By: Tiri Nhawu

This blog post presents a detailed report on the performance project we developed as part of our group project. Our interactive device is called "The Telephone". My group was tasked with inventing,designing and prototyping an  interactive artifact, made in the future (2124). The device would have to solve a major problem in that time. The problem that my group chose to solve was the connection paradox.  The connection paradox , entails lack of face to face communication, rise in social isolation despite feeling “connected’ online. We chose this problem because we felt most connected to it, as we are already seeing the effects of it today. 

When it came to creating “The telephone”, the first thought we had was that  people were not building true relationships. So my group took the approach that people needed to build meaningful relationships with each other. And how do you build relationships with each other: through conversations. But not just simple talk, deep meaningful conversations.Thus my group decided to create a device that forced users to have face to face conversations that are deep and meaningful

Contrary to the appearance, “The Telephone” is a high tech telephone that guides people in conversations through giving them questions to ask each other. The  telephone has ten buttons, symbolising ten questions. The users presses each button, then the device gives them a question to ask the other person on the line. After both parties have answered the question, they then press the next button and proceed to the question. After a few questions “The Telephone” is able to detect whether a meaningful connection has been formed. . On the interface of the device, is a big button with a smiley face on it . The button is only activated once, the two people have formed a meaningful connection. Once it has been formed , the device then rewards the two people with a teleportation device. However it comes with conditions. First, the teleportation device can only teleport them to each other or to any location, but they have to be together. We implemented this rule , so that  it will encourage the users to continue to explore their relationship. It is also voluntary meaning both have to consent before teleporting.   

During our project, we encountered several challenging scenarios, but we were able to address them effectively through collaboration and problem-solving. First being, what if someone uses the telephone with the wrong intentions( i.e they just want teleportation device; to  harm others; person is not real). Our AI software embedded in the device scans the person's brain, to see intentions, if it is good the person may proceed to use the device. If not, the device blocks them from using the telephone.

One unfavorable scenario we were unable to address is the possibility that people might become dependent on the phone to continue communicating with each other, or that users may struggle to come up with their own questions. To potentially resolve this, instead of immediately teleporting them after the question, we could allow a 30-minute conversation using their own devices. Only after that could they meet up.

Onto our performance, the goal of our performance was to illustrate the functions of our device and exactly how it solves the “connection paradox”. As a group we thought the based way to do it was to demonstrate how the device is used. To showcase how it solves the problem, we thought we should show the characters before and after they have used the device. Thus the opening scene starts off with Tiri in a virtual world, witn her virtual friend,”B”, “Tiri” is so caught up in her virtual world that she is not aware of her surroundings which leads to bumping  wall. This prompts her to use the “Telephone”. While using the device she meets Cynthia and they grow a bond, and in the end they teleport to a campsite together. However neither of them know anything about camping, because they have only been there virtually. This emphasises how bad social isolation is in that world. In the end , “Tiri” says, : "Maybe we should use the telephone again”.  This refers to one possible disadvantage of our artifact: the heavy reliance. 

From this performance our artifact was able to successfully build a connection between Tiri and Cynthia , it also brought them face to face , which is something they probably would not have done. Secondly it brought them to a physical/ real campsite allowing them to connect with nature. The failure of this artifact is the reliance on “The Telephone” or the awkward interaction, since they do not have the device to help them.

Looking back , I believe the strongest aspect of our performance was the characterization of each person. I think each of us fit into our roles really well. I enjoyed the scene where “Tiri” and “Cynthia” asked each other questions, and the others would lift up the piece of paper to give us the questions. 

However , there were a few limitations, such as we only made one phone, when technically we needed two - one for each character. If we had more time, we could have possibly showcased the character’s connection after a few months. And maybe better show the disadvantage of our device in our performance. 

Things we could add to improve our device, maybe we could have added an augmented reality overlay. While the users are speaking to each other on the telephone, they could see light holograms of each other , to make the first time they meet less awkward. Or possibly design a telephone booth with each person on either side, so that they are face to face from the beginning. Another addition could be to make the artifact a collective experience. We could introduce an option where multiple phones are linked together in different locations, encouraging groups to form connections simultaneously. The AI could facilitate multi-person conversations, and groups teleport to each other once a collective bond is sensed.

My contribution to the project was organization skills and creativity skills. Through making  WeChat group chat and initiating the first meeting. I came up with the idea that the telephone should have an old vintage look. I helped in the building process by cutting the cardboard and gluing certain parts. I created the telephone handle stand. I also helped out in making the script.

I think my group was a good mix of people. We mesh well with each other. No one was afraid to give their opinions on certain parts. When it came to decision making , we would always do it democratically- through voting. The majority vote would be the one we went with. Chris was really good with building and Ella led the performance part, by writing the majority of the script. Ella wrote and designed all the pages for the presentation. She also created the VR headset for our performance. Cynthia designed the phone handle and  assisted us in weaving out flaws within our project.   

This project helped me learn more about performance design. I am very used to doing presentations for my school projects. This was a nice way to explain something, some of the other groups gave me ideas on how to create a good performance. Such as the use of sound and narration. I also learned how to prototype with cardboard, which is something that I have never done before.