Does it have to be static?

Earlier on in this project I declared that I wanted the outcome to be situated within one context, and one specific space i.e. the home, workplace etc. This was to enable periodic interaction with the artefact: to be 'present' you also have to be 'absent' sometimes.

However, this doesn't mean that the object itself cannot be moved around the space to be put somewhere more convenient for the user. The artefact could be embedded in a transportable object. I am currently using xBees for prototyping, and this makes them wireless and incredibly portable. It may have a wider range of applications if the object can be moved around the space. For example, a chair in the front room. If it wasn't portable you'd have to sit in the same chair every time. If it was portable you'd be able to sit in any chair or even in a different room in the house!

I am going to do a context of use group brainstorm with users and a solo 'idea-storm', and then take these ideas to the wider world. Earlier on i mentioned the need to actually interact with these spaces, but i want to involve users early on as part of my user-centric development and this could be useful. I could then take users to the spaces and explore what they think of it. Note: I may also want to work with designers as this could become an architecture for designers to work from so they'd need to be involved in the development of this!

I am also learning about interfacing with hardware to extend functionality past the typical Arduino applications.