Kate Hartman: The art of wearable communication

Kate Hartman: The art of wearable communication

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/chi_hant/kate_hartman_the_art_of_wearable_communication.html


My name is Kate Hartman. And I like to make devices that play with the ways that we relate and communicate. So I'm specifically interested in how we, as humans, relate to ourselves, each other and the world around us. (Laughter) So just to give you a bit of context, as June said, I'm an artist, a technologist and an educator. I teach courses in physical computing and wearable electronics. And much of what I do is either wearable or somehow related to the human form.

我的名字是凱特‧哈特曼 我喜歡製造裝置 讓我們在使用時 能發生關連及溝通 所以我特別對我們，身為人 如何在彼此之間 以及與周遭世界相連結有興趣 （笑聲） 所以讓我大概說一下我的背景 就像俊介紹的，我是藝術家，科技人，以及教育者 我教授體感互動系統 以及可穿戴式電子裝置課程 我所做的東西要不是可以穿在身上 就是在某種程度上與人的形體相關

And so anytime I talk about what I do, I like to just quickly address the reason why bodies matter. And it's pretty simple. Everybody's got one -- all of you. I can guarantee, everyone in this room, all of you over there, the people in the cushy seats, the people up top with the laptops -- we all have bodies. Don't be ashamed. It's something that we have in common and they act as our primary interfaces for the world. And so when working as an interaction designer, or as an artist who deals with participation -- creating things that live on, in or around the human form -- it's really a powerful space to work within.

所以每一次我談到我在做什麼 我都要簡短地闡述一下 為什麼身體很重要 其實這很簡單 每個人都有身體─這裡所有的人 我可以保證，在這個講座裡的每一個人 無論是坐在下面軟軟的椅子上的 或是上面那些拿著筆電看的人─ 都有身體 不要難為情 這是我們的共同點 身體是我們對外接觸的主要介面 所以無論是身為互動設計師 或者是互動藝術家─ 創造物件放在體內、體外或是環繞人體─ 身體真的是一個很能讓人發揮的地方

So within my own work, I use a broad range of materials and tools. So I communicate through everything from radio transceivers to funnels and plastic tubing. And to tell you a bit about the things that I make, the easiest place to start the story is with a hat. And so it all started several years ago, late one night when I was sitting on the subway, riding home, and I was thinking. And I tend to be a person who thinks too much and talks too little. And so I was thinking about how it might be great if I could just take all these noises -- like all these sounds of my thoughts in my head -- if I could just physically extricate them and pull them out in such a form that I could share them with somebody else. And so I went home, and I made a prototype of this hat. And I called it the Muttering Hat, because it emitted these muttering noises that were kind of tethered to you, but you could detach them and share them with somebody else.

(Laughter)


所以在我的作品中 我廣泛的使用各種素材及工具 所以我透過各式各樣的東西溝通，從無線電收發機 到漏斗及塑膠管都可以 如果要談談我做的東西 最簡單的方法 就是從一頂帽子談起 這一切都要追溯到幾年前 有一天深夜我坐捷運回家 我在想一件事 其實我是一個想的多說的少的人 所以我在想這件事 如果我可以把這些聲音─ 譬如這些在我腦海裡的想法的聲音─ 如果我可以把它實際抽離出來 轉化成一種具體形式 呈現在別人的面前，該有多好 所以我到家以後，就做了這頂帽子的原型 我稱它為 「嘀嘀咕咕帽」 因為它會把這些好像附著在你身上 嘀嘀咕咕的聲音傳輸出來 你還可以把它拿下來 與別人分享

（笑聲）


So I make other hats as well. This one is called the Talk to Yourself Hat. (Laughter) It's fairly self-explanatory. It physically carves out conversation space for one. And when you speak out loud, the sound of your voice is actually channeled back into your own ears. (Laughter) And so when I make these things, it's really not so much about the object itself, but rather the negative space around the object. So what happens when a person puts this thing on? What kind of an experience do they have? And how are they transformed by wearing it?

所以我還做了其他的帽子 這個我稱為「自言自語帽」 （笑聲） 這很一目了然 它為你闢出一個談話的私密空間 如果你說得夠大聲 你的聲音還會傳回你自己的耳朵裡 （笑聲） 所以當我做這些東西的時候 其實我的重點不在物品本身 而是在那些「留白」的部分 所以當一個人穿上這個東西的時候會發生甚麼事? 他會體驗到甚麼? 他會有怎麼樣的改變?

So many of these devices really kind of focus on the ways in which we relate to ourselves. So this particular device is called the Gut Listener. And it is a tool that actually enables one to listen to their own innards. (Laughter) And so some of these things are actually more geared toward expression and communication. And so the Inflatable Heart is an external organ that can be used by the wearer to express themselves. So they can actually inflate it and deflate it according to their emotions. So they can express everything from admiration and lust to anxiety and angst. (Laughter) And some of these are actually meant to mediate experiences. So the Discommunicator is a tool for arguments. (Laughter) And so actually it allows for an intense emotional exchange, but is serves to absorb the specificity of the words that are delivered. (Laughter) And in the end, some of these things just act as invitations. So the Ear Bender literally puts something out there so someone can grab your ear and say what they have to say.

所以大部分的裝置 其實是著重在如何讓我們彼此互動連結 所以這個裝置叫做「聽聽你的腸子」 這個工具 可以讓你 傾聽你內臟的聲音 （笑聲） 還有一些東西 是用來表達及溝通情感的 這個「會打氣的心」 是一種外在器官 可以讓穿著者表達自己 它可以隨著他的情緒 充氣或洩氣 所以這可以用來表示愛慕及渴望 或者是焦慮及不安 （笑聲） 有些裝置則是 拿來居中協調的 所以這個「消音器」適用於爭吵狀態 （笑聲） 你可以很生氣地對著對方大吼大叫 但是這玩意會吸掉 那些很難聽的話 （笑聲） 最後 有些裝置則是純粹模仿 所以這個「耳朵扭」，正如字面所述，真的裝了一個東西 可以讓旁人抓住你的耳朵 說他想說的話

So even though I'm really interested in the relationship between people, I also consider the ways in which we relate to the world around us. And so when I was first living in New York City a few years back, I was thinking a lot about the familiar architectural forms that surrounded me and how I would like to better relate to them. And I thought, "Well, hey! Maybe if I want to better relate to walls, maybe I need to be more wall-like myself." So I made a wearable wall that I could wear as a backpack. And so I would put it on and sort of physically transform myself so that I could either contribute to or critique the spaces that surrounded me.

(Laughter)


所以儘管我對人與人的關係 有興趣 我也常常思考著有沒有其他的方法 可以讓我們跟周遭環境相連 所以幾年前當我第一次搬到紐約市住 我就經常想念著 這些圍繞著我，看起來非常熟悉的建築形式 以及我要怎麼跟它建立更好的關係 我突然領悟到 「啊！對啊！ 說不定我是想跟牆壁發展更好的關係 說不定我要更像一面牆。」 所以我做了一個能穿在身上的牆 像背包一樣的背著 所以當我穿著它 我似乎也變成一面牆 所以我可以對周遭環境 給予貢獻或者造成阻礙

（笑聲）


And so jumping off of that, thinking beyond the built environment into the natural world, I have this ongoing project called Botanicalls -- which actually enables houseplants to tap into human communication protocols. So when a plant is thirsty, it can actually make a phone call or post a message to a service like Twitter. And so this really shifts the human/plant dynamic, because a single house plant can actually express its needs to thousands of people at the same time.

現在我們換一種思維 從人造的世界跳到自然的世界 我一直在做一個叫做「植物電話」的實驗─ 這可以讓家裡的植物 跟人類的通訊規則連上線 所以當一株植物很渴的時候 它可以打一通電話 或者推文到像推特一樣的網站 這會轉變人類與植物的互動 因為一株小小的植物 可以在同一時間內對成千上萬的人 表達它的所需所求

And so kind of thinking about scale, my most recent obsession is actually with glaciers -- of course. And so glaciers are these magnificent beings, and there's lots of reasons to be obsessed with them, but what I'm particularly interested in is in human-glacier relations. (Laughter) Because there seems to be an issue. The glaciers are actually leaving us. They're both shrinking and retreating -- and some of them have disappeared altogether.

所以如果要談規模的話 我最近迷上了 還有誰─當然是冰河 冰河壯麗無比 有很多理由可以迷上它 但我最有興趣的 是人與冰河的關係 （笑聲） 因為這好像已經成為一個話題 就是冰河與我們漸行漸遠了 他們愈來愈小愈來愈退後 有的甚至已經完全消失了

And so I actually live in Canada now, so I've been visiting one of my local glaciers. And this one's particularly interesting, because, of all the glaciers in North America, it receives the highest volume of human traffic in a year. They actually have these buses that drive up and over the lateral moraine and drop people off on the surface of the glacier.

所以我現在其實是住在加拿大 我常去一座離家很近的冰河 而我對它特別有興趣 是因為在所有北美冰河裡 它每年都吸引最多人次造訪 他們把這些巴士開到側向冰磧 讓人在冰河表面下車

And this has really gotten me thinking about this experience of the initial encounter. When I meet a glacier for the very first time, what do I do? There's no kind of social protocol for this. I really just don't even know how to say hello. Do I carve a message in the snow? Or perhaps I can assemble one out of dot and dash ice cubes -- ice cube Morse code. Or perhaps I need to make myself a speaking tool, like an icy megaphone that I can use to amplify my voice when I direct it at the ice. But really the most satisfying experience I've had is the act of listening, which is what we need in any good relationship.

這真的不禁讓我想到 第一次接觸的經驗 當我第一次看到冰河時 我要做什麼？ 這沒有社交禮節可循的 我甚至真的不知道 要怎麼對它說哈囉 我要在雪地上刻個簡訊嗎？ 還是我要用一些冰塊 拼一個用點與線連成的 冰塊摩斯密碼 還是我得給自己做一個說話的裝置 像是冰製的大聲公 使我在對著冰河說話時 用它來擴大我的聲音 但是說實話這輩子最讓我滿足的經驗 是我聆聽的時候 我們需要聆聽的技巧以建立好的人際關係

And I was really struck by how much it affected me. This very basic shift in my physical orientation helped me shift my perspective in relation to the glacier. And so since we use devices to figure out how to relate to the world these days, I actually made a device called the Glacier Embracing Suit. (Laughter) And so this is constructed out of a heat reflected material that serves to mediate the difference in temperature between the human body and the glacial ice. And once again, it's this invitation that asks people to lay down on the glacier and give it a hug.

而我非常訝異它對我的影響有多大 這個從說到聽的角色轉換 幫助我改變了 我看待冰河的觀點 所以既然我們使用裝置 來找出我們如何跟外在世界相關聯 我還真的做了一個叫做「擁抱冰河裝」的裝置 （笑聲） 這是用熱反射材料作的 它可以中和人體及冰川間 不同的溫度 如同先前的裝置，就是這個東西 邀請大家躺在冰河上 給冰河一個擁抱

So, yea, this is actually just the beginning. These are initial musings for this project. And just as with the wall, how I wanted to be more wall-like, with this project, I'd actually like to take more a of glacial pace. And so my intent is to actually just take the next 10 years and go on a series of collaborative projects where I work with people from different disciplines -- artists, technologists, scientists -- to kind of work on this project of how we can improve human-glacier relations.

所以是的，這只是開始 這是我對這個計劃初步的構想 就像牆計劃一樣，我想更像墻 在這個計劃裡，我其實是要更像冰河的調調 所以我的目標是 能在未來十年 與不同領域的專家們 發展一系列的合作計劃─ 讓藝術家，科技人，科學家─ 一起在這個冰川計劃上 想想如何增進人與冰河的關係

So beyond that, in closing, I'd just like to say that we're in this era of communications and device proliferation, and it's really tremendous and exciting and sexy, but I think what's really important is thinking about how we can simultaneously maintain a sense of wonder and a sense of criticality about the tools that we use and the ways in which we relate to the world.

Thanks.

(Applause)

所以進一步說，結論是 我只是想說我們處在一個 通訊及裝置多產的時代 這真的很棒，令人非常興奮也非常誘人 但是我想真正重要的是 思考我們該如何 讓這些使我們與外在世界相連的工具及方法 兼顧感性及理性

謝謝

（掌聲）


extricate
prototype
Muttering Hat
tether
explanatory
It's really not so much about the object itself,but rather the nagative space around the object.
inards
gear toward
Inflatable Heart is an external organ
critique
tap into an human communicatin protocols
shift the human/plant dynamic.
dot and dash ice cubes
Morse code
collaborative
proliferation 增殖
simultaneously同時
criticality