The project Blending Amsterdam Reality addresses the question put forth by Gemeente Amsterdam, to find a way to design / use objects in public space to spread awareness about the culture and heritage of Amsterdam in a fun and informative way. The final prototype of the project is an interactive installation in form of a book that is designed to be easy to use,fun and involving, while taking into consideration factors of ergonomics and human appeal.
The prototype is based on re-usable and extensible code running on open and easily available hardware, housed in a styrofoam body with a stable base and comfortable angle of tilt to provide good affordance and usability. It uses a robust touch screen to display content and a physical control based interface for navigation and discovery, with visual feedback.
The assigners, Gemeente Amsterdam see good promise in the solution and are exploring future possibilities for the project.