The Sentimental Aura Podium is an interactive project designed to encourage the sharing of stories behind the objects we carry with us every day. All of these items hold a story, though we often overlook their significance. When prompted to reflect on an object, you may discover that its seemingly trivial story is actually meaningful, reflecting a particular moment, place, and set of people in your life.
To symbolize each object's story, we designed a ripple mechanism, representing a raindrop falling into a pond of memories, creating ripples that spread across. Participants can press a button to begin recording through a microphone and share the story behind their item. Using WEKINATOR’s machine learning and a ticketing system designed in Processing, we analyze the shared stories, categorizing them into eight different emotional themes: Loved Ones, Aspiration, Relief and Reassurance, Belief and Religion, Achievement, Hobbies, Utility and Reliability, and Travel and Cultures. As a keepsake, the storyteller receives a small ticket, printed by a thermal printer, displaying their personal emotional value index. The incorporated LED light strips that activate at the end of the interaction, representing different emotional flows that visually connect with the shared stories, creating a memorable and immersive experience.
documentation/Mechanism.mddocumentation/Software.mddocumentation/Hardware.mdtraining directory
Written by Ben, Isaac, & Dolores
Light editing from GPT-4o