Looking Out 1 - Chinwei

Piano Staircase

by thefuntheory.com


Piano Staircase is an installation designed to encourage people to take the staircase over the escalator, by making it fun to do. The belief is that people are willing to change their behavior when it is fun to do so. Piano Staircase is essentially formed by a number of boards embedded with pressure sensors and wired to a sound system. When a person steps on a 'key' on the stairs, a corresponding note is produced.

I like this project for it's simplicity and ability to transform a mundane (and heart-benefiting) activity like taking the stairs into a fun experience. Another interesting aspect of the project is that it allows anyone to make music by simply taking the stairs. This especially can be seen at [01:36] where it shows a person lingering around the bottom steps of the staircase to interact with the piano.



The World's Deepest Bin
by thefuntheory.com



Another project by the same team, The World's Deepest Bin also attempts to encourage people to throw rubbish into the bin instead of the ground, in a subtle and unintrusive way. Using a sensor wired to a set of computer speakers, the 'bin' detects when rubbish is tossed in, produces a sound that simulates a piece of trash falling through a long way to the bottom (thus the name).

Again this is a project that can change a fundamental human habit just by injecting fun into a mundane, everyday action. What is amazing about this 'bin' is how much benefit it can bring, both in terms of the hygiene of the surrounding area, and the educational value it brings to people. If kids grow up thinking that tossing rubbish into bins are cool and fun, we would likely have much less trash on the streets!