Things happening at HFI.org
Peace Registery - Empowering marginalized population
We are providing UX/UI guidance to this project spear headed by CGNet. The purpose is to find a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Central India which is now more than 50 years old (since 1967). Peaceful resolution is the outcome but there will be many outputs which will contribute to the final outcome like resolution of victim’s problems. Creating a repository for all, including victims, govt, journalists and non-victim general population is one of the output. The overall goal is to make it easier and interesting to navigate for all the stakeholder of the peace process.
Spring Internship - Public Spirit
Fiat money has been the measure of value for centuries. It is standardized and ubiquitous. In modern times, money has become a lot more complex than a means for trading or measure of worth. In a capitalist society, money is now a measure of an individual’s symbolic worth which divides people by class and determines the respect someone may receive. It is the norm to judge someone by how much money they possess. High net worth individuals are rewarded with adoration and importance. However, net worth should not determine one's self-worth. Self-worth should be defined by empathy, community and kindness.
Redesigning the CGNet Swara Platform
ADYPU 3rd Semester Master of Design students utlized a critical theory based approach to design. Using design fiction and speculative design proposals to challenge assumptions and conceptions about the role objects play in everyday life, they redesigner CGNet Swara platform
Reading circles through Critical Research Lens
Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology's 7th semester students worked on projects during the fall semester of 2020 to apply critical theory lens and various models of design futures to explore various topics such as Future of Money, Society against violence and Abuse, and Empowering Marginalized population
Current Activities
Self Worth – Can it replace net worth
A Speculative Design exploration, envisioning the future of money in an open access economy.
Future of Money – Early Exploration
Srishti School of Design’s 7th semester students worked on a project combining design futures and critical research to explore concepts to promote a different possible future.
Empowering the marginalized – Case of Bastar
Srishti School of Design’s 7th semester students worked on a project combining design futures and critical research to explore concepts to promote equality in societies, with focus on Bastar, a tribal district with the state of Chattisgarh.
Society Against Violence and Abuse (#SAVA)
Srishti School of Design’s 7th semester students worked on a project combining design futures and critical research to explore design solutions to create a society void of violence and abuse.
Critical Redesigning CGNet Swara Platform
ADYPU 3rd semester M.Des students worked on a project combining design futures and critical research to explore concepts to redesign the CGNet Swara platform
Envisioned Impact
Our hope is that by taking a critical social theory - research + practice approach to user experience that captures the values, needs, and capabilities construct will lead designers and users alike to question the status quo and hence devleop altenrative preferred futures.
Previous Work
The Futures of Enhanced Watching
Much is being written every day about the rise of streaming videos and their increasing popularity: be it home-grown Indian OTT platforms or global giants, everyone from Hotstar and Voot to Amazon Prime and Netflix are vying for eyeballs in a market that has seen data consumption explode thanks to the entry of Jio which, in turn, had a cascading downward effect on access rates for mobile subscribers across the country.
The Future of Wearable Tech
Wearable technologies first came in, in a smaller form, as more-convenient-than-a-smartphone-sized gadget. The Apple Watch and the Fitbit being the most commonly used wearables, followed by some wearable devices that are successful in the medical industry, such as SugarBEAT, a skin patch for diabetics. Almost any data emitting from the human body can be monitored. Owlet is a boon to parents who want to monitor their baby's heartrate and oxygen levels while they sleep. Tracking of various elements, number of steps, heartbeats per minute, whether a patient has eaten their next meal, blood pressure count, etc. are all possible data that can be collected, examined and analyzed for feedback from a wearable device.
The Future of Travel Chatbots
Move over apps, and say hello to travel chatbots. Travel agents, airlines, and hotels are all introducing chatbots who are knowledgeable, accurate and have a vast amount of information, while having a good conversation with you.
They can plan trips within your budget and also use NLP (natural language processing) to recognize your specific query "weekend getaway from London" or “music festival in Ibiza.” The feeling of having a virtual assistant, who really cares about modifying your budget and itinerary and giving you the best deals, is only possible because we are moving from apps to conversational products.
Bot Food
While 3D printing is becoming increasingly accessible to us, the printing of food as well as its connection to our food apps, fitness devices and medical records is a future not far away. Bot food will serve different purposes in the future - it will make its way into our homes and feed a vast population on Earth as well as astronauts in space
Smart Waste
Could the future be about paying for the garbage you generate? Can we bring our waste generation down to zero? Here are some recent trends in waste collection and management that indicate the directions of the future of waste.
Artificial Intelligence
Our Inevitable Eradication or Highest Evolution? A discussion with futurist, Apala Lahiri Chavan
The Future of the Internet of Things
As Ivan sits at his IoT Headquarters in California, he and his team plan out the entire food cycle for their exclusive brand of organic tomato sauce, which are the only patented organic seeds for tomatoes on Earth in the year 2050. Using a host of connected devices, sensors, bots and drones, Ivan and his team are plan a farm-to-plate experience for their premium customers. Production, post-harvest, processing, distribution and consumption - are all controlled using the Internet of things to prepare the most nutritious and connected tomato sauce.
The Future of Hyperlocal
#consolidation #micromoments #machinelearning #AI









