Coloradio puts new spin on mood music

In the ongoing challenge to develop new technological innovations, great minds don’t think alike. It was the diverse intellectual backgrounds and strengths of each teammate that allowed a group of four Illinois graduate students to tackle a design challenge that required a multidisciplinary approach.

GSLIS master’s student Chris Nixon called on his friends Berenice Vargas, a fellow GSLIS master’s student, Kinyetta Nance, a doctoral student at GSLIS, and Helen Zhou, a master’s student studying industrial design, to create a submission for the student design challenge of the 9th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction. The theme of the competition, “Tangible Remote Controls,” tasked competitors with developing a tool that embraces technological advancement while maintaining the strengths and visceral feedback of physical control.

Combining a shared interest in music and their unique skill sets, members of the group created a prototype called Coloradio, a radio that plays music to complement the listener’s environment using color as a trigger. The user simply places any object in front of the geometric array of holes along the box’s wood front. A hidden color sensor signals an Arduino microcontroller, which displays the corresponding color on the radio’s LED light detail and determines audio output using an algorithm that matches music styles with colors.

%2Cug.jpg?itok=O0OiTd7Y

While engineers might think about the use of knobs or buttons and industrial designers alone might explore efficiencies in other types of control methods, this team approached the problem as one of user convenience, environment, and mood.

br1_3.jpg?itok=tH2FLth7 During the brainstorming phase, the group considered the project from a variety of angles, exploring different directions based on the thought processes and priorities of each member. For Nance, a startup enthusiast and entrepreneur, filling a niche in the market was a factor. A student of human-computer interaction, Nixon focused on the most tangible parts of the project. Vargas’s sociology background and empathic nature allowed her to step into the shoes of the potential user and to think about unexpected uses of everyday things. Zhou brought to the group a perspective geared toward implementation and long-term feasibility.

proc6_1.jpg?itok=RLYmLK1Y For Zhou, working with colleagues from LIS opened new avenues of creativity. “I think it’s really fascinating to work with information science people. I think from a design perspective, but they came up with some ideas that really inspired me, that came from a perspective I usually don’t go with.”

Professor Michael Twidale isn’t surprised that the four worked well together; he’s taught each student in his entrepreneurial IT design course. “What I think is interesting is that the diversity of the intellectual backgrounds of the people in the team allowed them to come up with this astonishingly creative solution to a competition design challenge….That kind of incredibly creative way of solving something I don’t think comes out of one brain. It comes out of several brains, and the brains have to be different,” said Twidale.  

Tags:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Get to know Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou, PhD student

PhD student Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou's goal is to make information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) experiences more equitable, accessible, beneficial, and ethical for all. In his free time, he is devoted to helping junior researchers, especially those from populations not typically represented in STEM.

Zhixuan Zhou

Dual degree program a perfect fit for Byington

Richard Byington wanted to pursue a master's degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies (REEES) at the University of Illinois, but after learning that he could earn an MSLIS at the same time, he decided to enroll in the dual degree program.

Richard Byington

Hu defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Yuerong Hu successfully defended her dissertation, "Complexities and Nuances of Online Book Reviews in Scholarly Research," on March 6.

Yuerong Hu

iSchool undergraduate launches new initiative to promote women in data science

A new student organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will promote diversity and inclusion in data science and empower women in the STEM field. Samridhi Verma, BSIS+DS student and an ambassador for Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide, launched the new initiative because of her interest in fostering a community where students and professionals can connect, share insights, and grow together. WiDS Urbana-Champaign welcomes individuals of all genders who support the cause, including students, professionals, and academics from a variety of backgrounds and expertise levels in data science and related fields.

Samridhi Verma

Uplifting diverse communities through advocacy, art

Leep (MSLIS online) student Katherine Witzig is an advocate, scholar, and artist. She is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and an advocate within the 2SLGBTQ+ and disability communities, drawing upon her personal experiences to amplify the voices of underserved populations. 

Katherine Witzig