Exploring Technology - Whiff Whaff

During the Tech module in Hyper Island we were working as a group of four students. We received a brief to explore and hands-on practice how to prototype ideas and concepts using hardware and code. The idea was to create a single purpose item, something that already exist combined with tech.

In this project my main responsibilities were photography, filming, layout for the poster, organization, documentation, and also building up the prototype and the installation for the exhibition. Together as a team we worked through the process from research and ideation until building up the prototype and the final installation for an exhibition Exploring Technology that took place in Stockholm 21 December 2016.

In the beginning of the process we deciding to build something useful using an item that already exists. We ended up talking about how important it is to take breaks when working creatively. Scientific research shows that you should take a 10 minutes break every 45 minutes to increase your creativity. As many creative agencies seem to have a ping-ping table so we decided to build ping-pong rackets connected with Arduino and blinking lights. The purpose is to invite a colleague to take a short break with you. After playing for 10 minutes the racket goes inactive for an hour.

The name Whiff Whaff come from the history of ping-pong and one of the original names of the sport.

Exploring Technology Exhibition by IAD Students of Hyper Island in Stockholm 21 December 2016

Our installation consisted of two office working tables, two ping-pong rackets and two laptops looping our raw concept video (seen below).

Story of two engineers and the importance of breaks

Filmed with iPhone 6 by Anna Keski-Kohtamäki
Directed and Edited by Martin Bloomstine
Actors: Martin Bloomstine & Santi Peréz