FooDIE FORK
inspiration
“Because everyday behaviors occur in various situations, a persuasive technology must effectively integrate into daily activities that span both personal and work life. The technology will inherently encroach upon the individual’s social world and developers must therefore consider the social implications for everyday experiences” (Consolvo 102). With this idea, Consolvo recognizes that invasive technologies need to be discrete so that they do not impede the user’s life.
design
The Foodie Fork is a smart fork that tracks what food you are eating and how much. People who count their calories either have an internal gauge that takes time to develop or they weigh their food and log it into a journal or app. With the Foodie Fork, all a user must do is connect their fork to Bluetooth on their mobile device and fork will collect data on what is being eaten. When the calorie goal has been met for the day, the fork will change temperature indicating to stop eating. This is a discrete and viable way to sustain a healthy lifestyle. The fork looks just like any other fork and the temperature difference is only apparent to the person using the fork.
critique
For this design to exist, people would have to use utensils to eat, value their own health and wellness, overcome the idea of eating with the same utensil for every meal, and have a mobile device. For the Foodie Fork to work it would have to recognize the cuisines from all over the world and blend in with the rest of the utensils to remain discrete if in a public setting. In addition to this, the technology could put people in danger if they have any eating disorders, enabling them to eat less/more than they should.
takeaway
Reflecting on the reading and the design, the author values the idea of being discrete. When it comes to weight loss and health, there may be some people who are shy to share they are trying to lose weight/be healthier, but what if there are people who proudly tell they are on a new workout routine and diet where more people can join them. The discrete nature of the technology implies that people do not want to be vulnerable but being vulnerable can lead to community building – a persuasive social influence that does not reside in technology, but in people themselves.
Consolvo, Sunny, James A. Landay, and David W. McDonald, 2009. Designing for Behavior Change in Everyday Life. IEEE Computer 42(6), pp 100-103. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=5199605&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fiel5%2F2%2F5199578%2F05199605.pdf%3Farnumber%3D5199605