Sorry that I was in silence that long. I wil post here some extra post regarding our work at TU Delft. But my activity is now driven to another digital space. You can follow me here. I won't be talking about my master life directetly, but about my research that I am about starting: Toys  Technology. If you feel like reading it, you are wellcome: think.tangible.cc

See you around.

The same student association that prepared the Spring Trip I mentioned before runs a small bar in the side part of the Industrial Design Building. Since I came back from the trip the weather has being amazingly good. 20º to 24º C, no rain, fresh and breezy. Excellent! Off course, during the lunch time, is virtually impossible to stay inside. Last week I spent my whole Tuesday afternoon sanding the some clay models in the sun, barefooted, enjoying the view. That was perfect!

Do you remember the project I talked about? UTAR: Usability Test and Redesign? So, after the user-testing phase we are now working on the concepts. We presented it to the client last week. It went well, but it was a rush. Just after I arrived from the spring trip we had to discuss our ideas, update the model and present it. We mostly used clay to build our mock-ups. I like that. At least for me, in this rapid-embodiment phase, clay help you to visualize the volume before you spend too much time sanding and fine-tuning it.

I became a big fan of "Quick and Dirty" prototypes technique. I was already enthusiastic about using Paper Prototype when designing websites. But it also work pretty well for physical interactions. You can quickly assemble possible forms or interactions for evaluation. That is all what ITD (Interactive Technology Design - DfI) is about. Although the course also asks you to build and design using a set of physical interfaces (Phidgets or Arduino), what becomes even more interesting is the small cycles developed through the building process. We are using the wash-machine cycles instead of waterfall process,  which is quite interesting.

Last Friday before the trip, using a VERY crude prototype, we managed to test key points about the playability of the toy we are designing. Some users (girls, 8 - 12 years old) spent part of the afternoon using and testing the prototypes made by all ITD groups. It was a striking experience to see how much input our group could get out of this low fidelity testing. It supports the team to move towards a more simple and open toy solution. I am looking forward to see how far we can build the final prototype. I will keep you posted.

That was something that impressed me when i got in TU Delft. After struggling a bit to access the wireless connection at TU Delft I was amused by the opportunity to research inside virtually every academic publishing house that I know. It might sound common for one who live in a developed country, but as for me it was impressive. To get an idea I became a member of ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) just to get access to some papers when I was living in Brazil. But still, according to the document you are looking for, you have to be a subscriber of other publisher house (because the copyright is shared by both). That can be expensive and annoying. As a student/researcher at TU Delft, once I am logged in the TU network, I got direct access to ACM, Springer, among other important ones.

The dark side is as you realize how difficult it is to get this information. It should be availiable to the whole world to improve overall access to scientific data bases. Mostly the knowledge is developed with public money, so the results should be public as well. Here in the Netherlands they started a petition to guarantee public access to state-funded research results. If you agree that everybody should have free access to research results, founded by public, money you might want to sign this petition.

More information here: http://www.ec-petition.eu/index.php

© TU Central Library Foto: ameliechuncky

Ok Ok Ok. I disappeared, but that was for a good reason. Spring Trip! Together with other master and third-year-bachelor students we went to Munich, Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna. It was for me a great opportunity to learn more about Central Europe (I don't consider them east Europe). Beautiful places, nice inspiration and time-break among all TU assignments. Between museums and  nice parks we also visited some companies in those countries. The organization made by the ID student association was impressive. We stood in 2 nice hostels and everything ran smoothly. I uploaded tons of pictures about it. I am still doing it :-) Enjoy!

This last Sunday was a sunny and warmer day, so we decided to have our breakfast outside, not in the garden but here (See link bellow). It's about 15 minutes by bicycle from the city center and it's a nice place to have a coffee during the day or even dinner (they're open until 11pm). Around it there are nice tracks to walk or cycle on. And you can also fine a lake where is nice to hang out during the summer. Cheap entertainment for students' pockets!

More info: http://www.uylenburg.nl/en/cafe.htm

We had a white Easter just a week ago and last Saturday it was already 12ºC. That's Netherlands, try to figure out. But it was a good opportunity to walk around the market, eat some Haring (raw fish) and buy some fresh fruits. Spring, here we go!

© Photo by fridaycafe

When the issue is food, eating at home is always the cheapest option, but it can be boring and not always I'm in the mood of cooking. So the Sport Café, in the Sport Center, is a good choice. Food at very reasonable prices (and healthy) in a pleasant atmosphere. Sometimes I also practice some sports, but not necessarily ;-)

© Photo by ellendijkshoorn

I am glad that I don't have to go to TU by bike today. Snow is beautiful, but slippery.