Triscope
Overview
Triscope offers children at the park a different perspective of what is already common and mundane. Three periscopes located in three different points of the park will allow kids to experience things in a new and exciting way.
This aims to battle Nature Deficit Disorder which is the alienation of children and nature that can cause severe personal and social problems.
Duration: 2 months
Individual
Royal College of Art - 2019
Tutors: Dr. Robert Philips
Functioning illustration
Background & aim
47% of London is green space, and there are more than 8 million trees. Yet we are facing a huge problem called Nature Deficit Disorder.
This term was first introduced by Richad Lauv in 2005 in his book “Last child in the woods” and has been going on since.
Triscope aims to create a small intervention that can facilitate the engagement between children and nature.
Why
Nature Deficit Disorder is all about the alienation and disconnection between children and nature, and it is not only affecting them as in mental and physical problems, but it is also affecting society, us.
Besides, it is not only about the negative side of it, but also all the possitive impact nature that has.
We MUST intervene and facilitate these interactions especially for those under 12, who are still in the age of influence.
- Richard Louv in Last child in the woods
“In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace.”
Observation
From observing behaviors from children and families at the park, you can see that children often don't stop to look at ducks, or go around looking at phones, or in their trolleys. Nature is not interesting enough for them, it's become mundane.
Observation
Triscope offers a different perspective of what is already common. A series of three periscopes located in 3 different points of Hyde park will offer views from underwater, above the trees, and underground.
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Prototypes
Three main prototypes were developed to test the functioning and viability of the periscopes.
One was done to see if the water under the lake was visible and the other was used to test the reaction of children.
I smoked up a video and placed it in the periscope so that they would have the impression that they were seeing under-water. Their reaction was quite good, they were impressed, happy and excited.
UX
Further prototypes on shape and size were done to fit the electronics.
The inside working electronics were all tested and achieved using a raspberry pi 3B+, a camera, a display screen, and a motion sensor. The function is set to be very intuitive and simple to provide the user with the best experience.
UI & UX
The diagram explains the two possible scenarios that the user will encounter when reaching a periscope and how the system is designed for the users' experience. The system is intuitive and thought for children. Big buttons, very few options, and simple display.
On the side, you can see screenshots of the display screen.
Final
The three periscopes work under similar characteristics (electronics, UX, UI, Design...).
This is a visualization of how the water periscope would look like located in Hyde Park.