three materials. The Head and the appendages are made of a soft fur-like material. The trunk is made from a puffy white quilted fabric. The light in the middle is made of a translucent yellowish plastic. Inside the casing is where the light and the heating mechanisms are all stored. The computer is stored in two locations-- one near the bottom of the casing and the other, stored in the head. The microphone is stored behind the right eye. The speaker is stored behind the left eye. The camera is stored in the neck area, between the head and the body. The Interaction From top to bottom: 1. Baby cries, then mother comes to aid. Baabs tries to soothe baby by singing 2. Baby hugs Baabs. Baabs glows and the warming mechanism activates 3. Mother presses Talk button and talks to baby. Baby hears its mother 4. Mother presses Watch button and sees the baby through the camera. Mother presses Listen button and the speaker turns on Proposal 2 It is not enough to stop here. This solution helps mothers when they are home with their baby. Because not all mothers are able to be home with their babies all the time, I propose further suggest that mothers be able to interact with their babies when they are away at work. The Second Proposal is to make Baabs accessible by phone. The Interaction Top: When Baabs is 'On', a call goes straight through and is played by the robot. The microphone is used as a receiver, so the baby can speak back to the mother. Bottom: When Baabs is 'Off', any calls go to a voicemail system. Only one message can be stored at a given time. Further Questions There are a few other questions that I have not covered here. This includes sound recognition so that the baby, when it is old enough, would be able to call numbers from the set of programmed numbers. Other ways for the robot can interact with the child, such as telling stories or asking questions, were also left unexplored.