Research.

We started this investigation by understanding what it meant to see the world through a line of sight camera. What would we want to capture, how does it get stored and what happens to the information in the future? After a series of brainstorming sessions, the team started to narrow the focus to personal memory retrieval. Memories on demand, both video and audio, exactly how it was like when you were there.

Ideation.

After scoping down the project, we created two types of interactions: the device and the retrieval. We created the interaction wheel to be a conceptual mood dashboard that allows users to choose a series of videos based on a mood color value. Somber memories are darker colors; joyful memories are lighter. The idea is that because Mia pre-categorized each video with parametric information, the videos would be automatically assigned a color for retrieval.

Prototyping.

We designed the product as a wearable device that captures video, detects one's mood and can retrieve, and play past experiences. The thin device loops over the ear and projects towards the face, providing the same line of sight, visually, as the user sees. When Mia is activated, it records audio, video and biometric data that gets stored in the cloud.

Design.

Mia at the core, is a mood-altering device. The most unique feature is the ability to retrieve videos that are meant to directly change or enhance the user's mood. Let’s say you had a disagreement with a loved one, and the conversation ended negatively. Mia could detect your frustration and play videos of past experiences with this loved one, in which the two of you were laughing and having a good time. As the video is playing, Mia monitors your brainwave activity for feedback about how your mood is changing. The feedback is used to retrieve the next series of videos.