What's "Loaded Dice"?
Loaded Dice is a set of two cubes. One cube has sensors for things like sound, light, and temperature while the other cube has outputs like a fan, a light, and a speaker. When people play with the cubes they can easily create sensor-output pairings simply by rotating them.
The Dice are used to bridge between everyday experiences and complex technology-focused design challenges.
Who's it for?
Loaded Dice was originally created to engage blind and visually impaired people in the design of Internet of Things or ‘smart’ devices.
Since then it has been used with lots of groups including older adults and people sharing houses.
The aim is always to use Loaded Dice as a tool to enable Co-Design of technology regardless of their level of technical expertise.
Approach
This project is an example of project that employs several methods in the context of Design Research.
First of all, it uses Research through Design in such a way that the designing and building of the dice themselves is a key part of how new knowledge is created through the project.
Next, the dice were shown to people in interactive workshop situations where ideas from Co-Design became part of the overall mix.
Observations from the workshops were turned into theory using an approach borrowed from Social Science called Grounded Theory.
Contribution
Loaded Dice offers several contributions. The dice themselves are a novel way to explore and prototype with digital sensors and outputs in a very accessible way. Additionally, when used in workshops, the dice show how carefully considered co-design tools like the dice can help people actively participate in the complex process of designing smart technologies.
Why is it in the Observatory?
Loaded Dice stands out as an excellent example of how Design Research can challenge assumptions about who gets to design technologies. It shows that carefully designed tools can help anyone to become empowered in complex challenges. By combining several different research approaches, the project also demonstrates Design Research’s inherent flexiblity.