THIS PROJECT IS CONCEPTUAL.
CIRO is a speculative design project I produced independently. It is an exploration into sustainable technology, our future in regards to screens, operating systems, robotics and overall humane design.
It all takes form in a imaginative company called CiRO (pronounced zero) that is like an alternative future of computer company from the old boom of IBM and Apple. The logo is meant to be very reminiscent of logos from this era. The main sentiment of CiRO is built on this quote by Edward O. Wilson:
“The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a point of crisis overall.”
TEO
A new soft robot that incorporates >>>>>>>>
Mainframe | Intranet Server | Assistant | Optimiser | Projector | Mecho–bio-organism | Custodian |
Mainframe | Intranet Server | Assistant | Optimiser | Projector | Mecho–bio-organism | Custodian |
I’m taking this idea and expanding it to a far wider application. Medicine, therapy, agriculture and the home base. By giving TEO a physical body with movements, he becomes a much larger assistant who’s far more dynamic and useful. It allows us to do more therapeutic applications like hugging, touching etc. I really love this aspect of TEO and I feel like I might end up underplaying it as I’ve felt the current day to day is very work heavy, task oriented and when something has a therapeutic angle tied into a massive workstation, it is a bit confusing. However this is a big part of the challenge and philosophy behind TEO and pitching this into words is my job. I really want to show he can be so hugely practical and then so lovingly soft and I am struggling to convey that. I am often reflecting with some sort of pessimism towards my own creation that I’m projecting from other people’s viewpoints. I do believe in soft compatible machines that can be benevolent and maybe not entirely purposeful but aesthetically valuable.
Phone 0
Can we rethink screen interaction?
I wanted to push the barrier for what we would think of as a phone. The body is really just a battery but the shape contextualises the three other devices into a familiar form, which we identify with the purpose of a phone. The main palm controls split into two, either to be worn as a single wearable or allow hand controls on each palm. The top part splits off into a pin that coordinates with the other two.
The main focus here was to make technology disappear. Focusing on non-media devices while still allowing us to have access to communication, computation and power. The palms are semi-transparent so they’ll blend into your skin and with a soft rubbery texture, they’ll feel as invisible as they look. It was key to do this while increasing context-based interaction. Demonstrated here, when you can’t pick up, it’ll schedule to your next available time with a message.
The hardware design was inspired by the way we use our phones, with only about 60% of the screen actually being used by our hands. Taking this and a backlight away, battery efficiency increases exponentially.
A diagram outlining the space we use on a phone today with one hand.
The hand controls that can separate out from the main body.
FrameOS has been a bit of a challenge. It’s a fundamental paradox. A fluid and context based system that adapts and becomes a perfect user-friendly system for incorporating lots of tools with as much ease as the original leap to GUI. The closest we can get in my view is a super accessible but customisable interface. Allowing any part of any program to be separated and brought into any other program.
I had some early versions looking like this olive green and bright orange.
The technical solution is a massive compiler called Gateway. Allowing you to essentially compress programs into separated tools and convert anything to the open platform.
I originally planned to put a focus on projected and AR displays as I see them as an invisible part of life that’ll eventually become normalised. However it’s a very hard sell and a bit harder to communicate so I landed on the Phone parts allowing for that to happen. And a big part of what later becomes a part of CIRO as a whole is developing “the transition”. So having a product in the middle of an iPhone and an invisible piece of technology is important for demonstration and actually really important for the dramatic effect of the entire set piece. That’s where the Phone0 really came into play.
