Toucanna Break
Embracing Pura Vida with a Friend
Toucanna Break is a pair of devices that remind people to take breaks from work. This exploration aims to spread the spirit of Pura Vida among friends, reminding them to enjoy life's fleeting moments.
Project Background:
Our design challenge was to explore people-to-people connections with a focus on self-reflection and connection with others using networked devices in the context of Costa Rica. The project was a one-day project from idea to execution during the Connected Devices course at CIID with Christoff Trexler (US) and Neelank Sachan (India).
Inspiration
Pura Vida is a Costa Rican value that represents a carefree and stress-free approach to life. What if we could share a moment of Pura Vida between two friends?
Time to Take a Break!
When two friends share a Toucanna Break device, it can tell when one person has stepped away from their desk using an ultrasonic sensor. The device sends a signal to the other device over Wi-Fi using PubNub. The other device then rocks its toucan figure back and forth to let the friend know they're taking a break. This is a friendly reminder to consider taking a break together. The Toucanna Break prototype uses HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensors, servos, and Arduino nano 22 IoT boards.
