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FacebookTechnology Design Foundations (TDF) introduces design and technology frameworks essential to the creation of products, services, and experiences enabled by emerging technologies. TDF is a core class in the required curriculum of all MDes students in their first semester. The course follows a human- centered design process that includes research, concept generation, and prototyping, with an emphasis on iteration and refinement through digital fabrication. A technical semester-long project challenges students to create a product- service system leveraging hardware and digital technologies to address a well-defined need.
View Projects by Semester
Fall 2022
if earth could talk, it would scream
This experience represents an alternate reality where earth’s consciousness has morphed into an initial response of endless ripples and distorted audio due to human’s disconnection with nature. Our project was achieved through a sensory enabled platform that responds to feet contact by emitting ripples when the user comes into direct contact with the surface.
Project by: Bao Qiancheng, Carmela Wilkins, Karthika Baiju, Ronan Chen, Yue Fan
Bravo
Bravo is a smart IoT device designed for remote team members to have fun, engaging, real-time interactions with each other. It aims to foster the sense of bonding and belonging within the team in the virtual space.
Project by: John Brechbill, Lingke Song, Phyllis Fei, Ziyi Zhou
Sofar
Sofar is an interactive sofa that creates remote physical presence for people in long distance relationships. It provides an opportunity for distance couples to connect without staring at a phone or computer screen.
Project by: Ananth Nayak, Clover Li, Grace Thompson, Haesung Park, Jin Yutao
Table Safari
Table Safari is a phy-gital entertaining experience that bridges 2D perspectives with 3D blocks designed for children. Through the lens of game based learning (GBL), Table Safari improves young users (age 5-7) spatial awareness skills through the visual-spatial correlation between the 3-dimensional building blocks and 2-dimensional views.
Project by:Ashwan Kadam, Shikha Shah, Shirley Zhang, Susie Jin, Yani Mai
Secret Reality
The platform is designed for UC Berkeley students as an outlet to confide in. Using OCR (optical character recognition) and AR (Augmented Reality), we designed a software that collects customer data through hand-written messages followed by designation to an anonymous database. The design intent is to allow people to join a community where they feel comfortable sharing with the service, connecting with a community, and compartmentalizing with us instead of the student feeling suppressed and alone.
Project by: Amanda McGraw, David Duarte, Ellie Hoshizaki, Wonjoon Oh, Zach Dive
Bondie
As the world returns to normal and parents move out for work and other chores, leaving their children alone or without undivided attention has become a major problem for parents. Current solutions in the market, be it baby cameras or any other technological intervention caters to only the visual senses. Bondie is an attempt to reimagine how parents could interact with their child when they are away from them using different sensory experiences.
Project by: Nian Tong, Samriddho Ghosh, Winny Wang, Yemoon Cho, Yidie Ling
Mycorrhizae: An Interactive Experience
Our project is an interactive exhibit that highlights the hidden communication that occurs between plants, mushrooms and the ecosystem, known as the Mycorrhizal network.
There is more to mushrooms than just the stalk and cap. These fungi have an incredible underground network of filaments known as hyphae, with an entire network known as mycelium. Scientists hypothesized that fungi transmit electrical signals through these hyphae, like signals sent by the human nervous system. Mushrooms use these electrical signals as a means of communication and as a way to react to their surroundings. Each tree in a healthy forest is connected to others through this network, allowing trees to share resources like water and nutrients. There needs to be more sunlight reaching the leaves of saplings growing in extremely shaded regions for proper photosynthesis. The seedling depends on nutrients and sugar from older, taller plants transported through the mycorrhizal network for survival.
Project by: Albert Hodo, Gracy Kureel, Helena Kent, Justin Trainor, Neel Shah
Envisioning the Invisible: Decoding Data Capitalism
A speculative design for an XR headset that provides an alternative to today’s economy of surveillance capitalism by giving users control of personal data commodification.
Project by: Kabeer Andrabi, Tomas Garcia, YY Yao, Yue Wu, Zixun Huang (Sean)
Carsuis
Urban American road environments are centered around automobiles, rather than people. Vehicles also privilege the safety of drivers, not other road users. This has led to cars occupying the dominant position on the roads, in a world that is becoming increasingly automated. The repercussions of this are that pedestrians may no longer be able to move freely on roads, forever in fear of machines that rule the streets.
Carsius aims to empower pedestrians by allowing for clear communication of intent between pedestrians and vehicles, and other road users. We believe that this will reduce technophobia by encouraging greater participation from humans in ways that are actionable and interpretable. Make self-driving cars more welcoming.
Project by: Aaron Li, Anqi Song, Dongho Shin, Jahnavi Jambholkar, Simian He
Fall 2021
EIDOS
An ambient reminder for your kitchen that helps you use up what you have, buy only what you need, and minimize what you throw away.
Project by: Akash Mahajan, Debbie Yuen, Eleanor Mayes, Lula Duloup, Roland Saekow
SnackChat
A snack, a conversation, a perspective.
Project by: Amanda Yang, Billy Kwok, Yilin Niu, Zhipeng Pan
Breathe Easy
The right to live healthy.
Project by: Can Ge, Carolyn Nguyen, Jessica Kim, Zoe Ingram
Kube
Shake it. Squeeze it. Feel it.
Project by: Daisy Chen, Jacob Kritzinger, Kaila Negron, Salih Berk Dincer, Tania O’Neill
Terrascape
Devices that ensure safer hiking trips for all. Plan, track, and stay informed on your next hike.
Project by: Maya Chen, Chialing Chen, Ramyani Roy, Thomas Chen, Bennett Ngan
Cultivate
Cultivating equity in the workplace, one flourish at a time.
Project by: Benal Johnson, Hannah Bartolomea, Emily Joens, Celia Diaz, Jennifer Wong
iCareU
Practice self-care, anywhere.
Project by: Jaesuk Huh, Sara Friend, Sora Kang, Taylor Speed, Yuting Wang
Reflection Pool
What brings you here?
Project by: Denise Heredia, Dongho Koo, Felicia Renelus, Ming Gong
Spring 2021
STUD.IO
stud.io is a projector that transports the collaborative spirit of art studio into your own home. Working, learning, and existing remotely is hard. stud.io as a concept stems from the motivation to address this problem by introducing tangible interactions into a remote creative workflow.
GLASSHOUSE
Glasshouse is a consumer device which augments the act of growing plants indoors with a social interaction through remote lighting changes projected onto the plants. It explores the concept of remote tangibility in a time of togetherness.
FRINDLE
Frindle aims to respond to the needs of the elderly body and mind by restoring an ability and the associated confidence that they might have lost in the time of aging. Frindle creates a way for the elderly to experience writing with pen on paper more accessibly.
MEMS
Mems is a magical experience to relive memories with your loved ones, curating photos and videos into highlight reels which can be transferred to your television with an accompanying wand and cloche. Images are “brought to life” with gesture control technology.
GAZE THROUGH THE SECOND SEX
Gaze Through the Second Sex is a corset consisting of 31 reflective components that flip to reflect the gaze of the audience. It questions the power dynamics between the one who gazes and the one who is being gazed by applying an eye-tracking interface.
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