Assignment in Prototyping of interactive media, spring 2017 @ NTNU. Group Project
With the task of creating an “escape drawer” (a mini version of an escape room) explaining middle school electricity curriculum, we used an iterative process to design a “safe” with two tasks: the first one required the user to “hack” open the door on the outside, and the second one to wire a transformer in order to power the computer on the inside. The safe itself is laser cut plywood, while the tasks are powered by two Raspberry Pis. It was displayed at Forskningsdagene ("The Research Days") in Trondheim on September 22-23, 2017.
Concept film
Along with the actual device, we made a short film introducing the concept. The main goal of the film was to kickstart people's imagination and enthusiasm, rather than explain the product.
The internals
When the safe is "hacked" open, the user has to correctly wire the transformer, in order to power the computer and delete the bank's record of you breaking in. The numerical displays show the input and desired output voltage, while the main display will either bluescreen when the transformer is wired incorrectly, or allow the user to hit "return" to delete the files if wired correctly. On the inside of the door is a description of the objective along with a helpful formula, while a more detailed explanation of transformers is found behind the sliding hatch.