Our Picnic
A reimagined picnic basket that supplants the physicality lost during long distance dining.
Research & Additional Info
This is the Our Picnic set: a picnic basket reimagined for long distance, four companion objects which supplant missing interactions, and a single-screen app which lets them all work in unison.
First, the picnic basket. It’s styled to fit in with other contemporary consumer tech products and at once a beautiful object worth displaying when not in use.
All the accessories fit comfortably inside the basket with enough room for all kinds of food and dinnerware.
When closed, the picnic basket has enough free surface space to comfortably hold most laptops.The handles open up to a comfortable position and have enough rounded edges to avoid pinched skin.
The mutual tray simulates a shared surface by physically responding when your partner bumps it or the table.When not in use, the legs fold flat around the vibration packs attached to the bottom.
Both your and your partner’s tandem candles light up when struck by the match due to a proximity sensor in the flame.Similarly, a microphone beneath the flame will pick up the sound of air being blown which extinguishes both candles.
The napkin printer is a means to pass a napkin to your partner across whatever distance may separate you.
Once activated, the rollers inside will pick off a napkin, send it through the internal mechanism, and out the slot in front for your partner to use as needed.
The emotion diffuser mixes custom scents correlated to love-oriented emotions detected by automatic sentiment analysis.
These scents (floral, citrus, & spice, representing affection, contentment, & lust respectively) are diffused when you or your partner communicate the emotions above.
The companion app is a hub for your devices as well as a means to connect to your partner’s basket. Enter your name, send your code to your partner, connect your devices, and you’re ready to eat.
This diagram illustrates how everything interacts. Your apps are connected via the internet, your devices are hooked up to your phone via bluetooth, and the baskets remain untethered for minimal interference.
Explore the above storyboard for an example dinner between two theorhetical customers.