GreedSpider 1.0By Vanessa Roa

Major Studio 2Spring 2 0 1 2

INTRODUCTION

Project GoalMy project goal was to initially create a gift box with built in legs that were triggered by sensors. The idea behind that was that as an unsuspecting person came close to the box to accept their gift, it would walk away from them, forcing them to chase the gift.

My project was originally meant to be an exploration of how people give and instead of expecting a gift to be handed to them, would people go out of their way to seek the gift out on their own?

MAKING THE SPIDER

Rough SketchesMy first concept sketches were of the box with sensors built in. I wasn't sure how I would implement this into my design; I wanted to be able to hack a Hexbug Spider toy with the intentions of rigging it up with the sensors. I wasn't able to prototype it this far and hopefully, if I revisit this project, that would be my next step.

For my first prototype, I used the Hexbug with the remote control. I designed the gift box utilizing materials I purchased from my trip to Target.

MAKING THE SPIDER

Supplies and StepsI headed to Target where I purchased some wrapping paper, 3 bags of Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts, decorative ribbon, tissue paper, a bow, and a Hexbug Spider.

I found two box tops that I found to be useful. One with a hole on top, which would allow me to send signals to the spider without the wrapping paper intruding on it in any way, and another where I had to make a base hole for the spider's head to stick through.

MAKING THE SPIDER

Cutting Up HolesFor the bottom of the box, I made a hole and used a box cutter to be able to create a hole that was the same diameter as the back of the spider.

For the top of the box, I used an inhaler box as a top box, I left the hole uncovered, and made a line that went across the middle of the box. From there, I cut the box in half and taped off the sides.

MAKING THE SPIDER

Wrapping Up HolesAfter taping off the top of the box and finally wrapped around the lid of the box, I decorated it with a box and set some chocolates on it.

While the box would work from certain angles, I soon discovered that there were some issues to run into during the test driving. Here are the first videos of my box walking after it's completion.

VIDEOS

First Testing Stages

VIDEOS

Public Prototyping

ISSUES TO ADDRESS

ConclusionA lot of people took immediate notice of the project, but no one was really compelled to chase it. While my robot got a reaction, I was hoping someone would engage with my project. It seemed people made the connection between the spider as a gift/delivery object, but they didn't try to pick it up. I also blame this partially on the technical maneuvering of the project, as certain angles made it hard for me to move the spider in the direction I wanted. There was also a balancing issue with the box, and therefore I found no need for the tissue paper. I think I would need to figure out how to communicate the project more effectively, etc.

The EndThanks for watching