Interaction | Physical Product | UI

Hugy

Client
Personal Project
My ROle
Interaction designer | Digital Prototyping | UX

Brief

The objective was to bring a non-interactive toy, and create meaningful interaction with it. In this case a simple lamp for kids was transformed into a smart light for helping children getting asleep.

Understanding the context

The fear of the dark is one of the most common reason why children struggle to fall asleep. The product was designed as a gesture of care for children by their parents. The interaction is built in such a way that Hugy symbolizes the point of contact between children and their parents.

How it works

Thanks to the app, parents can be notified when the lamp is hugged by the child. Then, parents can activate one of the two soft lights animations, with the chosen timer.

Breathing Mode

Once that Breathing Mode is activated, Hugy will emit lights that will keep pace with the kid’s breathing rhythm, in order to tranquilize him.

Relaxing Mode

The Relaxing Mode instead, has three different light animations, called Sunset, Northern lights and Nebula. Those names reflect the peaceful natural atmospheres simulated by Hugy.

Wireframes

The most important controls of the lamp are located in the lower part of the screen while the upper part shows a dynamic image of Hugy which provide feedback of every user’s action and adapts to the different contexts.

The prototype

The functional prototype was created starting from an existing lamp. The original hardware was replaced by an Arduino Nano board with a photoresistor and two capacitive sensors, connected to a LED light ring and a powerbank.