Linking art, science and technology, Mapocci is the result of a process of investigation, performed by Laura Malinverni and Lilia Villafuerte in the context of the call “Next thing 2012″ promoted by Telefónica I + D and Laboral -Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial. Halfway between a toy, a media and a pet, Mapocci is proposed as a playable interface designed to allow children to experiment emotional communication through a physical and sonic experience. Thus, children can interact with Mapocci by touch, movement and physical activity.
The toy, thanks to a system of sensors and emotional intelligence software can recognize the care that receive and react accordingly to how it affects its own mood. These features allow Mapocci to function as a relational object, responsible for collecting and make visible emotional states expressed by the child in their physical interaction. This capability is expanded thanks to the possibility of Mapocci to communicate. The 3g Internet system allows two Mapocci to connect to each other, facilitating the remote exchange of emotional messages.
The communication system, inspired by the empathic functioning of the brain, allow physical interactions with one toy to be reflected in the behavior of the other and vice versa. The model generates a context where each toy serves as a metaphor of the other, emphasizing links between human beings and the active role of each one in determining the sensations and emotions of others.
Thus, by establishing empathic networks between children around the world, Mapocci provide new models of social bonds, whose characteristics may find application in special education contexts.
Specific Development tasks
Creator, Product design, Software Analysis, Firmware programming (Arduino : C++, Python ), UX Research.